"Globe Gores" explores the challenge of representing a spherical Earth on a flat map. The blog post focuses on globe gores, which are the individual, often lens-shaped, segments printed and then meticulously applied to a sphere to create a globe. It highlights the distortions inherent in flattening these gores for printing, referencing various historical gore patterns and explaining how their shapes attempt to minimize these distortions. The post showcases examples from the Library of Congress's collection, emphasizing the craftsmanship and precision required to create these essential components of historical globes.
Within the hallowed halls of the Library of Congress' Geography and Map Division resides a cartographic curiosity of significant historical import: a collection of globe gores. These meticulously crafted segments, resembling elongated, peel-like sections of a citrus fruit, represent the meticulous deconstruction of a spherical world onto a two-dimensional plane. The blog post elucidates the inherent challenge in accurately portraying the Earth's curved surface on a flat medium, a problem that has vexed cartographers for centuries. Globe gores offer a unique solution, allowing for the creation of a three-dimensional representation by meticulously assembling these individual printed segments onto a spherical form, thereby mimicking the Earth’s true configuration.
The post highlights the specific example of a terrestrial globe produced by the renowned 19th-century American globe maker, Gilman Joslin. Joslin's gores, meticulously engraved and hand-colored, illustrate not only the geographical knowledge of the time but also the artistic skill involved in such intricate cartographic endeavors. The blog post meticulously details the construction process, emphasizing the precise alignment and adhesion of the individual gores onto a spherical substrate. This procedure involved overlapping the delicately tapered edges of each gore and meticulously securing them to create a seamless and cohesive representation of the terrestrial sphere.
Furthermore, the post emphasizes the historical significance of these globe gores, not only as artifacts of cartographic ingenuity but also as windows into the evolving understanding of the world during their creation. The depicted geographical features, political boundaries, and nomenclature encapsulated within these gores offer invaluable insights into the prevailing worldview of the 19th century. The Library of Congress’ preservation of these delicate artifacts ensures their continued availability for scholarly research and public appreciation, allowing future generations to glean knowledge from these tangible remnants of cartographic history. In essence, the gores serve as a palpable bridge connecting modern audiences to the scientific and artistic endeavors of past generations, underscoring the enduring pursuit of accurately representing our planet in all its spherical complexity.
Summary of Comments ( 1 )
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43546607
HN users discuss the practical aspects of creating globes from gores, touching on the distortions inherent in representing a 3D sphere on a 2D surface. Some commenters delve into the history of globe-making and the different projections used, while others suggest software and techniques for generating gore patterns, including open-source options like QGIS and G.Projector. A few express fascination with the intricate geometry involved, and some share personal anecdotes about building their own globes. The challenges of aligning and assembling the gores are also highlighted, with tips offered for achieving a smooth, accurate final product. Several users appreciate the Library of Congress's detailed blog post, finding it informative and inspiring.
The Hacker News post "Globe Gores" (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43546607) linking to a Library of Congress blog post about globe gores has a modest number of comments, offering a few different perspectives on the topic.
Several comments focus on the practical aspects of globe construction. One user highlights the ingenuity of the gore design, allowing a flat map to be transformed into a three-dimensional sphere. Another points out the inherent distortions involved in representing a spherical surface on a flat plane, referencing the Mercator projection as a common example and mentioning how gores offer a different approach to this problem. A further comment elaborates on the challenges of creating distortion-free maps, mentioning the impossibility of perfectly representing the Earth's surface on a flat medium and linking this to the mathematics of manifolds.
Another commenter discusses the historical context of globe making, referencing the long history of this craft and its significance in navigation and exploration. They specifically note how the creation of accurate globes was a challenging technical feat in earlier eras.
One comment thread delves into the specific geometry of globe gores, discussing the calculations and considerations involved in designing them. One user questions the specific number of gores used in the example and initiates a discussion about the tradeoffs between the number of gores and the resulting distortion. Another user provides mathematical insights into these tradeoffs.
A few comments express general appreciation for the elegance and ingenuity of globe gores. One simply expresses delight at learning about this topic, while another appreciates the visual appeal of the gores themselves.
Finally, one comment pivots the discussion to digital globes, comparing and contrasting traditional globe-making techniques with modern digital representations of the Earth. They mention the prevalence of digital globes and the potential for interactive exploration offered by these tools.