We are thrilled to announce that Bloomsbury have published a book about our company and the art of globe-making. The book is a beautifully illustrated story of our world and the creations it has inspired.
Written by Peter Bellerby, the founder of the company, it tells the story from the foundation of the company in 2008 to the present day. The chapters take us through the journey of how to build a globe, or ‘earth apples’ as they were first known, and includes fascinating vignettes on history, art history, astronomy and physics, as well as the day-to-day craftsmanship at the workshop itself.
It also features photography of our skilled craftspeople who make exquisite terrestrial, celestial and planetary globes – as well as hand drawn and hand painted illustrations like those featured on our globes.
The Globemakers: The Curious Story of an Ancient Craft is available now and in all major stores. Available in German as well now. And available in Italian – La Fabbrica Dei Mappamondi.
“The Globemakers is a lovely object, beautifully conceived and skilfully executed. With its digressive text boxes, sketches and photographs, it encourages the reader to linger and explore. In that sense the rectangular book echoes the round object it chronicles… Globes are like other anachronisms that reflect the way things were: solid, durable, based on a knowable past instead of an uncertain future. A beautiful globe in a handsome library is the essence of romance. In this sense, it is right that a book should be the medium to commemorate Bellerby & Co’s unlikely success. Yet artisanship of this type does something else: It rewards a desire for tactile engagement in a digital era, when so much daily ephemera comes and goes with our hands never touching it. Mr. Bellerby captures this basic human impulse by reporting what many visitors to his studio request. After admiring a globe and then tentatively stepping closer, they often ask—to his delight—’May I spin it?'” – Michael O’Donnell – Wall Street Journal
“Beautiful… Bellerby’s love of globes is contagious… interspersed with Bellerby’s account of his progress are interesting factoids about the planet, the heavens, the need to update maps, the tilt of the earth, the role of the equator in both the earth and on globes, and many other tidbits… Business innovations aside, The Globemakers is ultimately about passion and how the true reward of work is found in the type of satisfaction Bellerby acknowledges at the end of his tale. Thanks to it, my globe will certainly accompany me on any future moves.” – Darrell Delamaide – Washington Independent Review
“Peter Bellerby’s tale of learning how to fashion worlds-a journey through history, science, craft, and passion-spun me on my axis.” — Dava Sobel, New York Times bestselling author of Longitude
“Readers will be fascinated by Bellerby’s reverential and sometimes existential musings, which are enriched by stunning photos of the globemaking process. It’s a fascinating deep dive into an arcane art.” — Publishers Weekly
“It is also a love letter to globes and the esoteric craft of making them, which, it seems, Peter has single-handedly revived. Unsurprisingly, the book is also a beautifully designed object in its own right, with evocative photographs and charming illustrations throughout. Globemaking is undoubtedly niche, but this volume has a wonderfully broad appeal.”
– House & Garden Magazine
“A fascinating story, beautifully told.” — Andrew Pettegree, author of THE LIBRARY: A FRAGILE HISTORY and THE BOOK AT WAR
“Craft really does make the world go round, and no book captures that better than Peter Bellerby’s beautiful tribute to the techniques of globemakers. He has truly mastered these little-known processes, and written about them with comparable skill. Every craft is a universe unto itself; Bellerby has captured his, and somehow fit it all into one book. An inspiring achievement.” —Glenn Adamson, author of CRAFT: AN AMERICAN HISTORY
“The Globemakers takes you both around the world and through time in a journey that is at once deeply personal and compelling, yet grounded in the history of the way humans have always tried to make sense of our bizarre and beautiful planet.” —David Perry, author of THE BRIGHT AGES
“Bellerby & Co. is one of the only remaining ateliers that still makes globes by hand using a meticulous step-by-step process that hasn’t deviated much over the centuries … the end result is worth the wait.” —Smithsonian Magazine
‘This is a beautifully illustrated and designed book’ – Mail on Sunday
‘Each chapter covers a different part of the process, accompanied by charming illustrations and photographs, as Peter shares the discoveries, joys, trials and tribulations of crafting globes that balance beauty with practicality.’ – Homes & Antiques Magazine
‘The Globemakers is an accessible and fascinating read – and like the craft itself, it’s beautiful, too.’ – Geographical Magazine
‘The quality of the colour illustrations of the various production processes described here is outstanding, and they have been made to fit perfectly into the narrative’ – Spectator Magazine
‘This beautifully illustrated book by the company’s founder is a celebration of this ancient craft, taking the reader on a journey through the history, art and creation of these terrestrial, celestial and planetary wonders.’ – Wildflower Magazine
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Purchase Online :
WATERSTONES – FOYLES – HATCHARDS
Flip Through The Book :
The Globemakers in Los Angeles (watch)
The Globemakers in San Francisco (watch)
Upcoming Events :
Derby Literature Festival | Saturday, 18 November Details linked here. 3 – 4pm.
February 2024 | The Critic :
“It is hard not to be warmed and impressed by Bellerby’s apprenticeship of trial and error, which took years to refine. He has created a successful business, a profession and an art form that are all entirely consistent with one another — a rare feat in the twenty-first century. The book shows what we can achieve when we dedicate ourselves to a pursuit; how deep we can go when we focus on one thing alone.
It has all the more meaning given the very purpose of the object is to educate and inspire. If the art of learning is to become less wrong about our world, we can do far worse than make a globe.”
You can also read the article online here (linked).
Photos above by Euan Myles
