Abstract
IN a handsome volume, profusely illustrated with engravings and photographs, M. Eiffel has given an elaborate account, from its earliest conception, of the lofty structure that will always bear his name, and of the mechanical devices which have secured its success, both as a worthy monument of the art of construction and as a source of delight to the millions who have ascended it. We understand and regret that this monograph in some measure owes its appearance to the attacks of detractors, and it is intended to furnish a complete answer to those who, disapproving of the structure, have commented on its puerility and its uselessness. This ill will, well pronounced in the early days of the structure, and to which M. Eififel refers at length, has possibly revived since the falling off of receipts on the occasion of the last exhibition, and the well-earned reputation of the author may have suffered in consequence. Certainly no less than three descriptions of the Tower have emanated from the engineer in a short space of time. The first, “La Tour de trois cents Mètres,” was an ouvrage de lux, massive folio volume with sixty-seven plates, felio. This work, intended for experts, has been to various public libraries and scientific and will be consulted with interest by those engaged in similar projects of construction. Next appeared, in a more handy form, “Travaux Scientifiques exéés àla Tour de trois cents Mètres,” which, though not generally circulated, was intended to form a complete refutation to those who still urged the plea of inutility against the structure. The present volume appears to follow a middle course between these two, the author giving an account of the history of the construction of the Tower, the modifications that were suggested, after the experience gained in 1889, to make it more accessible to visitors in 1900, together with some account of the scientific investigations which this unique structure rendered possible or facilitated by reason of its height and form.
La Tour Eiffel en 1900.
Par M. G. Eiffel, Officier de la Légion d'Honneur. P.p. 363. (Paris: Masson and Co., 1902.)
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La Tour Eiffel en 1900. Nature 65, 291–293 (1902). https://doi.org/10.1038/065291a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/065291a0