Two wooden structures are assembled around a metallic axe.

The tapered segments are cut out of light wood.

The globe begins to take shape, but is far from finished.

It is slowly coated with wood pulp on a bench specially made for checking the rotundity of the sphere. Little by little it becomes spherical.

Its equilibrium is then tested and corrected. Coatings of plaster are applied to do away with the slightest asperity.

The paper is glued on to the sphere once the necessary volume has been obtained.

The painting and the calligraphy take two months to achieve.

The seas’ beds are traced according to their true contour lines, the frontiers made apparent by the use of different colours.

The image of the Earth has taken shape. The calligraphy in Indian ink can begin when all the frontiers and rivers have been drawn in.

Pictures of the finished globe

The main difficulty when starting to work on a new globe resides in the creation of the necessary tools. The « défonceuse » is fitted on to a compass so that it can cut out circles correctly and each new globe requires specific moulds according to its size.

Sometimes just a millimeter’s shift of the axe creates such a gap that the extra coating of plaster increases the weight of the sphere by nearly a kilo.

Each step of the process must be carried out with the greatest care to avoid problems during the development of the work.

Classical globes are mass-produced from moulds and entail an enormous loss of space because of the stockage of the moulds. It would be ridiculous to use a mould for a collector’s piece.

The process of glueing a map on to a globe necessitates the « translation » of a planisphere (legible in two dimensions) into a drawing that can be applied on to a three-dimensional ground .

The map then turns into a set of flares and must be drawn on paper that is sufficiently supple and strong to be distorted without tearing when it is wet.

The paper stretches when it is wettened and one has to remember this while drawing the map on dry paper.

A distortion of the outlines is required at this stage to ensure the right dimensions when the map is wet.