This rare pair of late 18th century desktop globes was prepared to accompany the Geographical Magazine. To celebrate the voyages of Captain Cook, his track has been marked around the globe as has that of Captain Anson. As Cook was the first explorer to complete the outlines of the large southern landmasses such as Australia and New Zealand, this is one of the earliest globes on which all the continents have been drawn reasonably accurately. However, the complete outline of New Guinea is not shown and Tasmania is thought to be part of Australia. The interior is presented by vast unknown tracts of land in North America, Africa and Asia. The exploration of these lands did not occur until the 19th century. Part of the charm of these items is this lack of knowledge.