Antique sewing pin cushion Eiffel Tower – Paris Universal Exposition of 1889 Stanhope souvenir

Antique Eiffel Tower pincushion with Stanhope lens – 1889

Eiffel Tower miniature model in coppery spelter, marked with the year of construction and fixed to a wood basis covered with green fabric. This antique souvenir is also a haberdashery piece as it is a sewing pincushion, with a dedicated cushion fixed inside the Eiffel Tower structure and still around 70 original pins in it. An other surprise of this rare item is the  Stanhope view hidden on the top of the Tower. The microscopic picture revealed by the Stanhope lens -also called universal microscope- is an engraving of the Exposition showing a panoramic view going from the Eiffel Tower to the Galerie des Machines at the end of the Champ de Mars. The view is completed with this caption : “Souvenir de l’Exposition Universelle de 1889” (“1889 World Fair Souvenir”).

Iconic and inescapable, the Eiffel Tower miniature model is probably one of the most classic souvenirs from Paris. But if a tremendous amount of this little towers has been produced year after year, and continue to be produced by millions, only a very few of them that has been manufactured the same year as the Eiffel Tower birth could be found today. This Paris 1889 Universal Exposition souvenir is one of these precious gems.

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Condition :
Very good. Some small holes on the wooden basis

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Dimensions :
8 x 14 cm