1850 Regazzoni Italian Edition of LeGrande's Mechanical Globe

A very attractive example of Augustin Legrande's collapsible mechanical globe, here in its c. 1850 first Italian edition. The globe is a novel educational tool, allowing the globe to be presented as a globe, but also in various other formats, thus more deeply illustrating the curvature of the Earth and the challenges of presenting it on a flat map. Moreover, by holding the globe up to light and spinning it, one can mimic various astronomical events.

A Closer Look

The globe consists of six hand-colored engraved gores combined along the equator and connected with a network of strings, which emerge from both the top and the bottom of the globe. Sliding toggles can contract the string to force the gores into globular form. The globe is undated, but the geography corresponds to about 1850 - 1854. In addition, the globe comes with a 16-page geographical text, as well as a double-sided chart explaining the application off the globe to illustrate the rotation of the Earth, the Zodiac, and more.

Publication History and Census

The present example was published in Milan by Giocondo Regazzoni. Legrand patented the original in 1823, and it was subsequently copied by publishers in France, Germany, England, and, as here, Italy. Although it appears on the market from time to time, it is rare in working order. We note examples at Princeton and the National Library of Australia.