Your friend Jim George thinks you'd be a great addition to Ricochet, so we'd like to offer you a special deal: You can become a member for no initial charge for one month!
Ricochet is a community of like-minded people who enjoy writing about and discussing politics (usually of the center-right nature), culture, sports, history, and just about every other topic under the sun in a fully moderated environment. We’re so sure you’ll like Ricochet, we’ll let you join and get your first month for free. Kick the tires: read the always eclectic member feed, write some posts, join discussions, participate in a live chat or two, and listen to a few of our over 50 (free) podcasts on every conceivable topic, hosted by some of the biggest names on the right, for 30 days on us. We’re confident you’re gonna love it.
Literally, the one in my office. I have a beautiful Rand McNally globe that sat in my grandfather’s office when he worked for the company in the 1960s. My dad has had it since the 80s, and gave it to me a few months back (ok, I took it and he didn’t object). Only recently have I had time to really take a close look; the first time in 35 years.
p.p.s. if any of the fine editors can remove the duplicate picture I’d be obliged- cannot for the life of me figure out how to remove it.
Look at the African countries. A lot of them gained independence during the late 50s and 60s. If large parts are represented as European colonies, it was made earlier. Is Israel a state? If so, it was made after 1948.
I had a globe when I was a wee lad in the early 60s that had most of western Africa as one country and labeled French West Africa or some such.
I don’t remember East Germany having membership in the UN. They were represented in the Olympics, but were they ever recognized diplomatically by other nations? Is Korea shown as North and South?
XKCD to the rescue!
(Clicking on the image links to the source, and click on that image for the full size one.)
Very interesting. Israel is its own state. In Africa the first thing that pops out is a large country called The Congo, which I believe became Zaire for 30 years or so and is now The Democratic Republic of the Congo. That points us back to the 60s as the “born on” date, I suppose.
No more Upper Volta, it’s Burkina Faso now.
No more Czechoslovakia, it’s the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Not to mention Yugoslavia.
If you look at Germany, it has the capital star logo on both Berlin and Bonn. During the Cold War, West Germany/the West in general considered East Germany to be illegitimate so it makes sense that Rand McNally might reflect that view. Berlin was still considered to be the de jure capital but Bonn functioned as the de facto capital.
I recall from looking at old maps and atlases that my map-loving father had amassed the frequent changes that happened especially in the 60’s with the independence movements that @dancampbell mentioned.
One clue that might also help narrow down the time frame in addition to the UAR/Egypt thing will be looking at Pakistan. Islamabad was announced as the official capital in 1959, but while it was being constructed, Rawalpindi became the interim capital (I recall an old map in school growing up showing this brief state of affairs) until 1967 when the transition was complete.
Here’s a nice resource I found, Globe Dating Info (not the droid you’re looking for if you’re wanting to enter a romantic relationship with a globe…) If French West Africa is still there, it’s before 1960, Sierra Leone and Tanganikya become independent in 1961 as well.
The German boundaries are post WWII. It is possible it is shown as one nation because it was still viewed as one nation partitioned into four occupation zones (at least in the West) until 1961. (There were attempts to reunify Germany in the 1950s as a demilitarized neutral state similar to Austria.) East Germany was not sealed off from the west until 1961. Until then it was possible to cross from one to another. My bet is this globe was printed some time between 1958 and 1961.
How cow- this thing is amazing!
There is a less prominent Noth Korea and South Korea, with capitals identified as Seoul and Pyongyang, but no hard border. Maybe because in 1960 people probably figured the DMZ wouldn’t be forever? Good insight- thanks
While the UAR designation for Egypt sets the early bound for the globe in 1958, I noticed from your photo that Syria does not appear to be shown as the UAR. After the breakup with Syria in 1961, Egypt remained officially known as the UAR until 1971 so that appears to be the last year in which the globe could have been made, and it is most likely produced between 1962 and 1971.
Your globe does have a really fine Analemma. Less common these days.
Algeria seems to be colored the same as France and in your photo is not designated as an independent country, though the southern part is not visible. Algeria became independent in July 1962 so if not shown that way on the globe, it was probably made between Syria withdrawing from the UAR in September 1961 and Algerian independence.
And if Algeria is shown as independent, you can probably narrow the date of the globe further by looking at this list of African countries which became independent between 1962 and 1971 and checking how they are shown.
Based on the guide provided by @dontillman, I think it’s likely this was produced sometime between 1965-1971, and given my dad’s memory, probably closer to ’65. The presence of Tanzania appears to be the clincher.
Yeah, there’s a lot of wonderful detail here to explore here. And it’s useful. Please enjoy!
What’s the status of Alaska and Hawaii? They became states in 1959.
Here is my globe. I don’t know when it was made but I did give Tuesday Morning $19.99 for it about ten years ago.
Both are states on the globe- that should have deterred me from my initial instinct that it was pre WWII. This was a fun little exercise- I’m surprised how surprised I am about the shifting nature of countries in even recent history.
The one Germany would have thrown me off too.
This is fun! I’m glad you asked the question.
Love the center section!!
What about the Philippines clue? Requested and received independence from the US on July 4, 1946.
Still waiting for Puerto Rico…
The Phillippines is shown as an independent country, which would make sense for a globe produced in the early 1960s.
Looking the the XKCD comic again, I find it interesting that he references four lakes appearing or disappearing:
Pretty amazing.
In a related note, I recently read and would recommend Berlin 1961, which is time well spent if you really want to get into the weeds on this topic.
What’s the deal with Colorado turning into a radioactive exclusion zone in 2022?