Terrestrial and Celestial Globes Volume 1: Their History and Construction Including a Consideration of their Value as Aids in the Study of Geography and AstronomyStevenson, Edward Luther
History
Terrestrial and Celestial Globes Volume 1: Their History and Construction Including a Consideration of their Value as Aids in the Study of Geography and Astronomy
Stevenson, Edward Luther
Geography -- History; Globes
the scale and the degrees being adjusted with all possible care, and all
having the ancient, as well as the modern, names; the division made of
these works being as follows. At the principal entrance into the room
are seen four pictures executed on the sides of the cabinets, and
representing in perspective the halves of four spheres, those below
showing the earth, and those above the heavens with all their signs and
celestial figures. Proceeding toward the right we have all Europe
depicted in fourteen compartments, the pictures succeeding each other
to the center of the wall which is at the head of the room, and opposite
to the principal door, that namely whereon is placed the horologue with
its wheels, and the daily motions made by the planets in their spheres;
I mean that so much renowned clock made by the Florentine Lorenzo della
Volpaja. Above the compartments representing Europe, are those of Africa
in eleven divisions; these extend to the horologue itself, beyond which
and on the lower part is Asia, which occupies a consecutive range of
four compartments, extending to the principal door. There are besides
the West Indies, which commence from the clock, and continue to the
principal door; the whole series forming the fifty-seven divisions
before mentioned. On the lower part of the walls and immediately beneath
the geographical delineations, in an equal number of compartments will
be the various plants and animals produced by the respective countries,
all depicted from nature. Over the cornice of the said cabinets, which
completes the decorations, there are to be niches dividing the pictures,
and in these will be placed certain antique busts in marble,
representing the Emperors and Princes by whom these lands have been
possessed, so far as those portraits are known to exist or can be
procured. The ceiling is entirely in carved wood-work, and within the
compartments of the same are twelve large pictures, in each of which are
to be four celestial signs, making in the whole forty-eight; the figures
are to be but little less than life size, each accompanied by its stars.
On the walls beneath are three hundred portraits of distinguished
persons belonging to the last five centuries, or somewhat more; they are
painted in oil; but, that I may not make too long a story, I refer the
mention of their names to the tables of my work. All have frames of
similar size, very richly carved in oak, and producing an exceedingly
fine effect.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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