Eiffel by Eiffel

Gustave Eiffel was the man behind the landmark that became the symbol par excellence of Paris and so the dominant image of France around the world. However, the work of Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923) is obviously not limited to the tower that bears his name. From 1856, when he was commissioned to design a railway bridge in Bordeaux (his first large-scale metal construction), he imposed his style all over the world. The bridge over the Douro in Portugal, the Garabit viaduct, the church in Manila, the Manaus Municipal Market in Brazil and even the framework of the Statue of Liberty are just some of his over 300 masterpieces. Then disaster struck in 1892 when a report directly linked him to the Panama scandal that had come to light three years before. This was the start of a nightmare that would ultimately turn out to be completely unjustified. Deeply wounded, Eiffel withdrew, cloaking himself in his pride. His eldest daughter Valentine stuck by him, not only offering support, but also building up a remarkable collection of memorabilia and documents. She left this precious legacy to her beloved nephew Philippe Couprie-Eiffel, having partly brought him up. For the first time, to mark the 90th anniversary of his famous ancestor's death, Philippe Couprie-Eiffel has updated this treasure trove and offers us the chance to get to know the great architect and family man through a wide range of previously unpublished archives.