Gustave Eiffel's dedication to Maurice Koechlin (1889)

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Gustave Eiffel, the father of the Eiffel Tower, thanks Maurice Koechlin, an engineer on his team, who envisioned the monument.

Cover of a document with a dedication by Gustave Eiffel to Maurice Koechlin, the engineer who envisioned the Eiffel Tower. The entire original document has never been seen and we believe that Koechlin was simply left with just the cover of the book, on which Eiffel made this historic dedication. One page. In French. 12 cm x 18.5 cm. Paris, January 1, 1889. Average condition, some damp spots. Single piece.

To M. Maurice Koechlin, a memory of G. Eiffel, January 1, 1889.

On May 2, 1886, the Centenary Exposition Committee invited French architects and engineers to submit building designs for the next World Exposition in Paris, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Despite a short deadline, there were more than 100 proposals and the top prize went to the company of Gustave Eiffel (1832 - 1923), who submitted a design proposed by one of the engineers in Gustave Eiffel's office, Maurice Koechlin.

Gustave Eiffel convinced the committee by arguing that until then, civilizations had been building monuments with stone for centuries, and that the only way to truly symbolize France's technological and economic progress would be to build with a new material: metal. Construction began in early 1887, and Eiffel worked closely with Koechlin until the design was finalized.

On New Year's Day 1889, standing before their beautiful creation - which was the tallest structure in the world - Gustave Eiffel and Maurice Koechlin felt immense satisfaction. Very grateful for Koechlin's idea, Eiffel took one of the original flyers for the event and wrote this historic dedication to his engineer.