The Globemakers
The Curious Story of an Ancient Craft
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- USD 20.99
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- USD 20.99
Publisher Description
The beautiful illustrated story of our globe and the creations it has inspired, told by the only truly bespoke globemakers in the world, Bellerby & Co. Globemakers
'The untold story of the globe, this book is a glorious spyhole into a forgotten art' - Lara Maiklem, author of Mudlarking
Peter Bellerby is the founder of Bellerby & Co. Globemakers, the world's only truly bespoke makers of globes. His team of skilled craftspeople make exquisite terrestrial, celestial and planetary globes for customers around the world. The story began after his attempt to find a special globe for his father's 80th birthday. Failing to find anything suitable, he decided to make one himself which took him on an extraordinary journey of rediscovering this forgotten craft.
The chapters of The Globemakers take us through the journey of how to build a globe, or 'earth apples' as they were first known, and include fascinating vignettes on history, art history, astronomy and physics, as well as the day-to-day craftsmanship at the workshop itself.
This beautiful book uses illustration, photography and narrative to tell the story of our globe and many different globes it has inspired.
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'A book as beautiful as the craft it describes, The Globemakers is an inspirational story of a craftsman's dogged pursuit for perfection. It's written with the intricacy of someone who can capture the fine details of our vast planet in something small enough to sit on your desk' - Rebecca Struthers, author of The Hands of Time
'Absolutely fascinating from beginning to end - an adventure like no other!' - Alice Loxton
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this comprehensive debut, Bellerby, founder of Bellerby & Co Globemakers, traces the genesis of his company and explores the nuances of constructing handmade world globes. In 2008, Bellerby decided he wanted to give his father a globe for his 80th birthday. Dissatisfied with the modern and expensive antique models he came across, he resolved to make a "foray into globemaking," a craft that dates back to Martin Behaim's Erdapfel ("Earth apple") of the late 15th century. Bellerby provides an up-close picture of a painstaking art, which requires painters, woodworkers, moldmakers, and cartographers, and details some of the early challenges he faced, including getting Earth's shape right (it's an "oblate spheroid," not quite a sphere). Along the way, he weaves in bits of globemaking history, hearkening back to the 18th century's "second age of exploration," during which globes were invaluable to merchants plotting trade routes, and the 19th century, when the development of photo engraving improved globemakers' accuracy. While this sometimes reads as an extended advertisement for the author's business ("We continue to strive for perfection, keep abreast of cartographical and political changes and are constantly updating our maps"), readers will be fascinated by Bellerby's reverential and sometimes existential musings ("There's nothing like a globe to make us really think about our place in the universe"), which are enriched by stunning photos of the globemaking process. It's a fascinating deep dive into an arcane art.
