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Oterschaden, Johannes, Globus aus der Mitte des XVI Jahrhunderts, 1879, Geography and Map Division. Globe Gores March 28, 2025 Posted by: Abraham Parrish Share this post: * Share this page on Facebook * Share this page on X * Copy link The Geography and Map Division holds a variety of printed globe gores in a variety of sizes and configurations ranging from some of the earliest examples in the 16^th century to more modern examples in the 20^th century. Globe gores are strips of paper containing printed maps in the sizes and shapes needed for globe construction. The maps can be either terrestrial (showing the earth) or celestial (showing the heavens) and the gores are typically football shaped. The gores can be thought of as pre-assembled building blocks for a globe of a particular size which a globe-maker can quickly utilize to construct a globe without having to spend the time constructing the maps. The printed gores would be cut out of the printed sheet(s) and pasted onto a sphere of appropriate size to construct a globe. As far back as the third century B.C. written records about globe construction by the ancient Greeks show knowledge of a round earth. Greek grammarian and stoic philosopher Cratus of Mallus (ancient city in current day Turkiye) is known for constructing the earliest known globe of the earth around 150 B.C. The 1492 Erdapfel by 15^th century German polymath Martin Behaim is the oldest surviving terrestrial globe, which was manually constructed from painted on globe gores and later inscribed with over 2,000 place names by a team of artists and scribes. Another German cartographer by the name of Martin Waldseemuller created what are thought to be the first set of printed globe gores in 1507. Coincidentally, this globe gore map along with his wall map also created in 1507 were also where the name America first appears on a map. Below is an 1879 facsimile of the Waldseemuller globe gores. Section of 12 Waldseemuller globe gores printed on sheet.Section from: Waldseemuller, Martin, Erster gedruckter Globus, Martin Hylacomylus (Waltzemuller), 1879, Geography and Map Division. The cleric and printer Johann Schoner was another German who played an important role in the history of globe gores. He was the first to bring printed terrestrial and celestial globes together as a matched pair starting in 1515. Below is an example of celestial globe gores by Schoner from 1517. A set of 12 printed celestial globe gores by Johann Schoner showing constellations.Schoner, Johann, [Celestial globe gores], 1517, Geography and Map Division.The 16^th century Flemish cartographer Gerard Mercator's terrestrial and celestial globe gores created between 1541-1551 improved upon Johann Schoner's and Martin Waldseemuller woodcut engraving technique with copper engraved plates for his gores and also added equatorial coordinates and an ecliptic (path of the sun in its apparent orbit around the Earth) line that are now common features of modern terrestrial globe gores. The copper engraving technique allowed for greater detail than woodcut and the metal plates could be updated with new geographic information. A new edition of globe gores made from a woodcut would need to be entirely re-sculpted from scratch. The technical additions of features like the ecliptic line made the finished terrestrial globe more useful, especially with its celestial pair which also included this line. Another Flemish cartographer and engraver by the name of Jodocus Hondius was a contemporary of Mercator. He purchased Mercator's Atlas map plates in 1604 and republished and sold a prolific number of updated copies. 12 terrestrial globe gores by Jodocus Hondius printed on sheet. Hondius, Jodocus, [Terrestrial globe gores], 1615, Geography and Map Division.Hondius' terrestrial 1615 globe gores shown above depict the Mercator-influenced features such as the ecliptic line and equatorial coordinates. The prime meridian on this map appears to be Ferro (Canary Islands), which was common for this time period. My favorite globe gore maker is 17^th century Venetian friar, cartographer and cosmographer Vincenzo Maria Coronelli. He was famous for making at the time the largest pair of terrestrial and celestial globes in 1684 for the King of France, Louis XIV which were each 12 feet 7 inches in diameter. After spending two years in Paris building these globes, he returned to Venice and founded the Accademia Cosmografica degli Argonauti where he decided to reproduce the globes at a reduced three-and-a-half-foot diameter scale as printed globe gores. The Geography and Map Division has a copy of the terrestrial three-and-a-half-foot globe gores (24 gores plus 2 polar calottes) cut and mounted flat daisy style in two frames with northern and southern hemisphere sections. 12 globe gores and a north pole callote by Vincnezo Coronelli laid flat and framed.Photo by author. Coronelli, Vincenzo, [Three-and-a-half-foot Globe Gores, Northern Hemisphere], 1688, Geography and Map Division.12 Vincenzo Coronelli globe gores and south pole collote laid out flat in daisy pattern in frame.Photo by author. Coronelli, Vincenzo, [Three-and-a-half-foot Globe Gores, Southern Hemisphere], 1688, Geography and Map Division.The southern hemisphere set of gores above contains a cartouche with a dedication to Cardinal Cesar d'Estrees (who sent him to Paris to make the large globes for Louis XIV) and a self-portrait of Coronelli being unveiled by a trio of cherubs. Below is a section of a few of the northern hemisphere gores that shows North America at the time with beautifully done cartography and miniatures depicting watercraft and creatures. Section of parts of three Coronelli globe gores depicting North America.Photo by author. Section from: Coronelli, Vincenzo, [Three-and-a-half-foot Globe Gores, Northern Hemisphere], 1688, Geography and Map Division.A graphic diagram called the analemma representing the position and declination (angle) of the sun in the sky seen from a fixed location on Earth at the same mean solar time throughout the year was created by Jean-Paul Grandjean de Fouchy in 1840 and subsequently started appearing on terrestrial globe gores thereafter. Below is an example of an analemma in its typical figure-8 shape on a George F. Cram globe. Photo of globe with figure 8 shaped analemma.Photo by author. George F. Cram Company, 16 inch/40 cm physical-political globe, 1994, Geography and Map Division. Below is another example of an analemma on Rand McNally set of globe gores from 1887 in an oval shape not only showing sun declination, but the position of the zodiac for every day of the year. 12 colored Rand McNally globe gores with oval analemma.Rand McNally and Company, Rand McNally & Co.'s new twelve inch terrestrial globe [gores], 1887, Geography and Map Division.Modern globe gores typically have the features accumulated through globe gore making history. As printing became more prevalent, so did the variety of arrangements of the gores on the printed page. This 1942 military globe gore example by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services below shows an arrangement pattern of interleaved gores presumably as an efficiency with the use of the paper to reduce printing costs. Interleaved colored globe gores printed on sheet.United States. Office of Strategic Services, [50" military globe gores], c. 1942, Geography and Map Division.Printed globe gores provide a fascinating map format, a variety of which can be seen in the Geography and Map Division either in its original printed format on paper sheets, cut out 2D representations, or as part of finished globes. I will leave you with this facsimile 1705 example of a pair of constructed 24" terrestrial and celestial globes by George Christoph Eimmart which used globe gores. Photo of a pair of terrestrial and celestial globes.Photo by author. Eimmart, Georg Christoph, Cum geographica orbis terrarum & Loca stellarum coelesti..., 1705, Geography and Map Division. Further Reading A Renaissance Globemaker's Toolbox | Library of Congress Categories * 16th century cartography * 17th century cartography * 19th century cartography * 20th century cartography See All Comments Add a Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. 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