Globe-maker Chris Adams has made treasured pieces for the likes of Bill Bryson, Ellen MacArthur and Michael Palin and he has a globe on permanent exhibition in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
His work has been largely unaffected by Covid and he is working on a number of orders at the moment at his workshop on the Isle of Wight.
Scroll through the gallery of pictures above to see more of his work...
Chris has been a globe-maker for about 15 years and studied Fine Art at Chelsea, prior to founding his own Cowes-based globe-making company, Lander and May.
He said: “Traditional globe-making is officially on the Endangered Craft List, along with old skills such as oar and mast making, cricket bat making and umbrella making; there are only a tiny handful of artisans worldwide still making globes using the original handmade method practised hundreds of years ago.
“Ideally these skills need to be passed on to the next generation, that’s something globe-makers have an urgent responsibility to do. It would be a real shame to see it die out.”
The fine detail from one of Chris's globes.
He begins the globe by carefully constructing a sturdy papier mache sphere, which is then covered in a thin layer of plaster and then rubbed smooth, for a flawless, but robust finish.
This is the traditional method early globe-makers such as Willem Blaeu and John Newton used.
A modern concession is that Chris uses a wide format printer to print out his map gores, instead of the copper engraving technique used centuries ago. He also restores antique globes.
Chris cutting out the map gores.
He explained: “Globe-making is a slow art – I always have several globes on the go at once in varying stages of production; you have to allow for drying time at each stage."
He uses Island wood-turner, Andy Fortune, for the stands, while local stockists of his globes include Bayliss and Booth, Kirby of Cowes and Quay Arts; but he also has a long-standing relationship with Stanfords in Covent Garden.
He continued: “It is thrilling to think that globes I have made will be out there in the world somewhere and will become family heirlooms. I have three sons of my own, so who knows, maybe Lander and May will continue producing globes for many years to come."
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