Your Handy globe dating guide..............in cartoon form............

This cartoon is all you'll ever need to figure out the date of any old map or globe from 1800 until now

this is re blogged from: xkcd.com/1688/    Quite humerus, and surprisingly accurate!  click on the pic below for a clearer view.

Special thanks to fellow collector Sean for bringing this to my attention, you rock!!

Rare Black oceans Weber Costelo globe available, UPDATE: SOLD

    OK, I never do this but, I don't want this globe to go to someone who will not appreciate it's unique attributes.  Below I'm showing a 10 inch Weber Costello Black oceans globe.  This globe is much more uncommon than the 12 inch varieties. This particular one is from 1950

10 inch versions of Weber Costello's Black ocean globes come around once in a blue moon. This particular one is in exceptional condition also, not perfect but, you will be waiting a long time to find a better one.   They sold for just a bit less than their larger 12 inch counterpart so practicality said "buy the 12 inch" . That decision 75 years ago makes this little gem much more collectible than your standard Black Oceans globe.
     Normally I buy a globe then post about what I've found. Today I have not snatched this one up. You see This style of globe is not exactly my thing. I own one representative sample and that's all I need. However a lot of my readers love this style of globe and I want to share this great find. It is available for purchase at this link:10 inch Weber Costello globe


How awesome will this globe look in a Mid Century Modern interior, or maybe you're looking for that one thing that will put your look over the top, oh and this globe will hold it's value a lot better than anything you buy from Houzz, or PB, or Crate and Barrel...etc...etc...etc....

UPDATE:  SOLD:   It didn't take long for this particular Black Ocean beauty to find a new home, sold on 6/5/16.   I'm going to leave this post up for a little while just as a bit of an education about the unique variety that exists in the globe market.  Carolyn at Vintage Cals  ( the seller) told me she works very hard to find the better examples of mid century globes, including harder to find black ocean varieties.  If you love this globe well,  there are more of them out there. You just have to be patient to find a good one.
     A note to the new owner, way to go you scored a rare item!

Maps and globes in a couple of unlikely places

     Not too far from my home in central NY is the small town of Corning NY If you've never heard of Corning before you certainly are familiar with their most popular product, Gorilla Glass that being the glass that you are probably looking through right now if you are reading this on any smart phone or tablet. Corning hosts a wonderful museum dedicated to the art and history of glass making.  One of their newest exhibits at the Corning Museum of Glass  is an art installation based on a celestial map.

     This wonderful artwork by Kiki Smith is a 3D version of the celestial sphere we are used to seeing spectacular in person because it is almost 20 feet in diameter, taking up a room of it's own to display!


Up the road a bit from Corning is the city of Rochester NY  and the home of the Strong National Museum of Play , it's a children's museum but so much more in addition to a place for kids they have an extensive collection of antique toys, included in that collection is the worlds first jigsaw puzzle pictured below

     This puzzle is an amazing relic, I love it because it was teaching geography 275 years ago.  Similar puzzles have been made in many variations over the years, in fact they also had this one on display from the late 19th century from America:

    Keep your eye out in your travels you just never know where an interesting map or globe will pop up.   I seem to see them everywhere.........

Star Eraser globes, a bit of a mystery........

     Seneca Falls NY is a lovely small town in the finger lakes region of central NY.  In globe related history this little town has quite a story to tell.  American globe and School supply company was based here from about 1890 until they were acquired by C. F. Weber around the turn of the century.  They sold re badged RandMcNally globes and they come around from time to time.  But there was a second company in this small upstate town that also made ( or at least labeled) globes for sale. Star Eraser company.  This company made a " dustless eraser" for chalkboards. They also sold a range of school supplies including globes.  I had the good fortune recently of acquiring one of their globes and it got me thinking..............

Were Star Eraser, and American globe and school supply related...?  What are the chances that such an out of the way place spawn 2 globe sellers....?   Would you believe that Seneca Falls actually spawned 3 distinct globe sellers in the waning years of the 19th century, but I digress, more on all of that later, lets learn about this gem of a globe first.
     Star Eraser bought gores, or more probably mounted gores from W.&A.K. Johnston, they later sourced gores from Central School supply house in Chicago starting in the mid 1890's.  Then they did what many other school supply houses did and they stuck their label right over the Johnston cartouche.   This globe is fairly old, it is pre 1889 because the US geography shows a single Dakota territory, as well as the whole of present day  Oklahoma is labeled Indian territory.  The geography of Africa suggests an even older date, possibly 1885 but I have come to understand  that Africa geography was sometimes quite out of date, especially with globes for the American market. I'll need to continue researching the company to pin things down further.
     So to be super conservative lets date this globe as an 1888, Star Eraser 8 inch student globe.  This would have been sold through a school supply catalog aimed at teachers and school administrators, this would have been a globe large enough to sit at the teacher's desk in the classroom, and be budget conscious enough to be purchased in quantity so that each classroom could have it's own.   The stand has the same basic tripod design and nickel plating as found on many school globes of the period.  You either got a metal stand like this one, or some manufactures offered a wood stand for a slightly lower price.  Interesting that today the metal stand would be less and the wooden stand would be more.
     This globe stands 16 inches tall, and features a full meridian ring, but no horizon band.  The meridian ring is graduated only on one side, the other side just a plain flat surface.  The globe org is exceptionally well preserved, with many colors still rich, and quite a bit of detailing on the map surface.   The stand does show wear, some of the plating is worn, and there is oxidation as to be expected with the age of the piece.   I just love the look of this globe.  Art and Science mix perfectly here, a functional object that has a simple grace, warm muted colors, a familiar form.  Tell me this globe couldn't be at home on any bookshelf in any home and not look right....?   Add to that the history behind it and I think I have a new favorite!
     Globes from Star Eraser are uncommon to say the least. Produced exclusively for the education market, and for only about a decade their scarcity is assured; two others are known. I'm sure there are more out there but this is a rarity for sure.


     I purchased this globe the old fashioned way, that is to say I bid at a real live auction, no computers, no eBay, none of that. Now granted I bid by phone, but it was in the sale room as the auctioneer wielded his gavel. A surreal experience, nerve wracking to say the least.   I also had the good fortune of being able to attend this auction's preview so that I could inspect the item first hand. What a treat that was, I've been buying things online for so long I forgot what it was like to be able to lay hands on an antique object and really get to know it before buying.
     That is the biggest downfall of buying anything online, you can't touch things.  Antiques are so one of a kind in nature there is a real value to being able to have a close up inspection.  I would have never saw the single Dakota territory and therefore would have never bid as aggressively as I did had I not laid eyes on the object before hand.
     In an upcoming post I want to explore the three....yes three different globe entities that got their start in Seneca Falls NY it's quite an interesting bit of history for the globe enthusiast. A post 3 months in the making

May 27th update:  I have lernd a bit more about the Star Eraser Company,  they were active as early as June 1888 in Seneca Falls NY they were founded by two brothers Frank and William Hammer. Frank Hammer applied for a patent in June 1888 for an improved blackboard eraser he was granted a patent on his design in May 1889 patent number 402,925   Frank Hammer was born in 1861 making him 27 years old when that patent was applied for. This globe dates from the very first days of Star Eraser's existence, and in doing my research it seems that this particular globe is the earliest known globe to come out of Seneca Falls NY.   Quite a piece of history.
     I also want to share a few images of another Star Eraser globe, a bit of an unusual example:

This globe pictured is with thanks to Doyle Antiques in Hudson NY  The globe is an 8 inch offset mounted globe, and there is a brass graduated ruler that encircles the globe presumably to plot distance, or longitude?  I'm very curious to know if this was something offered by Star Eraser, or a later addition. It looks very well made, My guess is that it is original to the globe, please any information chime in on the comments section!

P.S. A little globe item I practacally stole on eBay

     I love casting a wide net when I search for items on eBay. You just never know when something unexpected is going to pop up.  Well that's exactly what happened last week I was scanning some of my usual searches and a great little globe manual was sitting there waiting.
     Weber Costello published this globe manual way back in 1909 meant for teachers it is about 70 pages on how to use a globe effectively as a teaching tool.   This little diddy set me back a whole $3  I mean how can you go wrong I love ephemera for just this reason. Value of many of these items is in the eye of the beholder.
 

An item like this helps you fill in the blanks when you own an old globe, it puts the item back in it's original context. Certainly worth $3  much more in my mind.  It's funny you could go years without a copy of this manual appearing for sale, but not a week after I purchased this one, another showed up and a lucky ebayer scored that one for only $5 another great bargain. but really only a bargain to a collector of globes. 

A couple of mentions for the book club

     I love reading almost as much as I love collecting but sometimes I find a book that blends the two together nicely.  I just finished an interesting bit of reading entitled " The Millionaire and the Bard" Henry Folgr's obsessive hunt for Shakespeare's first folio.  Andrea Mays authors the fascinating look inside the passion that was Mr Folger and his assemblage over the years of more than 70 Shakespeare First folios.  She starts with his humble beginnings and his rise through Standard Oil and finally his dream fulfilled as the Folger Library is dedicated in Washington DC.

     So what drew me to this book?  Well Mr Folger was obsessed, he tooled his whole life around assembling the works of Shakespeare.  He lived modestly in order to devote substantial resources to his collecting. I read it as both a cautionary tale, as well as a look at what's possible when you are determined and singularly focused.  Worth a try, and As Mrs Mays first book, I hope not the last.
     I have also just finished another book entitled JUNK  Digging through America's love affair with stuff,  Alison Stewart an accomplished journalist you might recognize from NPR weaves an interesting look at how we as Americans like to accumulate things.  She explores the rise of the self storage industry, extreme hoarding, and profiles a relatively new industry: the junk removal specialists.
     Too much cheap stuff, clutter, meaningless crap we ( well I ) anyhow am certainly guilty of accumulating too much.  But I like this book because one of the messages that comes through is that we are wasteful, we upgrade too quickly, we change wardrobes too fast, we tire of living room furniture then rush out to Rooms to Go and purchase new, then we start the cycle again.  Worth a look, for me I have always been fascinated by one aspect of the antiques business that comes into the cross hairs of how we generally live today.  That is 100 years ago, or even 50 years ago things were built with longevity in mind. Even basic goods were built with quality.  Think about it.  I can collect a student globe from 1891 in large part because it was built with quality in mind, even a basic consumer good was thoughtfully assembled to last.  There is nothing inside Target, Walmart, or Kohls that you can look at today and honestly say, wow that is built to last.  That's because none of it is.  That's sad really......
   

Where have all the good globes gone, or the globe collector market part 3

    The search for globes ( good collector quality globes ). Is a long arduous process most of the time.   There are times that I will go months on end without finding anything really special in the market.  And I'll tell ya I cast a wide net between traditional auctions, eBay, and other online forums if there is an exceptional globe to be had I've probably at least crossed its path.  I don't buy that often this is true but that does not mean I'm not at least looking.   I'd love to buy more but 2 kids and car maintenance get in the way sometimes.............maybe if I sell the car......?

     OK seriously the past few weeks on eBay have been an amazing place for the globe hunter.  At the beginning of the month we saw the rarest of the rare a James Wilson globe dated 1811 hit eBay.   In the globe world that is the equivalent of an authentic Van Gogh painting being listed  ( OK I exaggerate but you get my point). Wilson started making globes in 1810 and this being an 1811 is as old an American globe your EVER going to see for sale, 205 years old  for an American globe WOW.      Well anyhow it was as to be expected in less than pristine shape,  but the seller was very smart they had this globe evaluated at Green Dragon Bindery and even included a fix estimate for perspective bidders.   This globe sold for $3000 garnering only one bid, here is the link: James Wilson 1811 eBay listing  I admit I saw this auction too late to react.  In retrospect this may turn out to have been the globe find of the year! No exaggeration . After the fix the new buyer will have $6000 into a 200 year old Wilson globe and it will be worth every penny times two.  All I can say is bravo to the new owner you saw what others did not!
     That alone would have made this a stellar month for globe finds but the eBay fun did not stop there. Three auctions all ending within 24 hours of each other between April 16th and 17th have made this an unbelievable month for great globes.  First up we had a New old stock Replogle Global Air race game  This great set was Mint in the box from 1952 bidding was spirited and the globe game reached a respectable sum, but think about it how many new in the box games are there ever going to be to find?  A nice globe to have bought.
     This past weekend also saw one of the nicest Geographic Educator Puzzle globe  I have ever seen  I featured this globe last year  in a post. Made for only 2 years before the company folded this is a must have for a serious globe collector.  This example Is in excellent condition, with only one puzzle piece missing. I've got to get on the hunt for the missing piece because I was the lucky high bidder on this great globe!
     Finally a true rarity in the globe world came up Saturday the 16th A Schedler Hinged school globe  Bidding was predictably intense with this item, and deservedly so. Although not perfect an excellent example of a truly hard to find globe.  Try as I might I did not compete for this great item,  a regret I'm sure but that's just fine.  You can't bid on everything................
     I did not even mention some of the other great globes, and planetariums that have snuck onto and off of eBay so far this April there have been other gems for sure.  I can't remember the last time that there was this much available in such a short period of time. It's nice to see that the good stuff is not all gone.  Sometimes I'll go months without seeing one thing that peaks my interest.   EBay is certainly a cruel mistress in that way.....
     I've linked to all relevent auctions, at some point these links will die and this post will loose it's meaning, but until then study these globes study the auctions great things are always waiting to be found you just need to know where to look.

Vintage or Antique.....What's the difference...?

     If you spend 14 seconds on eBay you're going to run into something labeled vintage or antique. Usually with one or more of the following  adjectives cleverly attached: retro, cool, old, rare, mod, hard to find, deco, mid century,   well you get the idea.  Adjectives they say are the construct of a lazy mind.  Food for thought as I sit here typing. 
     I want to take a look at the word "vintage" as it is encountered within the world of eBay, and other outlets.  Vintage is a hot word a great buzz word that seems to be used whenever the word antique does not quite fit or in cases where if the word antique were to be used it would conjure images of the tragic cat lady's estate sale..... You know the one where the closet is full of depend under garments and you instantly realize you can't buy anything upholstered.  
    Antique is a word that has not changed with the times, it's stuffy and expensive. It's not hip, it's uncool. But vintage now that's fresh it's a new way to describe an old thing.  A replogle globe from 1936 could be antique to one collector or vintage to another a real gray area.
     I struggled when I was setting up my blog as to weather or not include the word antique in the blog title. I knew that seeingà that word would round off some people, I also knew that skipping that word and going with the generic " vintage" might bring in some more initial licks but I'd loose some other people.  In the end I went with antique because I believe in the word. 
     Vintage,  however still looms large I have reluctantly learned to use the word more and more when searching the net, it seems to describe anything from 1850 to 1995!  Perhaps I'm vintage in my thinking..... Maybe I'm not hip or cool maybe I never was....?  My kids are too young to think I'm old and dated but any day now that will change and I'll be vintage. 

Time vs. Money when collecting 2 sides of the equation

     I was reading a current issue of Maine Antiques Digest just today when  I stumbled upon an article about an antique cane auction that took place recently in Indianapolis Indiana at Wickliff Auctioneers.   It was prominently mentioned in the article that the collector Mr Fred Ponton was in search of some of the rarest and best examples of canes and walking sticks available. He collected at the top of the market.   I found it unusual that the auction web site as well As the article in Maine Antiques Digest went out of the way to publicize the prices paid by Mr Ponton as he was assembling his collection.  In many cases Mr Ponton paid 4X's or 5x's what his estate was able to resell these items for;  in some cases these purchases were made 10 plus years ago.
     Did this individual not know the market...?   On the contrary Mr Ponton probably knew the antique cane market better than almost anyone.  So what gives, why did he consistently overpay......?   Or maybe the question is did he actually overpay.....?
       The auction house and the magazine article both mention that the majority of this collection was assembled through M.S. Rau Antiques in New Orleans.  M.S. Rau is at the high end of the antiques trade, with an excellent reputation, as well as a very knowledgeable staff.  They are to antiques what Tiffany's or Cartier are to fine jewelry.  The article stated that Mr Ponton wanted to see new canes as they became available through M.S. Rau on a first refusal basis. In other words he wanted first crack at these items, and it sounded as if he probably didn't have the time himself to scour countless auction catalogues and hunt endless sales to find these treasures that way.
     Of course letting someone else find, authenticate, and acquire antiques then present them to you for consideration is a luxury that costs a considerable sum of money.  Many collectors go about this method of collecting and for many different reasons this works best for them.   This method of collecting is of great interest to individuals who have a passion for collecting but their time is constrained by their work.  Many book collectors choose this method of collecting in that they choose one or two dealers to work with to build a collection giving the dealer free reign to buy on their behalf the best examples for their collection, an exercise that takes many years to complete in some extreme cases.
     On the other side of the equation is the individual I'll call the time collector.  This individual shares a passion for building a collection, and has the luxury of being able to devote more time in the search for the treasures they are collecting. This person usually has a more constrained budget for collecting, or at least has decided that for one reason or another they are more price sensitive than the other collector.
     So let me put my theory into pictures, below I have a 12 inch Joslin globe on an offset mount dated to about 1888. A desirable piece for any mid range to advanced collector.

     This globe is available for sale often enough that I can illustrate the time VS. money equation very nicely.  Right now from several higher end dealers this globe  or one essentially similar is available at a cost of around $3500 to $4500.  That is the range of the dealers asking prices, what that means is that the piece is available now, clean, vetted by an expert, a no surprise transaction.   On the time side of the equation this globe also becomes available on the auction market at least once a year, through better auction houses think Skinner, Freemans, Bonhams, ect.... This globe does not generally rise to the best most prestigious houses, think Christies, and Sothebys, unless part of an entire estate.  If you'r willing to wait and comfortable bidding at auction then you could be rewarded with this globe in your collection for about $1500 to $2000 including auction fees. This price assumes in both examples an original or professionally restored globe free of any major defects, and needing no restoration.   So if you're in no hurry and willing to wait it out so to speak you can save 1/2 to 2/3 of the normal dealer price for this particular example.
     That is probably pretty typical, now let me tell ya.....I've been on both sides of the equation often times I wait....and wait.....and wait some more for a globe to come my way via less costly channels.  Once in a while I do go straight to a dealer or other high end venue either because waiting didn't pan out  ( which happens) or something just too good to pass up is available.
     I suspect most people who read this blog scour multiple channels looking for that next great find, we probably most often fit into the time category.  Now what king of collection can you put together using each method?  Well obviously money helps,  some items, real rarities come around only through dealer channels and that's fine,  most items that pre date 1860 or so would find their way to market this way. That is not to say all, far from it but any globe new to market that is that old needs some level of professional conservation, be it a simple cleaning, or some small repairs. These are hidden costs a dealer bears before you see the globe for sale.  Newer material say from 1900 onwards can be readily had via the time method.  Waiting and watching work well as these materials are less rare and waiting for the best example that meets your price expectation is smart in my opinion.   So given a long horizon, of lets say a decade or two  ( not kidding)  one can and will assemble an impressive collection of globes  and will probably pay on average 1/2 of what it would cost to put the same collection together via a dealer.   Now that's a life long commitment it takes a passionate  ( read just a bit crazy)  person like myself.....Ha Ha  to undertake that method.  The same could be accomplished in about 3 years if money were no object.
     Now some people are going to read this latest post and say,  Kyle you've got something against dealers!!   Not true......far from it in fact.   I'm just being realistic about a trade off every collector must make.  I maintain a relationship with several dealers with specific " want list " items  things that I realize will take years to find and that I don't want to miss as I concentrate on more readily available items.  I guess I run a bit of a hybrid system,  will I have 1st refusal as the dealers best customer,  no and I know that going in, will I get a call if the best customer passes somthing up?  Yes and I can live with that.   I guess I'm a 70% / 30%  Time / money collector.   Where do you fall?  what do you think?  message me, or add comments below !

So.......Who made this globe......? Sometimes it's hard to tell.

     It's not always clear when you look at a globe and read the cartouche to determine where the globe came from and who made it.  Kinda counterintuitive isn't it?    Most branded  products we encounter are easy to identify.  if it says Apple or Samsung those companies designed and engineered and sold the product, if the car says BMW it was designed and engineered and sold by that one company,
     Not so with globes, especially in America.  They were different.  For example I own a globe with gores made by GW Bacon ( U.K. ) then assembled by Weber Costello ( Chicago ). Finally sold by Hammond's ( NY )  So who made the globe?  Where did it come from?  Why was this done?   To what benefit?  Most importantly, how can we spot these subtleties?    Well let's explore together.
     The case of Kittinger.  Kittinger furniture is a beloved American furniture brand, they happen to be based right here in my home town of Buffalo NY.  On a regular basis their globes come up for sale, the cartouche usually reads "Kittinger globe, Buffalo NY".  But they never made globes, not even close, they probably didn't even make the ornate stands that their globes came in.  Most everything they sold as far as globes was made by W and A K Johnson  ( Edinburgh). It was shipped to America, probably with the Kittinger label already in place.  Why do this?  Well quite simply if your selling high end home furnishings wouldn't it be great to offer a globe in a matching finish  to accessorize your new furniture?  Marshall Fields, and Wannamaker's did the same things selling globes on furniture quality  stands as home accessories in their furniture departments. This cartouche shows A rather decorative Kittinger label, even using the word "Manufactures"  but clearly below it states copywright by W. & A. K. Johnston Ltd.
      Ok so what about Weber Costello, and Rand McNally and Hammonds,  well at various times they made and re labeled for each other.   Here is one example from my own collection a Weber Costello made, but Hammonds labled globe.   As you can see to the left Weber Costello's manufacturing label is prominently displayed above the Hammond & CO Label that is affixed over the Weber cartouche.  So then who made this globe?  Weber Costello made this example, and Hammond bought the globe, re labled it and passed it into market as it's own.   This was common practice but  can become confusing 80 or 100 years later when we try to determine a point of manufacture.
     Below I want to show another rather rare example of this practice.  Here we have a globe "manufactured"  by a school supply company  A. P. Mott & CO  but this is a total fabrication on the part of this school supply company.  Rand McNally made this globe in the early 1890's and they then sold it to many school supply houses, as well as retailing it themselvs, some of those companies saw fit to over label as their own and here we have an example of that in action.   When you look at the globe it is clearly copywright 1891 Rand McNally at the south pole, and if you look very closely the eadge of the original Rand McNally cartouche is visible peeking out on either side of the Mott over label.   So If I had to answer  who made this globe?  I'd answer Rand McNally, and sold by AP Mott.

A few notes about collecting,  It is interesting to discover all of the different school supply, department stores, and furniture makers that did this.  It becomes more confusing because Rand McNally, Weber Costello, and Hammond, all made globes of their own, and also engaged in the practice of over labeling other globes. Then you've got the many school supply companies who manufactured nothing and were just middle men. And if that were not confusing enough. There were furniture companies and Department stores that did not manufacture the orbs, but certainly had a hand in the design, and sometimes the manufacture of the stand.




****A special thanks to Omniterrum for the picture of the Kittinger Cartouche, that particular globe is currently available here: Kittinger Globe  ****