globes

1810 English Globe Writing Desk Offered By Rau Antiques

Filed under: Decor

As long as we have had organized society we have had trendy stuff. At points in the 18th and 19th century, globes were hot. Map making was a bit of a romantic thing at the time, intrinsically mixed with exploring the world and conquering new places. Having a map of a region meant you knew and understood that far off place - instantly making you pretty darn cool. Everyone wanted in on the "worldly" action, and people with wealth all wanted world map globes. These globes had to be hand-made and done with pretty extreme precision - although they weren't exactly as accurate as they are too. Ahh, the virtues of modern cartography.

In addition to globes themselves being hot - globe-like objects were equally hot. This for instance is a very rare writing desk that was meant to fold closed and look like a globe. How cool is that? I think that Ikea should carry these. This one was made around 1810 during the Regency Period in England by Morgan & Sanders. It is referred to as "metamorphic furniture." Meaning that it changed in someway. Today we would probably call it "transformer-orphic furniture!"

Tags: antique, desk, globe, globes, rau

Continue reading “1810 English Globe Writing Desk Offered By Rau Antiques”

Frank Lloyd Wright Globes from Replogle Globes

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Replogle Globes has released a lovely collection of Frank Lloyd Wright Globes.

The design of each globe has been meticulously crafted to reflect the style of one of our all-time-favorite designers, Frank Lloyd Wright.

Replogle's five Frank Lloyd Wright Collection® Globes include the Tabouret, the San Marcos, the Hexagon, the Barrel (right), and the Wright. See the gallery to view all five.

The Barrel, as you can see, is modeled after Wright's famous "Barrel Chair," and the Hexagon's story is even more intriguing. From the press release:

The "Hexagon" also reveals an uncanny, historic connection between Replogle and Frank Lloyd Wright. Volker shares: "Just after Replogle became a licensee and they were working on the first five prototypes, I made a trip to the Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. While touring the building, we entered the office that was occupied by Mr. Price. In a triangular corner across from his desk was a large globe resting on a trapezoid, copper stand designed by Mr. Wright. The story goes that Mr. Price wanted a large wall map placed in his office. Mr. Wright convinced him that he should have a beautiful globe and stand to match the other design elements in the room instead. Well, Mr. Wright prevailed. As we rotated the original globe, we noticed the manufacturer was Replogle Globes. It was like an endorsement."

These beautiful globes will be available at high-end specialty stores and online stores. For a list of dealers, click here.

Gallery: Frank Lloyd Wright Globes from Replogle Globes