Dekker, Elly and Silke Ackerman with contributions by National Maritime Museum staff. Globes at Greenwich: A Catalog of the Globes and Armillary Spheres in the National Maritime Museum. Greenwich: Oxford University Press and the National Maritime Museum, 1999. ISBN 0-19-856559-3, $160.

This sumptuously illustrated and boxed folio-sized book boasting over 100 color images documents the world’s largest collection of globes and armillary spheres. This is the first of an anticipated series dedicated to describing some 5000 navigational, astronomical, and marine surveying instruments at the National Maritime Museum. Especially noteworthy are the series of expanded diagrams and detailed photos in the chapter on clockwork globes. The inclusion of these illustration greatly enhances the understanding of how these pieces work. The authors individually describe 314 globes and armillary spheres, of which 70 predate 1700 and 19 predate 1600. Part one of Globes at Greenwich consists of nine introductory chapters explaining the historical, artistic, and scientific significance of globes as well as their construction, conservation, and variety. The chapter on the history of the collection provides an excellent background for the catalog that follows in Part Two. The catalog presents detailed, profusely illustrated, descriptions of all of the globes and armillary spheres in the collection in four categories: namely armillary spheres, Islamic globes, western manuscript globes, and western printed globes. Following the catalog are eight appendices covering useful tables such as chronology by country of origin, constellations, star names, and explorers. Globes at Greenwich will prove to be an invaluable research tool for the student of globes.

Arthur Holzheimer