A quick update post

      Summertime is short where I live, It's been a while since I posted but this time of year it's just too hard to sit indoors and concentrate, but fear not loyal reader I have a couple of great posts coming up soon.
     I'm taking a trip to Washington DC to visit the Library of Congress and view their extensive collection of globes, and globe related items, including un mounted gores from some of America's greatest globe makers.   Expect to see an update in about a week or so.

until then enjoy summer like I am and happy hunting!

BELOW:
I'm always on the hunt when I travel, I swung into a great antique co-op in Pennsylvania during a recent road trip, and this great school map was waiting for me. Way out of my comfort zone but it was just too good to pass up and a bargin I think at $75 !
It's not terribly old ( 1960 )  the reverse has a map of the world, the frame allows for easy display of either side.

Collecting globe related items part 1. Globe related ephemera

     OK so you've purchased some nice globes, check,  now maybe you have added a map or two perhaps one of great personal interest, check.......well what else is out there........?   Well there is a whole world ( get it world, ha ha )  of globe related collectibles that you might be interested in.  So what are globe related collectibles?  Anything that has to do with the globe, could be a catalog, or a Manuel. Globe toys, banks, or other novelty items are also included.  Other planetary models, solar systems, ectera might also be lumped in.  These are items that I think deserve attention, and might be of interest to some collectors and might be blasphemy to others.  I know a collector who in addition to  some nice globes focuses his attention on antique telescopes!  Well they certainly are related, and beautifully so.
    I'd love to give some examples of some collecting that is in this broad category.  I am always on the lookout for catalogues, manuals, fliers, and ads for globes. These transient paper items are known as ephemera; basically anything that was made to advertise or compliment a globe made of paper.  Weber, Rand McNally, Andrews, Holbrook, Crams, they all made this material and I try to acquire it when I can.  Below I'm showing a few examples of  " globe ephemera"  I've collected over the past couple of years, you see I just started looking for these items myself, but what great additions in their own right.
     I want to share an exceptional find with you, on eBay  I purchased a rare copy of Andrews Tellurian Globe Manual published 1885.  This booklet acompanied the Andrews Tellurian and was an extensive guide for teachers to use so that they could best demonstrate sun earth and moon movements with the device. This copy is complete no missing pages, some foxing to the binding otherwise in nice condition for what it is. Too bad it is no longer attached to the Telurian.....
I hope to change that   Someday.......

      This next group of pictures shows a group of A.H. andrews correspondence dated 1873 an interesting assemblage. Essentially it was a "cold call" to a local government official requesting a list of school officials, in exchange for this list the sender would receive a subscription to some sort of newsletter.  If you think about it not a bad way to find new customers pretty ingenious given the limits of the time.   Also interesting is the continued use of the Holbrook name more than 10 years after acquisition by Andrews.  I paid  less than $5 for this little gem a bargin for these nuggets of history.

     The next photo is a grouping of 2 globe Manuels from the the 1930's and 40's as well as a school supply catalog from 1923. Page 115 shows globes priced from $4.55 to $34.10   I love these bits of knowledge about the price of these globes when they were new, puts things in perspective a little bit.
     The fact that a school supply catalog even survives 90 years on and was purchased for less than the cost of the least expensive globe advertised is the real treasure!

     These are just a few quick examples of the type of globe ephemera that is lurking out there, needles in a haystack for sure but when found are usually very reasonably priced.  Everything on this post was found on eBay, and I'll tell you I've missed more of it than I found because I don't search as rigorously for these items as I do for the globes themselvs. Other places to find this material include specialized epherema dealers, there are quite a lot of them out there suprisingly.  Old paper items are very popular with collectors.

***If your reading this post and you have any globe related paper materials that you are interested in selling please contact me via email I might be interested in purchase!***

The Skinner sale April 25, 2015 Vera Rubin globe collection

     Skinner Auction house in Boston held a Clock, Watches, and Scientific Instrument sale April 25th 2015 that included a very nice collection of globes from American Astronomer  Vera Rubin.
     A little background on this remarkable woman who assembled this great collection of globes, Vera Rubin is as mentioned an Astronomer who holds degrees from Vassar, Cornell, and Georgetown, she is also the recipient of The Presidents National Medal of Science ( 1993) , among many other awards.  Ill say I knew nothing of Dr. Rubin until I read up on her before the Skinner sale, but the more I read the more fascinated I was.  The description of her Astronomical study, even in the simplified Wiki format flummoxed me. Suffice it to say that we need to celebrate women like Vera Rubin as role models for our daughters, and perhaps celebrate the Kardachians a bit less...........
     Did I mention she collected globes........well yes, and they were part of a recent auction. The Sale with a link here: Skinner Sale    Featured about a dozen lots of antique globes, and celestials.  Being an astronomer you will not be surprised that many of the globes offered were of the celestial variety.
     One of the most noteworthy in my opinion were a pair of globes from George Phillip and sons London please follow the link here:  Phillips 6 inch globe pair  This delightful pair was estimated at $400-$600 but blew those numbers away with a hammer price of $1,722 including premium.  Now that's a lot of money for a small pair of globes from the 1920's......Or is it?   You see this lot demonstrates the power of having a pair. Collectors love a pair of items, the magic of a set! That, and exceptional condition drove this  lot to the lofty price Given that assembling a pair would take an incredible amount of time searching, more than justifies the price.
     I want to mention one more standout Lot 212 a Gilman Joslin 16 inch celestial table globe linked here:  Joslin 16 inch celestial globe   I want to use this globe to illustrate desirability.  This globe checks all the boxes:  great condition,  hard to find size, and celestial sphere rarity, sold for $2,700 this was a bargain considering that at 125-130 years old these don't come up very often, I'm betting the buyer owns the terrestrial counterpart, even if not whoever bought this globe bought one of the nicest examples of a Joslin celestial globe you will find, and the impressive 16 inch size only adds to the rarity of this beauty.
     I encourage you to follow the links, and browse this sale, globes start at lot 211 but there are many more great scientific instruments and such that are related. These auction archives are the best way I've found to get a sense of what's available in the antiques market, as well as where prices are falling for different categories of antiques and collectibles ( always a moving target)
   

Globe conservation and protection part 2 Renaissance wax review

     I'm always looking for ways to protect my collection from environmental concerns, weather that be sun exposure  ( previous post)  or the subtle effects of dust, handling, and humidity.  I'll admit that I might be a little late to the party on this one : Renaissance wax, this product is a microcrystalline wax developed by the British Museum in the 1950's as a polish, and protectant for it's collection.
     Ok so I was introduced to this product by Omniterrum and then again by another friend and collector who was using it with his collection. Well I thought ....I gotta try this stuff.  So I ordered a 200 ml jar of this wax, and I got started.
     This wax is oil based ( and it smells the part)  but surprisingly even indoors vapors and fumes are not a problem. Upon first opening the package I thought I might have to setup in the garage to use this stuff, not so, no lingering odor whatsoever.  The same can't be said for most furniture waxes, boy your whole house smells for 3 days after you've waxed the credenza.....but I digress....
     Lets start with some before and after pictures shall we:

RandMcNally base before

RandMcNally base after

Rand McNally base after wax

    So these two pictures above  show a before and after application of Renaissance wax. The pictures do not necessarily do this product justice the after is defiantly cleaner, and brighter but without being glossy and plastic looking, a muted sheen that adds to and accentuates the existing patina.  Here is another picture of another globe base that had always troubled me.
     This globe base on the right is from a 1930 Rand McNally library globe a nice globe, but the base had always been it's weakness. Despite my best efforts the base of this globe was always a bit drab, the richness of the wood lost in a dull finish. Enter the Renaissance wax and a little elbow grease and a glowing deep shine was resulted.
     Below another globe base with a dramatic deep shine, a Weber Costello base:
               
                                                                     

     

Weber Costello base after wax

You're probably wondering what about the globe orb? Well yes this product is indeed safe to apply right onto the surface of the orb itself, I have already treated 3 of my pieces and there is a definite difference in the before and after, but not enough of a difference that my phone camera was able to pick up. This product is defiantly most dramatic on metal and wood. However The wax was able to impart a sheen and lend a depth to the colors of the globe orb. It is not a cure all. if the shellac is missing, or very warn this product is not going to replace the missing finish. What it will do is enhance the old finish, protect from dust, dirt, and the general environment as well as lend a slight sheen to the finish. All said a nice result for the time and effort. Best of all it is safe, and already trusted by museums world wide. 

     Now that you have seen the potential results lets get down to the nitty gritty. The how to segment...

For best application you will need pure cotton cloths, at least two, one for application and one for buffing. Try and find lint free cotton cloths, old t-shirts actually work really well.  I have been told that for buffing the wax nothing beats a horsehair brush, a reader and fellow collector has tried this with great results, but use 100% horse hair only, no synthetics!   When it comes to wax application, a little goes a long way. I can't stress this enough don't get carried away applying a thick film of wax, all you are doing is wasting product and wasting time buffing off the excess. Remember 99% of a good wax job is in the removal of the wax leaving a microscopic invisible film behind.
     Unlike furniture wax, or car wax for that matter this wax dries very quickly after application, minutes not hours are involved in letting this stuff cure.
     Some specific tips related to application to a globe orb:
1. take your time, most damage to antiques occurs during routine handling, so plan ahead and slow down.
2. Be careful, apply wax with a light touch, you don't have to buff the wax into the globe, a light easy motion works best.
3. when buffing the wax, go slow, be gentle, this product removes easily, and if you used the proper amount there will be not too much to take off
4. Remove all the wax, but don't over buff, unlike a wooden or metal piece you are not going to burnish the wax less is more here!
5. Before you tackle a delicate surface like a globe orb practice on something less delicate like a piece of furniture, or  similar. Get some familiarity it really is a versatile product.

Finding this wax is easy, I purchased from Amazon, but there are many outlets that sell it, expect to pay $20 US plus shipping, and that 200ml container will probably last you years even if you use it all over the house!
     I'm probably going to go further with this product, but will I use it on every piece of my collection?  Not sure.....in the mean time I think I'll just sit back on the davenport and admire progress so far.


P.S Is that the Paw Patrol lookout tower in the background of my pictures?  Yes...Yes it is....

As always I'd love to hear from fellow collectors, comments always welcome, or drop me a line via email.  happy hunting...
   

Andrews celestial globe.......the stars aligned to find this one!

     I want to share something that, when I saw it I thought " wow I never figured that I'd find that."  A12 inch full mount A.H. Andrews celestial globe.

A.H. Andrews full mount celestial globe

     This find reminds me of exactly why I love this hobby so much.  A perfect blend of art and science, equal parts sculpture and scientific instrument.  Dare I say the definitive American celestial  globe.
     This globe stands an impressive 22 inches tall, and is a full mount on a substantial baluster turned base.  Metal fittings are all brass the plaster orb is covered with a blue, gold and black celestial gore showing star placement, and Greek constellations.  The Andrews cartouche is clearly an overlabel I suspect that the gore printing was handled in The U.K.  The horizon ring is an unusual 12 sided design a distinct feature of Andrews products from the latter 1/3d of the 19th century.   Andrews Is also distinctive for their wonderfully intricate turned bases, and the thoughtful use of substantial brass fittings.  The meridian ring is also of brass with degree graduations.  Jules Verne?  Steampunk?  Yeah maybe a little, but isn't that great!  A Chicago globe in it's highest form, beautiful.......

Unique 12 sided horizon ring

Close up cartouche

     Let's talk condition,  this Andrews celestial globe is in wonderful overall condition, the map is wonderfully intact, the wooden and brass fittings are all present and accounted for, even the 2 brass set screws that hold the horizon ring in place are present, these are often missing.  The brass is old and original, not brightly polished, nothing overly renewed just left alone.  The horizon ring is intact, and does show age and some foxing as is often the case when paper is mounted directly to wood; pictures seem to accentuate it. In person it is very unobtrusive nothing I would work to remove.  The 12 sided horizon ring even retains most of the red accent paint it originally had, but the guilt edging is mostly gone. There is evidence of some  repairs to the globe surface, and the shellac has certainly been redone, a professional job, and not at all unexpected in a globe of this vintage.  As a package, a wonderful example.
     The moment I found this globe for sale, I went to work researching others like it.  I reviewed past sales, and auction histories in online databases, as well as sales archives at the larger U.S. Auction houses, of course dealer archives were searched as well.  Why is any of this important?  Well as exhaustive as I was I could find few Andrews globe sales at all, and only one other celestial globe sold in the past decade.  That globe, sold in 2010 was in poor condition, but it's cartouche matched exactly. The mount was different, but consistent with Andrews offerings of the time period.  I found no further records of this model in terrestrial or celestial format, in my extensive search. Note this other example and matching cartouche in the two pictures immediately below. I have seen several 8 inch wooden base Andrews globes for sale over the years, but I have yet to see a 12 inch Andrews wooden base globe available until this one.

matching cartouche ( auction 2010)

Andrews celestial sold 2010

       The Andrews sales catalog from 1881 lists this model, with picture for the price of $25  please see the globe at the bottom left of the scan below.
      So what does any of this mean?  Well simply this is an uncommon globe, both terrestrial, and celestial examples are few and far between;  concerning celestial spheres from American globe manufactures, Murray Hudson writes that celestial globes are much less common, he puts the ratio of terrestrial to celestial spheres at over 100 to one!
     American globe manufactures, especially the fledgling Chicago globe makers, were concerned with volume sales, mass marketing was their goal. Factory production is only cost effective if you can move a lot of units. this meant 2 things. First a focus on school ( read high volume). Second it meant that the traditional European standard of a "set" of two globes went out the window.  So these manufactures never really sold globes as a set, they sold individual globes, celestial always offered as an option, but by volume a small part of the business.
     Warning.  Opinion ahead.......  Many U. S. Globe manufactures had their own terrestrial maps engraved, but for the comparatively low volume celestial business I'm betting they contracted out with an established manufacturer probably in the U. K.   I imagine at any given time at Andrews, as terrestrial globes dominated, they kept a few celestial spheres on hand for the odd order that came through.
     Something else to realize is that as we look at Andrews as a globe manufacturer, this was only a small part of their business, their main focus and the bulk of their sales came from school furnishings.
Globes for Andrews were like Apple TV, a relatively small niche product, still a great quality product but the phone ( or in this case school desks ). Paid the bills.
     So how old is this treasure of American ingenuity?  Answering that question took some long hours researching. What we know with strong certainty is that A.H. Andrews as a globe maker existed roughly from 1867 until 1896. Remember that previous to 1867 This company was Hollbrook, and after 1896 Andrews sold their globe division to C. F. Weber.    The Andrews catalog of 1881 states that celestial globes are newly available.  The cartouche of this globe is an over label probably of a Johnson celestial gore ( just a guess) , but it does not suggest C. F. Weber successors to Andrews as would have been the case post 1896.  So this globe was made some time between 1881 and 1896  narrowing the manufacture date further would take more research. Suffice it to say it was made during Andrews heyday period when they dominated Chicago globe making.

The globe on the left $25 in 1881

 Celestial advertised ( New )  1881

     I really enjoy sharing this globe with you, I just love hunting for these old relics of Americana.  Now all I have to do is track down the terrestrial...........

An unbeleiveable globe at the Buffalo Museum of Science

     My local science museum, The Buffalo Museum of Science, is one of those places that both a child and a parent can get lost in for hours, fun for all ages.
     My son and I were mesmerized by an exhibit involving a globe,  not an antique globe but a wonderfully interactive globe. This globe was huge about 3 feet in diameter and it was essentially a projector using a computer touch screen the user can change the map on the globe into hundreds of different variations.  What do I mean?  Well this globe can show population density, shipping routes, forested areas, even face book friendships!  Most intriguing to me was the projections of antique maps onto the globe, see my pictures below.
     We concentrate on antique globes , and sometimes it's easy to forget that a globe is still very useful as a tool. This giant globe really takes the usefulness of the globe in another direction.  I'll tell you this if you've got young kids there is nothing more interactive than a nice globe to explore the world in a hands on way.

     Not forgetting the old globes, like a bloodhound I sniffed out an interesting old globe on display also. This one I was not familiar with, the pictures below show a Uniclock Globe.   This interesting clock/ globe was manufactured by the  Universal clock and globe company of Wilmington Delaware

I can't seem to find too much about them but interesting nonetheless! 

   

Understanding how an antique comes to market

    OK how does that pre WW1 desk globe in near mint condition come to market?  How does that exceptionally well preserved 1950 Black ocean Peerless globe come to market?  Would you believe that the answer could be different for both of these items!
     Antiques enter the collector market in only 2 different ways, and this difference explains the antique globe market very clearly as I will show you.  So here goes a not so expert analysis.......

Pre WW1 W& A.K. Johnson

1. Fresh to market, ( sometimes called new to market)   You have all heard that term, well what does it mean? Ask 10 collectors or dealers and you are likely to get 10 different answers. So here is my definition: A fresh to market antique is one that has never been exposed to the antiques marketplace ever before.  That means it's never been on eBay, auctioned, or sat as inventory in an antiques shop.  It comes from the original owner, or the descendant of the original owner.  It might come from a second owner that has a direct link to the original owner, but this is a gray area for me.

2. An established antique or collectible,  This is any item that has ever in it's life entered the antiques marketplace.  This includes an item purchased from an antiques dealer in 1950 and passed down to a grandson who then puts this item on eBay, this item is not new or fresh to market, it was absent from market for a long time but it's not new.  Anything once on eBay, Fleaglass, or  Ruby Lane and searchable in this day in age is certainly in this category.

1950 Weber Costello Peerles

So what is the significance of this and why do I care?  Well we globe collectors spend the majority of our time in a semi searching/ researching mode. There are not that many globes, or opportunities to purchase what we seek so 90% of the time we are learning, or searching for the next item for our collections. If you just read that sentence you are researching right now,  ha ha I caught you!!
     Fresh to market is exciting, a new opportunity, the first opportunity to buy an antique is exciting, and special, firstly if you are buying something fresh to market you set the value, and if you are a collector that's an exciting proposition. Now how do you buy something fresh to market?  There are only two ways. You can buy at auction weather it be eBay, or  traditional;  secondly you can buy at an estate liquidation, weather an estate ( or tag) sale or estate auction.  Under my definition if a dealer advertises something as fresh to market, they are really saying:  fresh to retail.  A dealer rarely gets fresh to market merchandise under my definition, a high end dealer probably has had one, probably two middle men handle an antique before they receive it into inventory, each adding a layer of profit.
     Any other time except the very first sale is an established antique sale, that is the person who first buys it weather dealer, collector, or picker knows the full value of the item,  and any subsequent sale weather to a collector or up the chain of the business is an established antique.
     An established antique is always more expensive than a fresh to market item. Is that a bad thing? Well no not at all. When I buy an established antique I'm buying a value added item, I am purchasing something that has been found, vetted, and marketed, and in some cases guaranteed. That is an important thing especially if I'm buying something outside my very narrow band of knowledge. Truth be told even within my area of knowledge it is sometimes great to see value in an item that someone else also sees value in, it is reassuring.
     So then why do I care again?..........  Well I think it's important as collectors that we step back and  take a look at the whole sales process that encompasses antiques. It is setup unlike anything else that we buy.  The only thing you can buy where knowledge is true power.  You can research that new car purchase for months but you'll never have a real chance to buy that car for less than it's worth.  Smoke and mirrors will have you believe otherwise but who is fooling who. Not so with antiques, you can work smarter not harder!
     Let's back up to the first paragraph of this post, I mentioned 2 globes and how they might each come to market very differently.  First I want to look at our pre WW1 desk globe pictured, it's 100 years old, the person who purchased this globe new is long gone they passed away, and their estate sale occurred in 1988.  back then give or take 5 years was the window when this antique would have been in plentiful supply, coming "fresh to market" on a regular basis right out of the estate.  Now lets look at that 1950 Black ocean Peerless, well grandmas going into the nursing home right now and her baby boomer son's old globe that she never got around to throwing out is popping up in estate sales as we speak, hence the plentiful supply on the Internet.  I want to venture that the window of opportunity to buy a great example of this globe "fresh to market" closes around 2020, so we've got time great examples are still around.  As for our other example the WW1 globe it is now almost exclusively the domain of established antiques sellers, be they collectors, specialty auctions, or dealers. Exceptional examples will almost always come from these sources.
     I want to clarify myself when it comes to eBay, items on eBay can be fresh to market, or established antiques, if a dealer is selling it's established, if it's a picker, also established, it it's listed by someone clearing out their relatives house, or their own house it might be fresh.  It's never black and white, lots of gray between these definitions.  Auctions at least of any sot let those with knowledge set the market price, and that's a good thing!
     So how do I put this into practice?  What I like to do is always keep the door open to fresh sales, be they from eBay, estates, or even networking. I also love dealer sales because the hard work  ( finding the item ) is already done.  Buying from another collector is also a very rewarding opprutunity, why? Well because though not a fresh to market item,  it is not retail either, that gray area again.
     You know, thinking about antiques in this way kinda makes me wonder why did 50's mod explode 10 or so years ago? Was it newly fashionable?  Or is it that the original owners of all of those 50's ranches and the furniture in them all hit the market at once due to the demographics of the owners? We as society have an uncanny knack to make what is available, also popular...
     So what's the "next big thing" then? How can I profit from this this info?...  well duh.... if I had storage space I'd start stock piling 80's boom boxes, Transformers, and every mint in the box NES cartridge I could get my hands on.....money in the bank come 2025............ Not to mention pristine examples of pre Berlin wall globes :)


P.S.  In all seriousness; buy an antique for love, not for money. You'll be happier in the long run....

****Both photos in this post are with thanks to Dee Wiemer, owner of Upstarts on Etsy****

Overpaying for an antique.....it's OK once in awhile and here's why

     Have you ever bought something, anything really, and brought it home then had that sinking feeling........" I think I overpaid"  you say, then you check the ads maybe go on the Internet...... well if you just bought an antique it's not that easy, it's next to impossible to compare one piece to another.   So  what does it mean to overpay for an antique? More importantly How do I know if I did, and How can I prevent doing so in the future?
     First what type of buyer are you?   dealer?    dealer/ collector?    Pure collector?
If you are a dealer, stop reading now this post just doesn't apply to you.  Nothing against dealers, but this is not  fit advice to follow.  Now a lot of people are a bit dealer, and a bit collector.  Trying to balance their love of an area of collecting with the desire to make some money. If this is you then read on, perspective might come.  Finally are you a pure collector? Do you buy first for the love of the object?  If so then please read on......
     I want to mention right from the outset that I am a pure collector, I sell only to upgrade my collection, which in this hobby is rarely.   So back on track, overpaying for anything is something nobody likes to do, but I've learned a valuable lesson along the way. It's almost impossible to overpay if you are buying the best example of what you are collecting. That goes for anything, from early American furniture, to 1980's lunch boxes, and certainly to  old globes!
     But Kyle....you can't be serious, of course you can overpay!  Someone is probably yelling that at the monitor right now. Yes people overpay for run of the mill antiques all the time, average condition, will always be just that..average....
     Let me clarify myself.  and please pay attention!!  You can overpay for almost anything you buy day to day, we are pre programed to find the deal, and 99 times out of 100 finding the deal means finding the lowest price. As Americans we are obsessed with saving money on everything.  Look no further than Amazon, Wal Mart, etc... we love deals, heck I love deals.  Now I want to concentrate on the 1% of the time when getting the deal might not be price based!
     Antiques of any type are inherently hard to comparison shop, because as an antique buyer you must contend with price, age, condition, context, condition, and demand. Notice I mentioned condition twice.  If you are a regular reader of this blog you will notice that I harp on condition, I am the biggest fan of buying less but buying better, and therein lies my nugget of wisdom.  If you are buying only the best examples of what you want to collect it becomes very hard to overpay for those antiques.  Demand for the nicest examples of any antique will always be there, when prices of antiques go down, and they sometimes do, it is usually the middle or lower end of any category that suffers, the best examples of any collectible or antique nearly always are stable or increasing. Aiming your collecting budget at the very best examples of an antique category is always the best practice.  So I submit that it is better to overpay and acquire the best  and fewer examples, rather than " save" money and buy a middle of the road example of the same antique.
     So why have I posted this now?  What's my angle?  Well a month ago I missed out on something, and I want to share this with you, a lesson learned, please follow this link:  1960 Trippensee Planetarium  This link takes you to an eBay auction that I bid on and lost, if you're reading this and you were the lucky winner congratulations on a smart buy.  This Tellurion was not too old, 1960 but it's condition was exceptional, right down to the instruction manual I bid into the high $500 range, and the winner was high $700 you see I was nervous that I was going to overpay.  I knew I was wrong 1 minute after the auction closed.  I was blind until defeat.  I cheaped out, so to speak.  Now this is not a rare item, these come up about once a month, or so in varying condition, but how often do the come to market complete, and in exceptional condition? That is a much rarer event, and in my mind definitely worth the premium this telurion brought.
     So was this item worth more than the sale price?  Would going higher have been OK?  I'm going to go ahead and say yes, and here's why.  An item such as this is only over time going to become more scarce, add in excellent condition and I think the case can be made that a true collector can and should go after such an item with a different level of determination, because lets fast foreword 10 years ( we're in the long game are we not? ) What is this item going to sell for in the antiques market?  probably $1500 give or take a bit, so would paying up for the privilege of condition be such a bad thing?  Now your average tellurian of this vintage, sells for $350-$550 right now and will probably sell for $450-$700 in a decade. Price appreciation in antiques is not even across the spectrum, it greatly favors the top 10% of best condition examples. Now, missing that tellurion is not the end of the road, another great one will surface, eventually... and I'll be waiting.
     So just like real estate it's all condition, condition, condition.  Keep that in your mind when buying and everything else will work itself out.   One caveat,  I don't invest in antiques, I collect something I'm passionate about, if a monetary gain occurs, great!! It is not my main focus. Buying smartly we should have an eye on resale eventually, I've learned to never say never.
     Finally if you are interested in an area of collecting and it gives you pleasure to pursue your interest well then what price can you put on that.

The Miami International Map fair

     Boy, I wish I were going to the Miami International map fair...........the heck with the maps I'm in Buffalo NY and baby it's cold outside.  I need a winter break.  Well next year count me in. Anyway this is billed as the largest Map fair in the U.S. the dates for this years show are fast approaching they are February 5th through 8th 2015. This is the 22nd year of this fair and it draws dealers from all over the United States, but also from Europe as well.  Here is the link: Miami Map fair
      Now 98% of everything on display at this fair is not a globe, but that's OK because 2% will be globes, compared to any random antique market this is huge, plus what a great place to network with other collectors and dealers in our field.
     I've been thinking about maps a lot lately.  Realistically obtainng any globe made before 1850 or so is a difficult exercise, they just are so few and far between, not so of maps.  Would it not be a great introduction to a globe collection to also have a nice example of a world map from say 1800 ( suprisingly affordable) or even 1700 ( pricey but not entirely out of reach)  A globe collector that ignores maps would be foolish, there are always wonderful opprutunities to augement your collection with a carefully chosen map.

How to date a globe, a practical guide

   How do you date an antique globe,  well globes like to play hard to get, so be persistent.   She's not going to expose all of her secrets on the first go around, you've got to be patient  study the globe only then will her true age come through........

Ok seriously how old is my globe?????

Globes rarely have a date on them, so you have to study the geography, but it's not exactly that simple to accurately date a globe.  Here's why,  let's use the example of Central Australia this province existed from: February 1927 to June 1931  so globes produced late 1927 may have this change as well as globes produced through 1931.  A globe of 1926 vintage will not have Central Australia, but one from 1927 may or may not we will never know.  It's important to realize that globe makers played to their home markets, for example a British cartographer might be faster to update a change in a British territory, whereas an American cartographer might be slower to make a change. Keep in mind that updating globe gores was expensive. An important political change in one part of the world might have been looked at as minor somewhere else.
     Does a year make a difference in value? well it might and it might not. Probably not and dating globes geographically is 80% history, 20% common sense.  So with that I plan to offer a common sense globe dating guide, I want to fill in the blanks but since we concentrate on American globes we will look at the years 1830 to 1950.
     So take this list and add a year or so to the date of the event to give the cartographers time to catch up so to speak.

1830: French Algeria (July)  Belgium becomes independent, (September)
1832: Greece Independence (May)
1836: Republic of Texas ( March)
1845: Texas is incorporated as our 28th state (December )
1848: Oregon territory added to the United States
1855: Van Diemen's land changes name to Tazmania
1867: Alaska purchase ( November)
1869: Suez canal opens ( November)  do some 1868 globes show the canal? Of course...
1885: Congo free state in southern Africa (May)
1889: Dakota territory is split into North and South Dakota, and admitted as our 39th and 40th states ( November)
1904: Panama is independent of Columbia
1914: Panama Canal opens ( August)  *might have appeared a year or two early on globes!
1912: Italian North Africa ( present day Lybia)
1919: Treaty of Versailles,  many map changes in Europe and Africa
1922: Russia changes to Soviet Union ( December) * so even 1923 globes may say Russia!
1927: Central Australia formed ( February)
1931:Central Australia ceases to exist (June)
1935: Persia changes to Iran ( March)
1938: Austria is annexed by Germany ( March)
1939-1946: So many changes due to war, many globe makers stopped updating maps, instead they sold globes with a coupon you could mail in later and they would send update stickers!
1949: Isreal recognized
1953: The Kingdom of Egypt is renamed Republic of Egypt


So within this list there are some key dates that represent a spike in value. The first being WW2 a pre WW2 globe will carry a premium. The next spike in globe value becomes WW1 anything pre WW1 is going to carry an additional premium because after this war Europe looses it's empires, a globe displaying the Austria Hungarian empire just lends an almost ancient " long ago" status to the globe in question.  The next value spike comes from America in 1889 Dakota territory split into 2 states, a pre Dakota split globe is more desirable than one made just after the split. Why?  Well it's an obvious change in American geography, an easily relate able change. Going back further into the 1860's any globe referencing Alaska as still being part of Russia This is a rare find, a big deal!  Rarer still is a globe with Texas as independent from the US Probably the holy grail for collectors of American globes.