A Riveting Piece of Paris – Original Eiffel Tower Steel in Resin, Late 19th C.

Original Eiffel-Tower Rivet, Exposition Universelle de Paris 1889 — No. 152, Encapsulated in Lucite Display Pyramid
A historic wrought-steel rivet—one of the 2,500,000 fasteners driven red-hot to join the 18,038 iron elements of Gustave Eiffel’s tower for the 1889 World’s Fair—preserved in a clear cast-Lucite (Plexiglas) pyramid with an integral, printed certificate of authenticity numbered “152.” Traces of the Tower’s early paint schemes remain visible: the bright orange layer corresponds to the “Venice Red” primer applied for the 1900 Exposition Universelle, later over-coated by the yellow-brown hue adopted in 1907 and a precursor to today’s “Eiffel Tower Brown.” A rare, tangible fragment of the most famous monument of the Industrial Age, suitable for desk, library, or curio cabinet. Dimensions (pyramid): 4 ½ in W × 4 ½ in D × 3 in H (≈ 11.5 × 11.5 × 7.5 cm).