Interest in the moon was at an all time high during the 1960s in anticipation of the first American landing. The American globe maker Rand McNally produced this superb lunar globe in 1969, just before the Apollo 11 mission.
The mapping is interesting, showing many site locations on the visible surface, but with less detail on the largely unmapped 'dark' side. The Sea of Tranquility and other future Apollo landing sites are clearly marked.
The globe is constructed from two pasteboard hemispheres with hand-applied composite paper gores, joined at the equator. It has a celluloid movable scale clipped to nickel buttons at the north and south poles - this is designed to be removed if required. The globe is free-standing on an ice-blue acrylic cradle.
This example is in near-mint condition with all its original packaging, having only been displayed for a limited time in a glass cabinet. There is an original 24 page index and guide, which is also in excellent condition.