La Tour Eiffel.......

I truffled out this wonderful old poster at the weekend brocante. Dated 1889 and still in its original frame...............

Divine faded old sepia it tells of the new Tour Eiffel and what she would be like when she was built............mais oui...........she is a lady!!!

The "Universelle Exposition" of 1889 was to be a World's Fair held in Paris between May and October of that year, it being the 100th anniversary of the storming of the bastille and traditionally considered to be the start of the French Revolution.

The Eiffel Tower was designed and built to be the main focus point of the exhibiton, serving as an entrance arch to the fair itself. By the time the exhibition began the tower had not been fully completed (visitors were only permitted to ascend to the second tier.) but that did not stop the the tower itself being advertised and brought to the attention of not only Parisians but to the world in general - and this poster does just that.

Around the central picture of what the tower would look like are descriptions regarding the many technical details of the tower; her dimensions, the pressure on her foundations, her weight ( rude!) details about the lifts and stairwells and comparisons with other tall building, not only in France but throughout the rest of the world. The poster also states out the principle uses for the tower in addition to being a national landmark.

Some 123 years later she still stands proud but she has had a few near misses!!  She was struck by lightning in 1902.....

and remained intact! But now, each Bastille day she explodes with fireworks.......

In 1909 she was on the brink of being demolished following the protests of the ‘aristocratic Elité that did not consider the tower representative for the elegant city of Paris. But this was avoided thanks to the possibility that she could be used as an exceptional platform for the new radio technology. Even today many French people do not show their approval of her, considering the monument not very aesthetic.




The tower was lit with thousands of twinkling lights to greet the year 2000. She was so beautiful and elegant that the Electric Company, despite the excessive consumption of energy decided to leave the lights illuminating the iron lady on a permanent basis.


Even on a cold snowy day in Paris she is still magnificent...

How many lovers have kissed with her looking on?

Her nickname is La Dame de Fer..............The Iron Lady.


Have you ever been kissed in front of her?