Cassini’s Terrestrial Globe / Globo Terrestre di Cassini

paper globe, Cassini's terrestrial globe

Giovanni Maria Cassini (1745 – 1824) was an Italian globe maker, geographer, engraver, and cartographer. His main cartographic work was the Nuovo Atlante Geografico Universale of 1792-1801. In 1790, the Calcografia Camerale of Rome published his twelve terrestrial globe gores, that updated the world cartography after the three voyages of Captain James Cook around the globe. The title of the terrestrial globe, printed on the globe itself, is:

To my knowledge, there are two versions of the gores freely available online at high resolution: one at the David Rumsey Map Collection, where you can enjoy a fascinating experiment of “3D virtualization“, and the other at the Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division. I have used the last ones, that are shown below:

The paper globe has a diameter of 30 cm, and it is made completely of paper, except the axis, made with a 6 mm diameter wooden rod. The paper used in the original design is glossy photopaper for the globe and the cover of the base-support. The paper used for the construction of the base-support is plain paper 210 gsm. The project includes fully illustrated instructions in Italian and English.

Giovanni Maria Cassini (1745 – 1824) fu un costruttore di globi, geografo, incisore e cartografo italiano. La sua opera principale fu il Nuovo Atlante Geografico Universale del 1792-1801. Nel 1790 la Calcografia Camerale di Roma pubblicò I suoi dodici fusi per globo terrestre, aggiornato secondo le ultime rilevazioni effettuate durante I tre viaggi attorno al mondo del Capitano inglese James Cook.

Per questo progetto ho usato i 12 fusi ad alta risoluzione scaricabili dal sito della Library of Congress (USA) (Geography and Map Division).

Il globo ha 30 cm di diametro, ed è fatto completamente di carta, eccetto l’asse di rotazione che è costituito da un tondino di legno di 6 mm di diametro. Nel progetto originale ho usato carta da 210 g/mq e per il globo ed i rivestimenti carta fotografica lucida. Il progetto include istruzioni dettagliate in italiano ed inglese.

11 Responses to Cassini’s Terrestrial Globe / Globo Terrestre di Cassini

paperpino says:

October 26, 2016 at 18:37

Since A4 and US Letter formats do not have the same width/lenght ratio, I think that the best choice is to print reducing the size of the print “in percentage” instead of “adapting” the print to the paper size.
For my models I usually use paper in the range 160-210 gsm. Here is a comparison table:
60lb 163gsm
65lb 176gsm
80lb 216gsm

Thank you for your appreciation!

Brian Hill says:

October 25, 2016 at 20:09

Your work is spectacular.

I am hoping to do the construction with some of the students in my Astronomy class.

Can you please recommend, and also recommend for a US reader, where the standard A-series paper sizes are not available, on what size and weight of paper would you print the PDF?

To ask the same question somewhat differently, what kind of results would one get if one scaled for 8 1/2 x 11, 20 lb paper, which is the most common printer paper in the US?

Apologies that we have not standardized on the same paper sizes and weights as Europe.

Thanks for any comments.

~Brian

Tamara Monteau says:

May 4, 2012 at 11:19

Outstanding!

mauther says:

April 19, 2012 at 16:58

An incredible model with perfect texture work! A masterpiece!
Many thanks for this wonderful model!

Greetings from Brazil!

Mauther

maxlrainer says:

April 19, 2012 at 13:10

Ciao Pino!
A really wunderfull globe. You excelled yourself.
Thank you for your work. I’m looking forward to Cassini’s Celestial Globe.

maxlrainer

Michel VITEAU (Michel cerfvoliste) says:

April 18, 2012 at 07:42

Un grand bravo pour ce modèle, et bien sur, pour tous les autres !

Merci pour le partage . . .

Amicalement, Michel

Andy papercraft says:

April 17, 2012 at 17:47

Hey Pino .. Great Job … A Masterpeace … Wunderful.. I have nö papercraft made in the Last 2 years.. But your work will i do.. Tank you Great Pino ..

Tektonten Papercraft says:

April 17, 2012 at 14:20

Wonderful! Many times I considered building this globe in paper, but now your hard work has made the task much easier. Thank you! Is there any chance you will create a papercraft celestial globe to accompany the terrestrial globe? 🙂

- paperpino says:
  
  April 17, 2012 at 15:21
  
  Yes, of course!
  Cassini’s Celestial Globe is already in progress!
  
  - Tektonten Papercraft says:
    
    April 18, 2012 at 13:50
    
    Marvelous! I look forward to seeing your results.
    
Michael Henkell says:

April 17, 2012 at 02:41

Thank you for taking the time to make this a reality.