The Globemakers

A series of images I shot for the New York Times for a story about bespoke globemakers –  vanishingly rare artisans who hand make globes using materials and techniques that have scarcely changed since renaissance days. Their globes can take a year to make and sell for tens of thousands of pounds. I visited the studios of two of the world’s finest – Jonathan Wright, in Hertfordshire, and Bellerby & Co, in London – and was awed by the craftsmanship and painstaking attention to detail. Wright, who in 2016 was made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society for his contribution to globe making, also has a master’s degree in conservation, specialising in globes, and restores rare globes.,