A large German terrestrial globe after designs by C. Adami updated by Dr Heinrich Kiepert, and published by Verlag Dietrich Reimer, Berlin 1871, on a carved painted and parcel-gilt stand Late 19th century

engraved with, Erdglobus, nach derm ent wurf, V. C Adami, im verhältniss von 1:16,500,000 der natürlichen Grösse, bearbeitet u. gezeichnet, Von Dr. Heinrich Kiepert, Berlin 1871, Dietrich Reimer..., made up of two sets of twenty-four gores, the octagonal ecliptic graduated with degrees, the zodiac and calendar months, the meridian papered and printed with graduated degrees of longitude and latitude, the stand with an egg-and-dart moulding, on four acanthus leaf carved supports, the baluster support carved with flowers and leaves, on a triform support, the three splayed legs carved with acanthus, on paw feet, joined by a stretcher centred by a later cased barometer

The piece is slightly dirty and would benefit from a light clean. Some hairline cracks which are not too noticeable and old minor restorations. Some very minor losses to the paper. The stand has also been restored and repainted. The stretcher is later. The compass is a later replacement. Good large size and rare piece. In overall good conserved condition.
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In 1852 the firm of Carl Adami & Co, Berlin was taken over by the publishing house Dietrich Reimer (1818-1899). In the same year Reimer employed the talents of the highly innovative Heinrich Kiepert (also 1818-1899) an established Geographer and Cartographer. This foundation and then partnership would firmly establish the company of Verlag Dietrich Reimer as one of the very best.

Kieperts reputation was solid, having worked at the respected Geographisches Insitut in Weimar where in 1846 he developed his first thematic globe. Two years after joining Reimer the first edition of the Atlas Antiquus was published, a highly regarded work on the geography of ancient history – a passion of Kieperts – this received international recognition, with additions in English, French, Russian, Dutch and Italian.

As a highly skilled cartographer he re-worked globes produced by Adami for Reimer, eventually developing his own. By the end of the 19th century he had issued six different types of terrestrial globes in varying sizes for use in the home library as well as in schools. Kiepert was also a leading authority on the geography of Asia Minor and it was in part, this work, a lot of which was published posthumously by his son Richard, which has insured his status as one of the great map and globe makers of the 19th century.

For another Kiepert and Reimer globe on a comparable carved stand there is an example in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich with an illegible date 18*1 (possibly the same year) and the same inscription positioned on the Indian Ocean, see Elly Dekker, Globes at Greenwich, London, 1999, p. 470, inv. number GLB0088.