LA TOUR EIFFEL
Rare and monumental photographic commemoration by the designer of the Eiffel Tower, apparently issued in thanks to the collaborators who built it — this copy presented by Eiffel to M.A. Ansaloni, head of the Eiffel's Design Office.
Very good plus.
Price: $20,000.00
LA TOUR EIFFEL
The Eiffel Tower was commissioned by the French government as the dramatic centerpiece of the 1889 World's Fair (Exposition Universelle). Upon completion, it became the world's tallest structure for the next 40+ years. While the initial designs were not by Eiffel (but rather by employees in his company, Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier — duly credited in this volume), he finalized and oversaw the project as a symbol of "the century of Industry and Science in which we are living." Its success, from the fair to the present, has made it one of the most recognizable and visited landmarks in the world.
As the focal point of the Exposition, the Eiffel Tower was commemorated in a wide variety of forms across media, from printed visitor brochures and newspaper accounts to wooden toys and microscopic panoramas viewed through a replica of the Tower. But this production — meant not for the public but for the workers who made the Tower possible — served as a private memento, more like a lavish version of the framed piece given to artists/producers when a record goes Platinum. The limitation page says it is a "souvenir offert par G. Eiffel," and this copy has been presented (in both stamping on the binding and manuscript in the interior) to M.A. Ansaloni, an engineer who is listed on the "Personnel" page as the head of the Bureau des Études. Mere months after the Tower's completion, he would deliver a lecture on its innovative elevators to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in Paris, suggesting the key role he played in their design.
The large-format photographs impressively record a range of views of the iconic construction (including two of the famed elevators). Given the deluxe nature, as well as its intended use, this volume was most likely privately printed and circulated, probably in an edition of no more than a few hundred copies. (The "Personnel" page lists about 325 names.) We find only one auction record (in Australia) and 5 holdings via OCLC (except the V&A, all in France). A deluxe rarity of this modern engineering marvel.
The Object
(Paris): n.p, (1889). 13.5'' x 17.5''. Original half pebbled brown goatskin, brown pebbled cloth ruled and lettered in gilt, "Mr Ansaloni" stamped to front board. Gilt and navy floral patterned endpapers, all edges gilt. Illustrated with printed image of the full Tower, vignette albumen photo of Eiffel on "Personnel" page, and 8 large (11'' x 8.5'') albumen photographs tipped in, with printed captions. Text printed in red and black. [2], 6, [2], [8] pages. Number 46 of an unknown limitation. Eiffel's signature stamped to limitation page, presentation line "Ansaloni" added in ink; later inscription in pencil noting this as a "memento commemorative du 31 may 1889, jour de l'inauguration de la Tour Eiffel" and that Ansaloni was an engineer. Engraved portrait of Eiffel, once adhered to facing page and now laid in, inscribed in ink by Eiffel: "à M. Ansaloni / G. Eiffel." Rubbing to edges, with some chipping to spine ends. Subtle crease to "Personnel" page, else interior clean and bright.
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