Authentic Models

Father, Gilles Robert de Vaugondy, and son, Didier Robert de Vaugondy, were the leading mapmakers in France during the 1700s. Didier was appointed geographer to Louis XV in 1760 and published globes of various sizes, the biggest with a diameter of 2.6m, 8.5'! The charming size of this globe conveys the same historical detail as our larger globe models.

An interesting mix of early science and Greek mythology: One of the legendary Titans battling Zeus was defeated and decreed to carry the weight of the world on his mighty shoulders. Forever. Our armillary dial, however, has Atlas carrying the entire universe. That's to say the known Renaissance universe, when the earth was still believed to be at its center. Gracefully intertwined silver rings symbolize the position and trajectories of heavenly bodies around the earth. In all aspects ethereal,...

Through centuries of technological innovation, we've charted the whole world. But early navigators and explorers setting out didn't necessarily know were they were headed. Guided only by a simple compass, the stars of the night sky, early octants and astrolabes. Possibly terrifying, but also exciting... Discover early navigation, enjoy an unbelievable collection of compasses from various eras.

Not that long ago people actually lived by sundial time. Every village and town functioned on local time, depending on local latitude. The arrival of trains and mail coach traffic created a need for coordinated time. Our travel sundial needs a compass to find north. Raising the triangular gnomon upright while pointing the compass needle North will show the time. The correct time will show only if the local latitude correspondes to angle of gnomon. Bronze dry compass, hand colored reproduction...

1920s Globe 32 cm by Authentic Models Item Number: GL043

A contemporary classic. 1920s Weber Costello globe is displayed on ebonized wood stand accented bronze. Colored gores are applied to the globe core by hand with authentic construction and detail.The world in 1921. Roaring, yes...and still colonial.

Nostalgic and perfect replica of an early travel agent advertising sign.

Its origin goes back some 500 years. An early, simple pocket calculator from an era when 50 years were akin to perpetual. Intriguing, also effective' Calculate the day of the week for any given future date, within a 50-year span. To use, simply rotate dial until the selected year lines up with the selected month. Locate the particular date and find the day of the week above it.

Finally! 1930s A-Cup yachts racing in the air. Four colored J-Yacht miniatures made of solid wood and cotton sails... Ever so graceful, even at this size the miniatures are authentic and correct in their details.

A "must" classic sphere stands in turned wood, polished aluminum or bronzed brass. Spheres are after all home d�cor pur-sang, and what better sphere than the antique world. Sail Sunda Strait, fill the hold at the Spice Islands, evade the pirates from Madagascar and round the Cape, then sail up to Brazil and cross the Atlantic for a safe landing in 18th C. Amsterdam...

Study the details of this classic anchor lamp. Cast handle. Cast slots. Heavy copper sheet. Molded name plaques. Hand-blown glass. Kerosene burner...

The Jaguar XK120 ruled the road; Doris Day and Cary Grant were Oscar nominated. It was a time of peace, and optimism was unbridled� It was then that Rivas roared across the Lago di Como and skimmed the Mediterranean waves off St. Tropez. Thunderboats (also called Hydroplanes) racing with each other at record speed. Stateside, the luxurious Chris Crafts were de rigeur with Hollywood elite. The throaty growl of that big engine built inside gleaming mahogany, rich leather, chrome trim. Leather...

Three wooden planes; Lockheed Winnie Mae, Pan Am China Clipper, and the Douglas DC3 all gracefully glide around our 1920s globe, all hand applied gores. Easy assembly.

An exact reproduction of a 1930s Art Deco flight clock. Hand cast airplane aluminum, polished. Nostalgic and chic.

1950s Constellation, a plane that wrote history. Airplane aluminum. Authentic travel agent airline advertising object.

After dinner, having enjoyed garoupa with a chilled Chardonnay, nothing is more relaxing than observing birds and wildlife or neighbors with a tripod mounted telescope. After all, one never knows when the TV might give out. Instrument quality brass. Stand in rich rosewood, with adjustable legs and solid brass fittings. Magnifies 20X. Doubles as striking and bold decor.

The 1930s saw the rise of hand built model racecars, known as spindizzies or tether cars. Miniature racecars built by hobbyists zoomed around banked wooden tracks at speeds approaching 150 miles per hour. Resembling the full-size racers of their day, several spindizzies competed at once, tethered by cables to a central pole. Powered by model airplane engines, spindizzies raced against the clock. Incredibly detailed and aerodynamic, these miniature racecars were beyond toys; they were pieces of...

Surprisingly sophisticated racecars in 1:8 scale raced tethered to a pole or to a chain track in a banked wooden racetrack, reaching speeds in excess of 150 mph'Imagine a corner of the 1939 New York World's Fair. A throng of thousands massing around a mini car-drome where racecars are being prepared for a major race. The scream of the engines fills the air. A mini NASCAR, Le Mans, Nuburgring...An American pastime; technology, cars, excitement! Spindizzies, named for the dizzying speeds they...

You can't see the mechanic from your open cockpit. You yell�"Contact" and the propeller jumps to life, the plane starts to shudder. The mechanic pulls away the wheel blocks and escapes. The noise is incredible, a nine-cylinder Hispano-Suiza�spewing clouds of vaporized castor-oil. Complete cacophony....the propeller is by now an invisible whirr. Out of the way, this is hands-on flight at its finest, ready for take-off? Adrenaline flows, the sky is beckoning.

You can't see the mechanic from your open cockpit. You yell�"Contact" and the propeller jumps to life, the plane starts to shudder. The mechanic pulls away the wheel blocks and escapes. The noise is incredible, a nine-cylinder Hispano-Suiza�spewing clouds of vaporized castor-oil. Complete cacophony....the propeller is by now an invisible whirr. Out of the way, this is hands-on flight at its finest, ready for take-off? Adrenaline flows, the sky is beckoning.

You can't see the mechanic from your open cockpit. You yell�"Contact" and the propeller jumps to life, the plane starts to shudder. The mechanic pulls away the wheel blocks and escapes. The noise is incredible, a nine-cylinder Hispano-Suiza�spewing clouds of vaporized castor-oil. Complete cacophony....the propeller is by now an invisible whirr. Out of the way, this is hands-on flight at its finest, ready for take-off? Adrenaline flows, the sky is beckoning.

Pine wood finished in French finished distressed honey, red tips. Display 3 Barnstormer Propellers

You just walked the Rue Faubourg and are about to descend into the Louvre. Now's the time to make a pit stop in a reputable brasserie, maybe the Bofinger near the Opera? You are counting on a delicious caf_, maybe a small liqueur' but you can only hope you'll find an empty barstool to rest your weary feet. Elbow on the bar rail, comfortably parked, with feet resting on the ring encircling the stool legs' The design of our tall brasserie accessory goes back to the late 19th C. when bentwood...

You just walked the Rue Faubourg and are about to descend into the Louvre. Now's the time to make a pit stop in a reputable brasserie, maybe the Bofinger near the Opera? You are counting on a delicious caf_, maybe a small liqueur' but you can only hope you'll find an empty barstool to rest your weary feet. Elbow on the bar rail, comfortably parked, with feet resting on the ring encircling the stool legs' The design of our tall brasserie accessory goes back to the late 19th C. when bentwood...

Technically skilled enthusiasts of the 1930s loved to race the legendary B.B. Korn cars around the club tracks. Called tether cars or spindizzies, they reached incredible speeds, and inspired thousands to improve and invent. The founder of the B.B. Korn Manufacturing Company, Barney Korn, produced several tether car models that now, as vintage antiques, achieve astounding sums at auction.

Technically skilled enthusiasts of the 1930s loved to race the legendary B.B. Korn cars around the club tracks. Called tether cars or spindizzies, they reached incredible speeds, and inspired thousands to improve and invent. The founder of the B.B. Korn Manufacturing Company, Barney Korn, produced several tether car models that now, as vintage antiques, achieve astounding sums at auction.

All the tools and instructions needed to make your very own ship in a bottle.

Dispatched for victuals for the captain's table or canvas for a sail blown away in a storm, gigs were invaluable when in port or moored outside. Referred to as rowboats by land-bound folk, a gig was easy to lower overboard, needed minimum crew, and was quick to dispatch. When stowed, it nested in the long boat or pilot boat secured in the center of the main deck. Our lapstrake (overlapping strips of wood) gigs are not seaworthy, but they most certainly look like it! Clinker build, they add...

Learn to whistle. Pipe the Side. All Men on Deck. Heave to. Man the Yards. Classic bosun whistle makes deck hands happy. To man the sails, go aloft, or defend the ship in action, "All hands on deck" was one of the commands blown by the Bosun's Mates on this whistle or "call". Its shape hasn't changed in five centuries. Every bosun call comes with instructions for use including many signals needed on how to run a tight ship.

One of the greatest classic theatre tragedies from English history is that of the Duke and Duchess of Malfi, the story of a beautiful Duchess who absconds with a common lover, leaving the Palace of Pleasures. This famous story also appealed to masked participants of the yearly Venetial Commedia dell'Arte season, which lasted for months... Our sculptured masks represent an age when elegance and sophistication mixed with a need for secrecy and pretense. The 'Bouffon' or Jester is an unually rich...

The pocket glass of the boatswain. Used to measure ship's speed, counting knots, timing minutes. A small gift with big presence.

Meticulous replica of a 19th C. British officer's campaign chair. Heavy, oiled bridle leather in British tan, hand stitched. Brass hardware and hand turned maple wood parts.

Traveling through Provence, our picnic sojourn was to a medieval abbey not far away. We purchased cheeses, salamis, artisan bread, with aged Burgundy to wash it all down. Somehow we managed to stash our victuals in the narrow boot of out 30s Delahaye roadster, leaving just enough space for our beloved vintage serving table. Since this handily folds, it occupies the smallest spaces.

The pocket glass of the boatswain. Used to measure ship's speed, counting knots, timing minutes. A small gift with big presence.

Early man, looking at the heavens, believed the stars were fixed to the inside surface of a rotating sphere. Copernicus gave his name to the theory of an Earth-centered universe, and the Vatican propagated his belief by threatening to burn science heretics at the stake for stating otherwise. We now know that we live on the fringe of a nearly infinite and ever expanding universe. Armillary dials have the earth positioned inside a mesh of bronze hoops, symbolizing the course of the planets as...

Charming pocket sextant as used by Victorian explorers and surveyors. Intricate and semi-functional, it has all the pieces needed to shoot the sun. A sextant defined latitude. A clock longitude. Defining the angle of Sun and Stars with the horizon was an important way to navigate and survey. A beautiful intricate little instrument with an interesting and ancient history.

The helmsman rings the ship's bell for every half hour of the four-hour ship's watch. A ship is a round-the-clock operation, and ship's crews work four hours on and four hours off. To change the routine two two-hour dogwatches usually run between 4 and 8 PM. One bell - One ring (say 12:30)' Two bells - Two rings (say 1 PM)... etc. until... Eight bells - Eight rings (4PM). AM-Living bells are made of heavy solid brass, handmade and sand-cast. The chunky hand knotted lanyard offers years of use....

The helmsman rings the ship's bell for every half hour of the four-hour ship's watch. A ship is a round-the-clock operation, and ship's crews work four hours on and four hours off. To change the routine two two-hour dogwatches usually run between 4 and 8 PM. One bell - One ring (say 12:30)' Two bells - Two rings (say 1 PM)... etc. until... Eight bells - Eight rings (4PM). AM-Living bells are made of heavy solid brass, handmade and sand-cast. The chunky hand knotted lanyard offers years of use....

Made to store away as small as possible this is a marvel of hand tooled telescoping brass tubes. Pull out all the way and focus by adjusting the smallest eye-section. Feel like a sea captain scanning the horizon from a heaving aft-deck. Leather covered. Bronze finished.

Made to store away as small as possible this is a marvel of hand tooled telescoping brass tubes. Pull out all the way and focus by adjusting the smallest eye-section. Feel like a sea captain scanning the horizon from a heaving aft-deck. Leather covered & bronze finished. Lightly distressed wood stand included.

18th C. industrial design, bronze and wood' Collectable because of their combined historical and practical value. Some glasses measured up to two hours, used at a time when church pews were designed by the Inquisition to torture the human back. Ship's hourglasses were calibrated to the half hours of the ship's watch, and if the helmsman didn't turn the glass too early it actually doubled in defining longitude. Navigators tried to keep count of the hours; the galleons wrecked on the Western...

Collectable because of their combined historical and practical value. Some glasses measured up to two hours, used at a time when church pews were designed by the Inquisition to torture the human back. Ship's hourglasses were calibrated to the half hours of the ship's watch, and if the helmsman didn't turn the glass too early it actually doubled in defining longitude. Navigators tried to keep count of the hours; the galleons wrecked on the Western Australian reefs remind us of the perils of...

Stylish entertaining is en vogue. A universe of tradition is on record. It goes with classical architecture, and connects to a rich and interesting past. Contemporary use based on venerable form. The new classic. The campaign serving tray in lustrous French finish and brass-bound corners.

Heavy, cast aluminum porthole mirror actually opens to the one picture you loved from last year's Bahamas trip....Measuring 15 inches, this aluminum mirror has a bronze finish. An AM classic.

French finish distressed, bronze hinges, secret hiding spots, special place for inkwells, styluses and lots of papers. Accessories include two belle epoque styluses and bottle of black ink. Classic campaign accessory.

Captains made good use of notoriously cramped quarters in the ship's stern section (deckhands were housed before the mast). The captain's desk was tailor made to offer maximum comfort and space in a minimal floor area. Drawers to house the crew's papers, sealed sailing instructions, logbooks, charts, instruments and a pair of flintlock pistols. Brass corners to protect from damage when being moved around. Sturdy construction to withstand often violent ship's movements. Well-traveled. Sturdily...

The gentlemen's walking stick. Unscrews in two for traveling. The brass knob hides a compass, the cane a glass for a tipple. Gift bag included.

Our production is a detailed replica of an original ivory set manufactured by the British 'Jacques' company, circa 1850, and purchased at a 1990s London auction. English chess master, Howard Saunton, promoted this set at the first international chess tournament in 1851. It's clearly distinguishable pieces soon became the competition standard known as the 'Staunton' set. Though red and ivory pieces were the convention up until the 20th C., other light and dark variations were used throughout...