As this tumblr nears its 6,000th follower, let’s think back to all the museums we’ve visited (technologically so to speak) from around the world. Okay, finished thinking? Wait, what? I asked you to think. I know, I know. Something is clearly wrong with me. What’s going through your head right now? I’m sure it’s “Why the hell do I follow this blog?” Anyway, let me tell you about a museum out there specifically dedicated to the world, well, globes that is. Beginning as a private collection, the Globe Museum in the Austrian National Library has grown to over 650 objects. The majority of the terrestrial, celestial and lunar globes and globe-related instruments like armillary spheres and clocks date from before 1850 with the oldest item being a terrestrial globe from 1536. The museum takes up one whole floor in the library with endless massive glass cabinets with over-detailed labels. Like, if you ever wondered how the hell globes are made, well, then you’ve come to right place. And even though Americans famously flunk geography tests, globe makers of the 16th century had no clue where anything was either. The whole continent of Africa was somewhere in the Indian Ocean, New Delhi was in Arabia, Jerusalem was next to the Sudan and Australia (not Austria…Americans easily confuse the two) was just a twinkle in Captain Cook’s eye. Looking at globes is like stepping back in time because we all know we don’t need them anymore and they’ve all been replaced with Google Earth. Sadness.
Globe Museum in the Austrian National Library
