Terrestrial Globe on Serpent Base, ILLUMINATED by G. W. Cram Co.

A sea serpent holds up the world. It has been a long shift.

This terrestrial globe on a serpent base, illuminated, was made by G. W. Cram Co. in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, in the mid 20th century. It is built of glass, paper, wood and brass. Printed paper gores on a glass sphere let a lamp shine through, and globes like this taught geography at home and at school. The ocean is a deep green, with the Americas in yellow and orange, and a figure-eight analemma in the Pacific. A scaled metal serpent arches up the side from a wooden plinth. Fifteen inches high and 11 wide.

Most of us have held up less, with more complaint.