Author: Steven

During the UK Mapping Festival Ken organised an excursion to Bellerby and Co’s globe making workshop in Stoke Newington for a small group of map geeks. Peter Bellerby gave us a tour of the workshop, explained some of the processes involved in making these magnificent globes whilst trying not to give away the secret sauce that makes a Bellerby globe so special. Cartographers will be fascinated by the decisions that have to be taken to fit content and labels onto a globe.

Every globe is made by hand, carefully balanced and hand coloured. They take weeks of painstaking work to complete which explains the cost, a massive globe like the Churchill above costs of over £70k! If anyone is wondering what to buy for the map lover who has almost everything …

 

As you exit the Serengeti Nature Reserve heading south you enter a wilderness containing the Ngorongoro Crater and game reserve. This map stands in the middle of nowhere helping you to orientate yourself. Ken Field recognised a couple of carto artefacts that indicated the map had been made with Esri software (give away default settings).

Our first “Map in the Wild” because, well just because. GeoMob is a London based meet up group for geo geeks run by Ed Freyfogle. At the end of the UK Mapping Festival, Ken Field presented the UK Cheese Map, an exquisite carved cheese board in the of the UK with over 20 regional cheeses positioned over their places of origin. Ken carted the cheese board from California and arranged for over 20 cheeses to be shipped to his brother’s home and then down to London in time for GeoMob. I’d call that out as an incredible example of dedication to Mappery! BTW 60-70 geeks scoffed all f the cheese.