Brahe's Globe

Four hundred years ago Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer, desired silversmiths to make him a globe on which should be represented, "with exactitude," the constellations of the stars. Silversmiths made the "undignified fanatic" his globe. It was about twelve inches in diameter; its surface was carved with those bizarre and threatening shapes with which the ancients first identified the golden processionals of the sky. No celestial beast was missing; goat, unicorn, fish, lion, hurrying crab crowds its shining convexity. After the death of the astronomer, his globe became famous in the country that had laughed at its inventor. A succession of noble families enjoyed its possession; it was spoken of as "the great astronomical ball." A month ago, Baron Ralamb, its owner, brought the great ball to Manhattan. Last week it was displayed to admiring crowds at the American Museum of Natural History. They were delighted with its appearance when they learned that its value was $108,000.