Enchanting Video Shows How Globes Were Made by Hand in 1955: The End of a 500-Year Tradition

The first globe—a spherical representation of our planet Earth—dates back to the Age of Discovery. Or 1492, to be more precise, when Martin Behaim and painter Georg Glockendon created the “Nürnberg Terrestrial Globe,” otherwise known as the “Erdapfel.” It was made by hand. And that tradition continued straight through the 20th century, until machines eventually took over.

Above, you can watch the tail end of a 500-year tradition. Somewhere in North London, in 1955, “a woman takes one of...