32. A. Murdock and D. Murdock, 1890
[Terrestrial Globe and Sewing Kit]
Smith Collection: SM-1890-28
www.oshermaps.org/map/2351.0001

This novelty globe (#32) adorns a little sewing kit, featuring bobbins surrounding the globe.

This sewing kit is an example of a novelty globe, a globe made for decoration, play, or embellishment. The presence of novelty globes in any and every part of the home became common in the 19th century, and almost excessive in the 20th. From sewing kits to cigarette lighters to piggy pencil sharpeners, globes appear in every way they can. The beauty of globes pair with the inspiration one feels when wondering at the other side of the world, and so they add elegance and intellectual intrigue to any tool they adorn.