American Geographical Society Library

Globes in Advertising

Posted on July 29, 2019 Updated on July 29, 2019

by Kay Guildner

What associations come to your mind when you see images of a world globe these days?

Nowadays, it is typically the environment, globalization, Mother Earth, etc. The image has been used by any advertisers you can name at one time or another. It has served as a prop for commodities of all sorts, as a symbol of power, as well as a symbol of unity. It has become a visual metaphor for whatever the ad is trying to convey, be it networking, environmentalism, and consumerism, the suggestion of manifest destiny, conquest and empire.

In news features and political cartoons, globes and maps aid in conveying a sense of scope to the message as well, no matter your politics. It also sells soap, liquor, buttons, computers, spark plugs, cereal, soda, needles, bicycles, and, truly, soup to nuts. It suggests a universal theme, something common to us all.

                                                 
Ads use globes to add a level of sophistication to their products as well, and in the movies the presence of a globe in the home suggests an educated tenant.
One place that nearly always relied on a globe to suggest unity was the World’s Fair, anywhere. It celebrated both our similarities and our differences. All were welcome, no exceptions.
Globes are often anthropomorphic, smiling or interacting with a person or product as well. After all, if “it” pleases the world, why not you?

Here at the American Geographical Society Library we have 230 globes on permanent view. The collection includes globes of all types including celestial, physical, terrestrial, political, planetary, the ocean floor, air and transport routes, continental drift, satellite images, hydrographic, and many, many more.

The premier piece might be the President’s globe, coming in at 50 inches in diameter, created by Weber-Costello in Chicago in 1942. It was commissioned by OSS Director William J. Donovan during WWII and presented to both President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill as Christmas gifts from the US Army. Eleven were made, and the one at UW-Milwaukee was transferred here on permanent loan from UW-Madison in 1996.

Globes in the AGS Library collection date from 1613 to the present and include globes in many languages. We see guests and researchers from all over the world, and the first thing they notice are all the globes. Come visit us and pick your favorite!