Skip to main content
Reserve
Ages 13+
Under 13
Peter Bellerby

The Artisan that Makes the Most Beautiful Globes on Earth

Evolve

Elegance and perfection are perhaps the two greatest virtues that a globe manifests when its creation is sufficiently precise and carefully executed.

When Peter Bellerby began searching for a globe to give to his father as a present for his eightieth birthday, he had no idea he would end up making the globe himself, and, least of all, that he would eventually devote his life to this art ––until becoming the best in the field. But when he realized it was practically impossible to find a well-made, artisanal globe, he decided to make his father’s present with his own hands.

In 2008, after 18 months of meticulous work put to creating his first globe, Bellerby learnt that manufacturing these precious artifacts requires technical skills that depend on perfect mathematics as well as on an impeccable artistic execution.

Nice Globes

Due to the inherent nature of its shape, creating a simple, perfect sphere entails many problems. Essentially, any miscalculation ends up being multiplied by Pi, which means that the minutest sleight of hand could become, graphically, a worldwide problem. For this reason, and as a matter of fact, most globes are inexact.

To this day, his company, Bellerby & Co., has made exquisite globes for the most demanding clients on Earth. He made, for example, the props for the film Hugo, directed by Scorsese; intricate globes for the BBC, and many more that embellish some of the most exclusive personal libraries, bedrooms and studios around the world. He also produced an exhibition for the Royal Geography Society. Every single one of his pieces is planned, drawn, painted and assembled manually by him and his team, conformed by the world’s most accurate manufacturers, to avoid the slightest miscalculation.

a woman working on nice globes

Related Articles