Freiburger historische Bestände - digital

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The globe is crowded with over 1,100 place names and
numerous legends in black, red, gold or silver. The
author has not always been happy in the selection of these
names. Even in Germany we miss such names as
Hamburg, Ltibeck, Antwerp, Brugge, Cologne and
Frankfurt. Another curious omission is that of the
island of Malta, which is likewise omitted by Giovanni
Leardo (1448) and Waldseemiiller (1507). A peculiar
feature is the uncalled-for duplication of many place
names.

XVIII. FACSIMILES OF BEHAIM'S GLOBE.

Facsimiles in Solido.

Among the " facsimiles " of Behaim's globe there is only
one which can honestly be described as such. I refer to
the exact copy of the globe which, at the suggestion of
E. F. Jomard1 was made in 1847 for the Bibliotheque
Nationale at Paris. This work was carried on under the
supervision of Albrecht Reindel,2 Director of the School
of Art. During its progress the atelier was twice
visited by Dr. A. E. Cropp3 of Hamburg (introduced
by Dr. Ghillany), who met there the mechanician Bauer
of the Schildgasse, and a young man (probably Jean
Miiller), who were busily at work upon the globe. He
noticed that although much of the lettering had been
renovated and was quite legible, the artist was unable to
decipher many of the names. In cases of this kind
recourse was had to Doppelmayr's facsimile, Sebastian
Miinster's ' Cosmographia,' and to a map drawn on vellum.
This map I believe to have been referred to by Ch. G. von
Murr (p. 20) when he tells us " there is to be found in said
archive (of the Behaim family) a fairly correct and neat
copy of this globe upon two rolls of parchment." Dr.
Cropp directed the attention of Director Reindel to the
fact that upon this parchment map the words " Insula
Antilia genannt septe ritade " were erroneously written
against St. Brandan's Island, and that this erroneous
description had already found a place upon the facsimile
of the globe. On a closer examination traces of the words
" Insula de Sant Brandan " were discovered and the error
corrected.

On the completion of the facsimile the following

1 Edme Francois Jomard, the distinguished French geographer,
was born at Versailles in 1777. He was appointed in 1828 Keeper of the
Bibliotheque Nationale, and died in 1862.

• A. Reindel, a famous engraver and artist, was Lorn at Nuremberg
1784 and died there in 1852.

3 Dr. Cropp's remarks, for a copy of which I am indebted to the
kindness of Dr. Scheppig, were discovered in Ghillany's ' Der Erdglobus
des Mart. Behaim' (Nurnberg, 1842) in the Hamburg " Commerz-
Bibliothek." Dr. Cropp was told that Jomard paid 800 fl. (1660 frcs.) for
this copy.

proces-verbal was drawn up and signed by desire of
M. Jomard.4

" M. le baron de Behaim presentement vivant, le
possesseur actuel du globe, l'a confie au directeur de
l'ecole des arts de Nuremberg, M. Reindel.

" Celui-ci a fait faire une monture entierement
conforme a l'original ainsi que les autres pieces accessoires ;
ensuite il a charge un habile artiste de la ville de faire une
copie, la plus exacte possible, a l'aide de de'calage, non
seulement des contours des pays, mais aussi des ecritures
et des autres signes, figures et ornaments qui se trouvent
sur l'original, avec le coloriage entierement conforme a
celui du modele.

" Ensuite de quoi, le Recteur de l'e'cole polytechnique
d'ici, M. le Dr. Ohm/' a encore ete invite' spe'cialement a
constater, par une comparaison attentive, la fidelite de la
copie, et a l'attester par son te'moignage. Ce dernier a
reconnu entre la copie et l'original un accord aussi complet
qu'il e'tait humainement possible de l'obtenir.

" La verite' de ce qui precede est certifiee ici par les
trois personnes susnommees chacun pour ce qui le
concerne, avec 1'apposition de leurs sceaux et signatures.

" Fait a Nuremberg, le premier aout mil huit cent
quarante-sept.

(Signed) " Frederic Carl, baron de Behaim, senior
familiae.

Albrecht Reindel, directeur de l'ecole
des arts, conservateur du Muse'e de
Nuremberg, etc.

D. Georges Simon Ohm, directeur de
l'Ecole polytechnique, membre de
l'Academie des sciences."

I, too, have compared the Paris facsimile with the
original, and although in the main I cordially agree with
the favourable estimate formed as to the conformity
between the original, and of all its accessories, and the
copy made at the art-school, I have discovered a few sins
of commission and omission which ought not to have
escaped the eye of a careful examiner. Such a one would
quickly have missed the skeleton-flags floating over Fayal,
the tent of the King of Mangi, and a paragraph of the
legend giving an account of the Indian spice trade. On
the other hand quite a number of names have found a
place upon the Paris copy which are looked for in vain
upon the original and were utterly unknown even to the
most learned cosmographers at the end of the fifteenth
century. Among such names are Havre de Grace, only
founded in 1515, Chiwa, Canton and Peking, the last two
placed within brackets and identified with Zaitun and
Kambalu ! The Nuremberg artist, perhaps at the suggestion
of one of his scientific advisers, has likewise attached

• Published by J. Codine ('Bull, de la Soc. de Geographie,' Paris,
March, 1876).

6 G. S. Ohm, the famous discoverer of Ohm's law, was born 1787 at
Erlangen, 1833-48 Director of the Polytechnic School at Nuremberg, died
1854 as Professor of Physics at Munich.