GLOBE TERRAQUEUS...SOCIET, COSMOGRAPH. UPSAL; CELESTIAL GLOBE

Anders Akerman (1721 – 1778) and Fridick Akrel (1748 – 1804)
Globe Terraqueus...Societ, Cosmograph. Upsal; Celestial Globe (without cartouche as issued)
Stockholm, Terrestrial dated 1766; Celestial undated. Both c. 1780
Diameter 23 in.; Height 37 in.

A pair of Swedish library globes, each made up of two polar calottes and 2 sets of 18 engraved gores, both globes with new varnish and some rubbing of the gore surface, the terrestrial particularly rubbed in the region of Sweden, the title on the terrestrial laid down on the globe surface, a few stress fractures. Text in Latin. Brass meridian circles engraved on one face, horizons papered but somewhat restored and darkened. The horizon supported by four cabriole legs, each decorated with ormolu at head and foot, with curved cross-stretchers, supporting the foot of the globe.

A classic pair of stylish Swedish globes produced under the aegis of the Cosmographical Society of Uppsala, initially devised by Anders Akerman, who published the original 23-inch pair in 1766, and was later republished by Fridick Akrel in 1780. To compete with the competition from foreign globes, Akerman devised a way of printing the two sets of globe gores on a single plate, thus saving copper. Unfortunately, Akerman died in poverty in 1788, and Akrel took over his globe making house and had better financial success. The style and elegance of these Swedish globes surpassed any of the competition from France and Britain.