DUDLEY ADAMS (FL. LATE 18TH CENTURY), CELESTIAL LIBRARY GLOBE

Dudley Adams (fl. Late 18th Century)
Celestial Library Globe
London, c. 1799
Diameter 18 in.; Height 42 in.

The globe made up of two sets of engraved gores, the old varnish removed. Gore papers browned, some abrasion of the surface, area extending south of the celestial equator with substantial restoration and infill probably in the mid-20th Century, the detail replaced with a manuscript rendition. Brass meridian circle, graduated on one face. The globe mounted in an English Adams-style mahogany tripod stand. The wooden horizon papered but slightly browned and cockled, the horizon supported by four quadrants to a single turned pilar, supported by three curved feet.

George Adams, the elder founded his London firm around 1760, and became maker of mathematical instruments and optician to George III. His son Dudley joined the firm upon his father's death in 1773. His brother George II died in 1795, leaving Dudley to run the company and in 1799, he issued a new 18-inch pair for which this is the celestial half.