Baseball Globes Are a Good Catch for Collectors

Baseball globes were not difficult to find in the mid-1990s, but these days they are fairly rare.

The most common baseball globe was made by Krent Paffett Teifert Inc. The baseball has red stitches, and is printed with an unlabeled satellite image of Earth. The oceans are a beautiful blue, but the landmasses are a dark bluish green and do not show up well. The cloud coverage is excessively heavy and obscures too much of the land. These baseball globes have limited appeal; however, many of them were distributed as giveaways at baseball games.

Also, during the mid-1990s, a far more rare baseball globe was made by Unforgettaball. This globe has a superior design. The baseball is the standard white ball with red stitches. The image has a subdued, antique design with a hand-drawn appearance. The landmasses are gray with thin black outlines. Only the continents and equator are labeled. An old-style compass rose sits in the Atlantic Ocean. The Unforgettaball baseball globe is a very nice looking piece. Hopefully, some company will resurrect the design someday soon.

Gilles Robert de Vaugondy, the Great Cartographer

Gilles Robert de Vaugondy was born in 1686 and succeeded his uncle, Pierre Sanson, as Geographer to King Louis XV of France.

Gilles and his son, Didier (also a Royal Geographer) produced numerous and well-known maps, atlases, and globes in Paris during the 18th century. Two notable Robert de Vaugondy publications are Atlas Universel (1750-57) and Nouvelle Atlas Portatif (1784).

The Vaugondy name is now must commonly associated with globes made from 18th century cartography. The Vaugondy 1745 globe is the most popular.

Golf Ball Globes Are up to Par

Golf ball globes are fairly uncommon. Even though they are fairly inexpensive to make and should have a lot of appeal, they just are not produced often.

A fairly rare design is made by some unknown company. This ball has turquoise oceans with green landmasses. The continents and oceans are labeled. The image is a little distorted, and the design is very basic, but the balls look nice.

Shasta Visions used to produce an incredible golf ball globe. This design used a standard white golf ball printed with an unlabeled satellite image of Earth. The manufacturer sold a deluxe version of this globe that came with in a clear plastic display box. The bottom of the display box was lined with artificial turf, and the ball was mounted on a golf tee. This was a really great design that could be appreciated by golfers and globe collectors. Shasta Visions should consider bringing it back.