Cruchley, George Frederick.

The terrestrial composed of 12 hand-coloured engraved gores laid down to the poles, signed in the cartouche ‘CRUCHLEY’S NEW TERRESTRIAL GLOBE. From the most recent Authorities EXHIBITING THE DISCOVERIES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA, NORTH POLE. And the new Settlements & Discoveries of AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, CALIFORNIA, TEXAS &c.’, the equatorial and ecliptic graduated in degrees, the equatorial also graduated in hours, the Greenwich meridian graduated in degrees, the tropics and polar circles marked, a ‘TABLE OF EQUATION shewing the difference of Time between the Clock and the Sun and the Declination of the Sun for every Day in the Year’ in the south Pacific.

The celestial composed of 12 hand-coloured engraved paper gores laid down to the magnetic poles, signed in the cartouche ‘CRUCHLEY’S NEW CELESTIAL GLOBE On which are accurately laid down the whole of the STARS AND NEBULAE Contained in the Catalogues of WOLLASTON, HERSCHEL, BODE, PIAZZI, ZACH &c.’, the equatorial and ecliptic, and the solstitial and equinoctial colures graduated in degrees, the equatorial further graduated in hours and the ecliptic in months and with the zodiac symbols shown, the tropics and polar circles marked, the constellations depicted by mythical beasts and figures, scientific instruments, etc., and identified by their Latin names, the stars shown to eight orders of magnitude, with nebulae and double-stars, the globe mounted at the celestial poles.



Both globes with brass hour rings graduated I-XII twice and mounted in brass meridian rings graduated in degrees and with grooves on back to engage locking screws, both globes with abrasions and cracks causing surface losses and some loss of plaster, some old restoration of cracks and plaster, in fine mahogany stands, the horizon rings with hand-coloured engraved paper rings graduated in degrees and hours, showing the points of the compass, the houses of the zodiac with symbols, and the months, some cracks, surface wear, and small losses, the horizon rings supported on four quadrants, with quarter-circle brackets, the quadrants on central baluster columns carved with acanthus leaves, the columns with brass supports for the meridian rings, supports with small losses and lacking thumb-screws, the column supported by three downswept legs, these joined by three stretchers radiating from the glazed wooden compass boxes, each compass with blued steel needles and engraved paper wind-roses signed ‘G.F. CRUCHLEY 81 FLEET STREET’, one compass with worn rose, detached needle, and cracked glass cover, legs with turned bosses, some missing, and terminated with brass casters, one missing. 

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The map and globe publisher G.F. Cruchley (1796/7–1880) is believed to have been apprenticed to the celebrated cartographer and map publisher Aaron Arrowsmith the elder, before establishing his own business in London’s Oxford Street in 1823, and then moving east to Ludgate Street in the City of London in 1825. In 1833 the business relocated to 81 Fleet Street, where it remained until Cruchley’s retirement and closure of the business in 1877. ‘Initially Cruchley concentrated on publishing clear, attractive plans of London which he promoted energetically. Many were republished many times, with revisions and extensions, in varying formats, sometimes with additional information, notably about railways and postal districts. From 1826 he created a fine series of London plans which was represented at the Great Exhibition of 1851. Their popularity is shown by their frequent re-edition and longevity. His maps of London's environs, such as Cruchley's Environs of London Extending Thirty Miles from the Metropolis (issued from 1824), were superior in some respects to the Ordnance Survey's one-inch sheets’ (ODNB).

In the mid 1830s, Cruchley began to acquire the stock of other map and globe publishers, which he would then revise and reissue, under his own imprint, ‘notably the plates of George and John Cary [the younger], acquired some time between 1846 and c.1850’ (loc. cit.). The present pair of library globes is based on library globes produced by Cary in the first half of the nineteenth century (both with regard to the globes and the stands), and it dates from the latter 1860s or the 1870s, between the discovery and naming of Lake Albert in 1864 (shown here as Lake Albert Nyanza) and the closure of Cruchley’s business in 1877.