Earth globe drafted late 1940s by French geographer J. Forest

About the Item

Earth globe redacted at the end of the 1940s by French geographer J. Forest, the cartouche reads Dressé par J. FOREST Géographe - Girard, Barrèere & Thomas Editeurs 17 - 19 Rue de Buci. Paris. In addition to the very well delineated spatial map are depicted the ocean currents and prncipal trade routes of the period. Good condition, good readability. Turned wooden base and aluminum ball coated with printed paper. Height 39 cm - inches 15.4, sphere diameter 23 cm - inches 9. Girard et Barrère was a cartographic publishing house founded in 1934; it took over the production of Henry Barrère (1890-1930) and PH Barrère (1931-1933). He worked between 1946 and 1959 under the name Girard, Barrère et Thomas. J. Forest made a wide variety of globes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, mainly for use in schools, but also for home use. His prolific output included table globes, some on turned and ebonized wooden bases, floor globes, and innovative globes, such as terrestrial globes on mechanized rotating bases, or globes that included lighters. In the 20th century Forest produced illuminated globes that included modern aluminum bases. The Forest globes were mostly in French, plus some for export in English and Spanish. In the early 20th century, Forest was evidently succeeded by the geographical publishing firm Girard & Barrère, which continued to offer Forest globes at the same Paris address, Rue de Buci, that Forest used. During the early and mid-20th century the firm also produced globes and geographical publications such as Girard, Barrère et Thomas. There may have been a merger of companies with 19th-century globe maker G. Thomas. Man has always wanted to know the world in which he lives and has used all available means to measure the space around him to expand his knowledge more and more. The conditions that enabled humans to develop models of the world and space probably came about only after thinking had reached a stage of development where it understood that natural processes could be represented through a model. As early as ancient Greece, naturalists had come to understand the sphericity of the Earth and its position suspended in space. The earliest known globe is the one attributed by Strabo, historian and geographer, to the Greek Cratetes of Mallo (c.a. 150 B.C.). The first globes in the early 16th century were built under the impetus of the great geographical explorations and immediately began to be used for educational purposes at princely courts, monasteries, and colleges; the globe later began to conquer university circles and high and lower schools. It will be with the nineteenth century of great commerce, circulation and the introduction of compulsory schooling that the desire to learn about distant countries will increase, making the old method of globe construction inadequate. Spindles printed from engraved plates no longer suffice, and the only real resource becomes lithography through which it is possible to print and update maps in a timely manner, which as more and more geographical discoveries are made in different countries become obsolete faster and faster.

Dimensions:

Height: 15.4 in (39.12 cm)Diameter: 9 in (22.86 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Paper

Period:

1940-1949

Date of Manufacture:

1948

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.

Seller Location:

Milan, IT