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Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2002 14:13:04 -0500
From: David Cobb <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Mercator Globes Online
Sender: David Cobb <[log in to unmask]>




Colleagues -

One of the unique treasures of the Harvard Map Collection are the pair of
Mercator globes - the terrestrial globe of 1541 and the celestial globe of
1551. The globes were an instant commercial success for Mercator and were
the largest (42 cm.) that had been produced at that time. Generous gifts
for their conservation and construction of their exhibit case came from the
Pforzheimer Endowment for the Harvard College Library and White Flowers
Preservation Fund. They are now on permanent exhibit just outside of the
entrance to the Map Collection and will be a part of the 'Cartographic
Treasures at Harvard' that will be on exhibit for the 2003 International
Conference on the History of Cartography. Harvard's globes are the only
matched pair in the America's.

As with any globe exhibit it is difficult to be able to view all portions
of the globe in a typical exhibit case. We are thankful to Jeremy Pool
(A.B. '67), a member of the Boston Map Society, who developed a digital
globe navigator and constellation menus, which allow scholars the ability
to view each globe in greater detail using Mr. Sid image compression
software (http://hcl.harvard.edu/mercatorglobes). Additional information is
available by requesting a brochure describing the globes from [log in to unmask]

This online exhibit makes extensive use of frames and javascript. Please
verify that you are using either Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer
version 4 or 5. At this time, the terrestrial globe navigator does not
support versions 6 and 7 of Netscape. Also, a screen resolution of at least
800 x 600 is recommended to accommodate the dimensions of the globes images.

David Cobb

***************************************************************************
David A. Cobb                                   Tel. 617.495.2417
Harvard Map Collection                          FAX  617.496.0440
Harvard College Library                         Email: [log in to unmask]
Cambridge, MA 02138                             HTTP://hcl.harvard.edu/maps
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