{"id":1789347,"date":"2020-09-21T11:57:12","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T15:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1789347"},"modified":"2020-09-25T10:58:46","modified_gmt":"2020-09-25T14:58:46","slug":"these-globes-are-uncanny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/09\/these-globes-are-uncanny\/","title":{"rendered":"These Globes Are Uncanny"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GlobusTwice now I\u2019ve encountered globes that I find more than a bit unsettling, in that they wrap a map of a portion<\/em> of the Earth around an entire globe.<\/p>\n

The first one I ran across was the Globus Polski<\/a> or Poland Globe, an inexpensive 12-inch globe which comes in two versions, administrative and physical, and depicts the country of Poland as if it were Pangaea. According to a comment<\/a> on the Reddit post<\/a> where I think<\/em> I first saw it, there are apparently other single-country globes like this out there.<\/p>\n

\"Silk<\/p>\n

The second is the polar opposite of the Poland Globe: it\u2019s large, expensive and one of a kind: a bespoke, illustrated globe of the Silk Route<\/a> that took Bellerby more than a year to complete to the customer\u2019s exact specifications. The main map on the globe covers the Silk Route itself, from the Mediterranean to Japan; the back of the globe\u2014this globe has a back side<\/em>\u2014\u201cfeatures a map of China with overlapping details on the eras at the time of the Silk Route.\u201d<\/p>\n

I have to confess that I\u2019m weirded out by this sort of globe: they fall into a cartographic uncanny valley in which the thing mapped is ostensibly correct but in a form that somehow feels deeply wrong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Twice now I\u2019ve encountered globes that I find more than a bit unsettling, in that they wrap a map of a portion of the Earth around an entire globe. The first one I ran across… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[233],"tags":[132,26,120],"class_list":["post-1789347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-unusual-maps","tag-bellerby","tag-globes","tag-poland","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1785584,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2018\/05\/mercator-globes-at-the-university-of-lausanne\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789347,"position":0},"title":"Mercator Globes at the University of Lausanne","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"16 May 2018","format":"link","excerpt":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CrJnQ3mGvO0 The University of Lausanne has come across a pair of globes\u2014one celestial, one terrestrial\u2014made by Mercator in the 16th century. Mercator apparently had a reputation as a globemaker, and a number of his globes are still in existence today. But \"not particularly rare\" is not the same as \"not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/CrJnQ3mGvO0\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1844764,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/07\/the-world-turned-upside-down-and-other-globes-a-roundup\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789347,"position":1},"title":"The World Turned Upside Down and Other Globes: A Roundup","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"22 July 2025","format":"link","excerpt":"Geoff Henson (Flickr). Creative Commons BY-ND licence. Mark Wallinger\u2019s World Turned Upside Down, a 13-foot globe on the LSE campus with the South Pole on top, generated controversy (and vandalism) after its unveiling in 2019 for how it handled contested borders: it shows Lhasa as a capital, Taiwan as a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/upside-down-globe.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/upside-down-globe.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/upside-down-globe.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/upside-down-globe.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/upside-down-globe.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/upside-down-globe.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1788550,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/03\/antique-globes-virtual-and-real\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789347,"position":2},"title":"Antique Globes, Virtual and Real","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"20 March 2020","format":"link","excerpt":"The British Library is digitizing its collection of globes, with the first seven virtual globes scheduled to be released online next week. The digital globes will be available to view on the British Library website\u2014www.bl.uk\/collection-items\u2014from 26 March, via a viewing platform which includes an augmented reality function (available on phone\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"British Library digital globes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/bl-digital-globes-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/bl-digital-globes-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/bl-digital-globes-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/bl-digital-globes-1024x683.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1785383,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2018\/04\/the-rumsey-collections-augmented-reality-globe-app\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789347,"position":3},"title":"The Rumsey Collection’s Augmented Reality Globe App","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"12 April 2018","format":"link","excerpt":"The David Rumsey Map Collection has a number of virtual globes, but its AR Globe app may be the most unusual way to view them. Released last December for the iPhone and iPad, it uses augmented reality to superimpose one of seven celestial or terrestrial globes from the 15th through\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/ar-globe-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1788622,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/04\/a-virtual-16th-century-globe\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789347,"position":4},"title":"A Virtual 16th-Century Globe","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"6 April 2020","format":"link","excerpt":"Mercator Globe - \u00a9 National Maritime Museum by Cyreal.com on Sketchfab The National Maritime Museum is closed right now, obviously, but in the meantime they\u2019ve given us a virtual version of one of their treasures: a 1541 table globe by Gerardus Mercator. Previously: Antique Globes, Virtual and Real.","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3603,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/12\/miscellaneous-globes\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789347,"position":5},"title":"Miscellaneous Globes","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"12 December 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"Random and miscellaneous globe items: James Wilson was America's first globe maker; his Bradford, Vermont-based globe factory opened in 1813. Geolounge points to the above illustration of Wilson, undated but from the early 20th century,\u00a0by Roy Frederic Heinrich. The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center: \"Dennis Townsend, a Vermont schoolteacher,\u00a0created this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Roy Frederic Heinrich, \"James Wilson, the Vermont globe-maker, Bradford, Vermont, 1810.\" Library of Congress.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/james-wilson-1024x894.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/james-wilson-1024x894.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/james-wilson-1024x894.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/james-wilson-1024x894.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1789347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1789347"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1789347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1789377,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1789347\/revisions\/1789377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1789347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1789347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1789347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}