Photographing the globes was a delicate operation, not least because of their spherical shape, which posed major challenges in terms of field loss. Moreover, the varnish made it necessary to use diffuse lighting for better legibility. To take these pictures in good conditions, certain parameters had to be combined :

Disposition

The spheres were removed from their stands and set into hemispheric blocks of foam. This made it possible to hold them in place while still allowing the photographer considerable rein in rotating them to capture the required views.

Depth of field

To reach the best depth of field the photos were taken horizontally, exactly on the subject’s axis. Since the camera remained in a fixed position, the globes had to be rotated to adjust the subject in the axis of the lens very precisely. This could be done thanks to the foam blocks. The equipment had to allow for macro photography.

Fabrice Ducrest © UNIL

From 2004, on the initiative of Prof Georges Meylan, the Mercator globes were housed by BCUL-D’s Department of Manuscripts in its premises at Dorigny and examined a number of times. However, the BCUL-D’s infrastructure did not suffice to perform all the necessary analyses and work and, as a consequence, by end-2005 the globes were forgotten again.

In 2010, under the aegis of UNIL’s communication department Unicom, and with the collaboration of the Faculty of Geosciences and the Environment (FGSE), the Mercator globes project got a fresh start. The turning point came in 2010 when UNIL appointed Prof. Micheline Cosinschi (FGSE) and Géraldine Falbriard (Unicom / Media Relations) to spearhead the project.

Fabrice Ducrest © UNIL

On 11 May 2005 an agreement was signed by Prof Jean-Marc Rapp, then rector of UNIL, and Hubert Villard, then director de the Cantonal and University Library of Lausanne at Dorigny (BCUL-D). The agreement regulated the globes’ temporary custody in the storerooms of BCUL-D’s Department of Manuscripts and the question of their ownership, de facto and de jure, at UNIL.

The globes’ condition was assessed for the first time when they were deposited with BCUL-D.

In July 2004 Bernard Hauck, Honorary Professor of Astronomy at UNIL, informed his colleague Jean-François Loude that there were two unidentified ancient globes, one terrestrial and the other celestial, in a room at the Physical Sciences building. At the time Loude, also an honorary professor at UNIL and a scientific instrument enthusiast, was drawing up an inventory of all the ancient physics instruments with a view to showcasing them in an exhibition. Upon taking possession of his office the following month in the Physical Sciences Building, Georges Meylan, the newly appointed professor of astrophysics at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), noted the globes as well.

An inset on the terrestrial globe indicates the year 1541 while one on the celestial globe indicates 1551. Both globes bear the signature of Gerardus Mercator. Based on their separate preliminary research, Loude, Meylan and another scientist concluded that these were very probably a pair of rare original globes by the famous geographer Gerardus Mercator that should be housed as soon as possible in the Cantonal and University Library of Lausanne at Dorigny.

It was effectively necessary to stow these artefacts, which might be of great value, in a safe place so that they could be conserved in optimal conditions, restored by specialists and exhibited to the public. The opening stage of the Lausanne University globes’ exciting comeback was complete!