Maybe the last decade's geopolitical unrest has made us nostalgic for when the world's boundaries didn't seem to be changing by the minute. Or maybe we're just tired of gazing at the moon and stars.
But suddenly, maps and globes -- everything from priceless antiques from the Age of Exploration to the big blue globe from your fourth-grade geography classroom -- are becoming hot collectibles and are inspiring a range of home accessories.
Vintage maps and globes have been spotted in recent issues of home magazines, including Metropolitan Home and Martha Stewart Living. Hip home shops, such as New York's Mood Indigo, are catering to young collectors searching for stylish globes from the '30s through the '60s. Catalogs and retail stores also are offering contemporary maps and globes, as well as map-inspired fabrics, picture frames, lampshades and other -Z accessories.
While the trend may be partly a reaction to the over-saturation of celestial themes in the home-furnishings market, it also suggests a growing interest in global travel and a yearning for a time when the world's frontiers were yet to be explored.
"During the Elizabethan period, they referred to geography and mapmaking as the 'science of princes.' People were just learning about the world; it was an exciting period," says Paul Cohen of Richard B. Arkway Inc., a New York gallery that specializes in rare maps, atlases and globes. "We want to get back to some of that excitement of discovery."
Long before Christopher Columbus proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the Earth was indeed round, the ancient Greeks were fashioning spherical maps, or globes, to represent their view of the world. By the 18th century, owning a map or globe had become a sign of good taste, wealth and learning, says Norman Morrison, owner of Coach House Antiques, a British firm that specializes in reproduction globes, including the 1492 German model believed to have influenced Columbus' attempt to sail west to the Orient.
Antique maps and globes still convey a sense of history and heritage. But originals are expensive and increasingly hard to find. According to a recent article in Traditional Home magazine, serious collectors are paying from a few hundred dollars to the high six figures for maps from the 16th to the early 19th century.
Increasingly, young collectors are searching out vintage globes from the 20th century. Colorful globes from the '30s through the '60s are far cheaper than rare antiques and are valued for their streamlined looks or schoolhouse appeal, says Andrei Clark, manager of Mood Indigo.
