This book celebrates the art and history of the globe, focusing on the 400 years when the printed globe - as navigational tool, scientific instrument and powerful status symbol - occupied an important place in the history of European exploration. It ranges from the earliest surviving globe to be made in China to the desktop models in Victorian schoolrooms, and from celestial globes of the sixteenth century to charming pocket examples produced as educational toys.

Featuring sixty examples drawn from collections around the world, this major book on the subject uses stunning new photography to pick our the revealing details - ships and sea monsters, navigators' tracks and newly found islands, constellations and astronomical features - that help us to understand why globes were made and how they were used.

Written from the unique perspective of the world's leading conservator of globes, it tells the story of the skill and craftsmanship needed to produce these exceptional and beautifully preserved objects.