This globe is more than just a decorative piece or wise investment. It documents the end of an era for one globe maker and the rise of its replacement. In the year 1900 the great Chicago Globe Maker Andrews was in financial despair and had to liquidate his assets including his Globe production. A publisher from Los Angeles, C.F. Weber obtained the company. This is clearly documented it the first year of new ownership, as the cartouche reads: C.F. Weber & Co, Successor to A.H. Andrews & Co, Chicago, Ill. By 1907 Weber took on a partner, Costello, creating one of the greatest Globe Manufacture of the early 20th century: Weber –Costello. A true testament to the lost art of map making skills, continents, nations, rivers, mountains and currents are ever so delicately engraved. Remarkable details of Human advancement in exploration as well as technology are documented. Especially the works of Matthew Fontaine Maury, the Grandfather of Oceanographic. The first under-water cable line between the American and European Continent (laid by Maury) is shown and dated (1858) as are partial Ocean currents. Lt. Maury had not completed and published the final mapping of such until 1861. What is to become the Congo River is still named after the Explorer who recently discovered it: Livingston. Further invasion of Europeans into Africa is well documented, describing a Zulu country, Congo Free State and more. Empires are displayed at their greatest might, including Austria-Hungary, Russia under their Czar, Germany and more. Norway and Sweden are yet to be divided, Poland does not exist nor does Finland. A young United States shows Indian Territory of what is to become Ohio (1898). In South America one can view the United States of Columbia and Argentine Republic. Even though the world displayed reflects c 1897, we do believe this sphere to be made in 1900 as it documents the change of ownership from Andrews to Weber. Clearly a rare and remarkable piece, this artifact is a future heirloom to be passed down for generations to come. About the manufacture: A.H. Andrews, former employee of the Holbrook globe makers (East Coast), opened his own globe business in the early 1860s in Chicago. Andrews expanded into many other school-related products such as furniture and gained tremendous success as a businessman. He sold the globe manufacturing branch to C.F. Weber & Co. at the turn of the century, who marketed the globes as “C.F. Weber & Co, successor to A.H. Andrews and Co, Chicago.” Around 1907, the name changed to “Weber Costello Company.” Weber Costello continued the production of globes until the early 1960s. The orb itself is covered by 12 individual, hand mounted paper gores and two polar calottes. The map identifies partial ocean currents as well as the first under-water cable line with date of completion. The orb is attached to a cast-iron base with elegant art nouveau details in copper accents. Simply stunning and timeless in beauty. Diameter of the globe is 8 inches, with a total height of 13 inches. The artifact is overall well preserved with rich coloring and crisp details. However, there appears to be some past repair to the orb, noted in the Pacific Ocean near the Chinese coast and in the European coast between England, Island and Sweden up to the North Pole. Please see pictures for details. This artifact is rarely obtainable, an individual masterpiece documenting the fall and rise of two Great American Globe Makers, Andrews and Weber. $1,098 - Item #: 612ANWEB1900