After the discovery of the New World in 1500, mapping and the representation of territory are an expression of the Age of Reason — the desire to quantify, organise and bring order to a world suddenly larger than imagined. The invention of the clock made precise navigation possible. Globes were first a statement of social distinction and knowledge, then an educational and decorative element in the 19th century. They evoke the past dream of exploration and the contemplation of history. To turn one is to handle the same object a navigator once consulted, a scholar once studied, a child once wondered at.