The Eiffel Tower 1889

Produced in 1889 by Boussod, Valadon & Co., this original chromotypogravure entitled The Eiffel Tower presents the celebrated Parisian monument in the year of its completion. Published by Paris Illustré, the image records the Tower during the Exposition Universelle, when it was introduced to an international public as an extraordinary achievement of modern engineering.

The monumental iron structure dominates the vertical composition, rising dramatically against a softly clouded sky. At its base, the pavilions, glass domes and temporary buildings of the exhibition create a richly detailed architectural landscape. The Seine and its embankments occupy the foreground, reinforcing the exceptional scale of the Tower as it rises above the surrounding city.

Subtle touches of brown, ochre, blue and terracotta enliven the otherwise photographic image. The chromotypogravure process combined fine photomechanical detail with carefully registered colour, allowing the intricate latticework of the Tower and the atmospheric variations of the sky to be reproduced with remarkable precision. The English title printed beneath the image gives this impression an especially international character.

Boussod, Valadon & Co. was an important Parisian printing, publishing and art-dealing firm that succeeded the celebrated Maison Goupil. Active at the forefront of late nineteenth-century image reproduction, the company produced sophisticated prints using innovative photographic and colour-printing processes. This composition demonstrates its ability to transform a contemporary photograph into an elegant and highly detailed graphic work.

Issued in the very year that the Eiffel Tower was completed, this original chromotypogravure possesses exceptional documentary appeal. It captures the monument not as an established symbol of Paris, but as a daring new structure presented to the world for the first time. Its historical immediacy, refined printing technique and iconic subject make it particularly desirable for collectors of Eiffel Tower imagery, Parisian history, World’s Fair material and early colour printing.

Chromotypogravure

Architecture - Exhibition

Boussod, Valadon & Co

Good condition, one fold