This terrestrial globe is dedicated to the Duc de Chartres Louis-Philippe-Joseph d'Orléans. Its maker, Guillaume Delisle, was a great cartographer who corrected many errors made by his predecessors. For example, he gave more accurate dimensions to Asia and the Mediterranean; he also used the latest observations by the Académie Royale des Sciences of Paris. The sphere of this specimen is covered with 12 printed gores, designed and etched by the French engraver Charles Simmoneau, member of the Académie Royale des Sciences. Paired with the celestial globe inv. 974. Provenance: Medici collections; donated by Grand Duke Peter Leopold to the Museo di Fisica e Storia Naturale of Florence at its foundation in 1775.