A RARE AND IMPOSING PAIR OF WILLIAM IV CARVED WALNUT TWENTY-THREE INCH CELESTIAL AND TERRESTRIAL GLOBES BY NEWTON & SON

June 15 2009, 3:49pm

This pair of globes were designed and constructed around 1830 by Newton and Son, one of the leading manufacturers of globes throughout the 19th century. The firm, founded by John Newton in 1780, won the prize at the Great Exhibition of 1851 for a manuscript globe six feet in diameter. Large floor-standing globes were an item of great luxury that adorned the libraries of some of England's finest homes, such as Binfield, Leigh Park, and Broomwell House. The size of the spheres, and the wooden bases on which they rest, indicate the quality and costliness of the pieces: at twenty-three inches, these globes were probably the largest size made by the company; and their bases are boldly carved from solid walnut, indicating that must have been an important commission.