Rare globe acquired for library

By Christie Vilsack

2001

With proceeds raised from the First Lady Teas, Terrace Hill has purchased a globe patented in 1875 by American governess Ellen Fitz, the first woman to patent a globe and the publisher of the Handbook of the Terrestrial Globe or Guide to Fitz’s New Method of Mounting and Operating Globes. The special feature of her globe, its mounting, helps measure the course of the sun, the length of day and night, and the length of twilight over the whole year.

The globe, produced by Ginn and Heath in 1879, is displayed in the Terrace Hill library. An identical globe may be seen in the Smithsonian.

Christie Vilsack has been working with the Terrace Hill Curatorial Committee to acquire artifacts for Terrace Hill that reflect the presence of children during the Victorian era. A special thanks to Curatorial Committee member Elaine Estes, who discovered this treasure in Louisiana.

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