Perkins Globe
Date
1837
Credits
- Stephen Preston Ruggles Creator
Format
- Map 36
Media
- woodcut 9
Techniques
- painting 25
Locations Made
The Perkins Globe is a spherical tactile map made by Stephen Preston Ruggles. It was built in 1837, 13 feet in circumference, and made of 700 wooden pieces glued together using emery, which also raised the pieces of land. It was then painted with 12 layers of paint on top. It also includes a set of moveable meridian lines. The pieces could be taken apart and put back together to see where each piece fits.
It became the first globe for the blind, and it helped visually impaired people physically learn and understand how the world is shaped, and where each place is accurately and in accordance to each other.
Tactile globe map made for the visually impaired and blind