Details
With an engraved brass hour dial at the northern pole and an engraved brass meridian ring, the ocean with an analemma, the engraved horizon showing degrees of amplitude and azimuth, days of the month and of the houses of the Zodiac and a star-chart showing the path of the ecliptic, on a turn column over three curved legs with castors, a glazed compass held between
40 in. (102 cm.) high, 21 in. (53.5 cm.) diameter
Provenance
Acquired from Ronald Phillips, London, in 2008.
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Lot Essay

During the first half of the 19th Century, the firm of Newton, together with Bardin and Cary, occupied a leading position in the manufacture of globes in London. The firm was established by John Newton (1759-1844) in 1783 and operated originally from the Globe & Sun 128 Chancery Lane, moving to 97 Chancery Lane in 1803, before settling at 66 Chancery Lane in 1817. In 1818 he was joinedby his son William (1786-1861) and from 1818 the firm published globes under the names of Newton & Son and J. & W. Newton, the addition being William (1786-1861), son of John. William was a valuable addition to the firm, operating also as a patent agent, and in 1832 his familiar introduction to astronomy and the use of globes was published to accompany the globes they produced. The company's namechanged again in the 1830's, to Newton, Son & Berry (1832-1841) as they were joined by Miles Berry (another patent agent and civil engineer). William's son, William Edward (1818-1879), joined in 1838 and the firm became known as W. Newton & Son, or once again simply Newton & Son from 1841 until about 1883. Perhaps the greatest triumph for the Newton family was the Great Exhibition of 1851, where aside from the globes they exhibited from 1 to 25in. diameter, they were awarded a prize medal for a manuscript terrestrial globe of six feet diameter. See also: E. Dekker and P. van der Krogt, Globes from the Western World, London, 1993, pp. 118-119, 177.

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