Dudley ADAMS (1762–1830) - Lot 270

Lot n° 270
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Estimation :
800 - 1000 EUR
Dudley ADAMS (1762–1830) - Lot 270
Dudley ADAMS (1762–1830) Exquisite library celestial globe With a mahogany base featuring a frieze and a zodiacal calendar engraved on paper and enhanced with watercolor A period compass, adorned with a compass rose, is connected to the legs by brass rods and completes the table A beautiful 46 cm globe featuring two sets of twelve meridians (each with an incision extending from the ecliptic to 30° latitude) with engravings enhanced by watercolor, mounted on a papier-mâché sphere covered with plaster The axis passes through both poles and features a brass cap to which the brass meridian and a hinge are attached The globe bears a dedication: “To the Most August King of Britain / GEORGE III / Astronomorum patrono Munificentissimo, Celeberrimo / Globum hunc Caelestum, / novam et Emendatiorem Caeli Imaginem, Sydera apud / Africae Promontorium / Australe nuperrime observata, Atq. / all the stars of the Flamsteed Catalog, truly verified by observation, / a monument to gratitude and devotion, DDQ. / Most deeply moved by every honor and service [d] / D. Adams” Which can be translated as “To the most august King of the Britons, George III, most generous and illustrious patron of astronomers, this celestial globe, a new, corrected representation of the heavens, faithfully depicting the stars recently observed at the southern tip of Africa as well as all the stars in Flamsteed’s catalog, is offered and dedicated as a token of gratitude and respect, with all the honor and devotion due to him, by his most devoted D. Adams. ” This celestial globe was produced and published in London by Dudley Adams (at 60 Fleet Street, London) with a dedication to King George III. It depicts the constellations according to the British Flamsteed Catalog (a star catalog published in 1725 after the death of the astronomer John Flamsteed). The names of the constellations are given in Arabic, English, Greek, and Latin. The title cartouche is signed: Made by D. Adams, globe manufacturer (and) Mathematical Instrument Maker / Fleet Street, London. The globe is in relatively good condition, with fresh colors and fine craftsmanship in the depiction of the constellations, stars, and calendar… This is likely a variant of the 19” ADAMS globe featured in Peter van der Krogt’s book *Old Globes in the Netherlands*, but without a compass needle. Globes by Dudley Adams can be found on the art market and at the Oxford Museum, though they are earlier in date and smaller. Only the Greenwich Museum holds a similar globe in its collection. This globe is believed to be the last European globe made with Arabic numerals. Before it, only the manufacturers Blaeu, Coronelli, Colom, and George Adams Sr. had decorated their globes in this manner. George III period, circa 1796–1817 Diameter (globe) 46 cm – Height (total) 82 cm (restorations and missing parts) Note: The Adams firm was a major manufacturer of globes and scientific instruments from 1760 to 1817. Sons of the founder, George Adams Sr. (1709–1772), Dudley Adams and his brother George Jr. were trained as cartographers in the family shop on Charing Cross after their father’s death. Having become an apprentice in 1777, Dudley took over the shop in 1788 with his brother, running it until 1796. In 1796, the company became “Dudley Adams” and moved to Fleet Street, under the sign “Tycho Brahe’s Head,” where it remained until 1817, when Dudley Adams moved to St. Paul’s Churchyard to venture into electromedicine. The company ceased operations after Dudley’s death in 1830. Dudley Adams was optician to the Prince of Wales and the king’s globe maker. His father supplied equipment to several scientists and expeditions, notably those of James Cook in 1769.
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