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Replogle Globes – 11/25/19

I recently found this 12″ antique illuminated globe with relief left for trash at the curb near my home. I took a closer look and discovered it was in very good condition (and the bulb even works)! After some minor surface cleaning it’s pretty much good as new! I remember having a globe in my room as a kid, but never one that lit up or was set in a wood stand like this. What wonderful luck to stumble upon this authentic Replogle Globe!

Backstory: Chicago salesman Luther Replogle was a true visionary. In the late 1920s, he sold supplies, including globes, to schools. Replogle was convinced that information-hungry Americans would eagerly buy globes for their homes so they could pinpoint places they heard about in the news. His credo was “A globe in every home.” So in 1930, in the depths of the Great Depression, Luther quit his job and borrowed $500 from friends and family to start Replogle Globes. His wife, Elizabeth, and one employee made the cardboard and plaster globes in their basement and Luther sold them from his Model T Ford. Sales were very slow, understandably, until he got his big break in 1933: he designed an 8-inch souvenir globe for the World’s Fair in Chicago. He sold more  than 100,000 globes for $1.75 each—and from that moment Replogle Globes was on the map!

Luther passed away in 1981 but Replogle Globes remains the world’s leader in globe production. From handcrafted masterpieces in the offices of presidents and dignitaries to classroom models that help students understand their world, their belief in the globe as a source of wonder hasn’t changed. Read more and shop online at Replogle Globes.com.

LeRoy M. Tolman was Chief Cartographer at Replogle Globes for 44 years. He passed away in 2015 but his craftsmanship lives on in the globes sold to millions around the world. Read more about LeRoy here.