Admiralty Kelvin Hughes Starglobe. C.1975

A 7¼ in. boxed star globe by Kelvin & Hughes, Ltd; circa 1975 with bronze meridian rings and indices contained within a fitted teak box with instructions in the lid. Made for, and used by, the Royal Navy.

A fine 7¼-inch boxed Star Globe, manufactured by the renowned British scientific and navigational instrument makers Kelvin & Hughes Ltd, circa 1975. Designed for marine navigation and astronomical instruction, the globe displays the principal stars and constellations of the celestial sphere, enabling navigators to identify heavenly bodies and understand their relative positions.

Star globes were particularly valuable for teaching celestial navigation, when ships’ officers routinely used the Sun, Moon, planets and stars with a sextant to determine a vessel’s position at sea. Presented in its original fitted box, this example represents the traditional navigational skills that remained essential to mariners before satellite navigation and GPS became commonplace.