Descriptive Illustrated Catalogue of the Sixty-Eight Competitive Designs for the Great Tower for London
London, Printed and published for The Tower Company Limited by 'Industries' Limited, 1890.
Octavo, 151 pages with an illustration and 66 full-page illustrations plus 2 folding plates (all 68 designs are illustrated, with each one accompanied by a page of descriptive text).
Gilt-pictorial cloth, all edges gilt; cloth slightly marked; trifling signs of age and use; an excellent copy.
The success of the Eiffel Tower (300 metres, 984 feet) at the International Exhibition in Paris in 1889 inspired the British to attempt to go one better. The first prize of 500 guineas was awarded to a 1200-foot clone, and work proceeded apace; however, the money ran out before it reached 200 feet. At least some of it was very well spent in publishing this delightful rarity. An article in 'The Public Domain Review' (17 July 2012) contains some useful information about the abortive project: 'Construction began in 1892 but the company in charge of the erection, The Metropolitan Tower Company, soon ran into problems including falling chronically behind schedule due to marshy ground and then financial difficulties which eventually led to their liquidation in 1889 [sic]. Construction ceased after only 47 metres had been completed. The abandoned tower (known as Watkins Folly, or The London Stump) remained a spectacle in the park for a number of years before being deemed unsafe and blown up in 1904. Wembley Stadium ended up being built over the site for the 1923 British Empire Exhibition. When the stadium was rebuilt in 2000, the lowering of the level of the pitch resulted in the concrete foundations of the failed tower being rediscovered'.
Item #141408
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