One of the earliest photographs of the Eiffel Tower

In the spring of 1889, Paris unveiled a spectacle that would redefine its skyline forever: the Eiffel Tower. Built as the grand entrance to the Exposition Universelle, Gustave Eiffel’s 300-meter colossus was a feat of engineering unlike anything the world had seen. But while millions would gaze up in awe, few would capture its likeness with the same delicate precision as the anonymous photographer behind a rare albumen print, one of the earliest photographs ever taken of the Tower.

This 9.5 x 12 cm albumen print, still remarkably preserved despite its age, offers a window into the very first days of the Tower’s existence. The albumen process, using egg white to bind the photographic chemicals to paper, produced sharper contrast and finer detail than its predecessor, the salted paper print. This made it ideal for immortalizing the intricate iron lattice of Eiffel’s daring creation. Stained with the quiet passage of time, the photo is more than an image—it is a relic of an era when photography itself was an art in revolution.

At the time, not everyone welcomed this monument. Writers like Guy de Maupassant famously criticized it, calling it a “giant black smokestack.” Yet Eiffel defended his work with pride, proclaiming: “I ought to be jealous of the tower. She is more famous than I am.” Today, that once-controversial tower stands as the most visited paid monument in the world—and this small, sepia-toned photograph reminds us of its uncertain beginnings and triumphant rise.