NEW CELESTIAL GLOBE

John Senex and Benjamin Martin
A New and correct Globe of ye Earth (Terrestrial);
New Celestial Globe... with considerable improvements by B. Martin.
London, sold by B. Martin c. 1757
Diameter 12 in.; Height 17 in.

A pair of English table globes, made up from two sets of 12 engraved gores hand-colored in outline, later varnish, the globe showing the trade winds around the world, the latest discoveries include Anson's tract from Acapulco to Canton. Brass hour circles lacking pointers, brass meridian circles, engraved on one face. Mounted in Dutch-style four-legged English light oak stands with ball feet, and cross-stretchers supporting central wooden plate.

An exceptional pair of Senex/Martin table globes in fine condition. Very rare on the market. John Senex (fl. 1690 - 1740) cartographer and engraver started work in London in 1702. In 1706 he made his first pair of 12-inch diameter globes, and followed that up with other globes at 3-, 9-, and 16-inch diameters. Senex's original copper plates went through numerous hands following his passing in 1740: His widow initially continued the family business, but following her death, the copper plates for Senex's gores came to auction in 1755 and were bought by James Ferguson. Ferguson updated and amended the gores but was forced to sell them due to considerable debts. Around 1756 the stock and plates of James Ferguson were bought by Benjamin Martin, a traveling lecturer who had moved into instrument making in 1755.

The Senex/Martin globes were published for the next two decades and became the competition to the new style English globes of George Adams and his son Dudley.