Inscribed copy of a book-length scientific study by the French civil engineer, best known for the tower bearing his name; the title translates as "Experimental studies on drag carried out on the Eiffel Tower." 20 plates, including 3 heliogravures. vi, [2], 98, [1] pages. Folio, 316x245 mm, original boards, with later cloth spine and corners. Inscribed on the half title to Albert Eiffel (1873–1941), the youngest of Gustave Eiffel's five children.: "à Albert Eiffel souvenir affectueux de G. Eiffel." Covers somewhat soiled, worn original backstrip laid down; heliogravure portrait laid down to inner front board with staining and foxing, but otherwise contents clean throughout.
Locally nicknamed "La dame de fer" (French for "Iron Lady"), The Eiffel Tower was constructed as the centerpiece of the 1889 World's Fair, and to crown the centennial anniversary of the French Revolution. Although initially criticized by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, it has since become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world.
Late in life, the renowned structural engineer Gustave Eiffel embarked on aeronautical research. Reliable data and repeatable research methods were rare in the early 1900s, but Eiffel brought an engineer's discipline to the field. In the process, he produced the most accurate aeronautical data of the time, confirmed a long-held theory about fluid flow that had never been unequivocally proven, and established a laboratory that became a model for future practice. In 1903, Eiffel built a device to test the drag on various bodies by dropping them along a vertical cable hung from the second level of the tower that bears his name. He built a machine that accurately measured drag during the fall and recorded it on a chart within the machine and tested about 40 shapes this way over the next three years. The present volume relates to this research.
Inscribed copy of a book-length scientific study by the French civil engineer, best known for the tower bearing his name; the title translates as "Experimental studies on drag carried out on the Eiffel Tower." 20 plates, including 3 heliogravures. vi, [2], 98, [1] pages. Folio, 316x245 mm, original boards, with later cloth spine and corners. Inscribed on the half title to Albert Eiffel (1873–1941), the youngest of Gustave Eiffel's five children.: "à Albert Eiffel souvenir affectueux de G. Eiffel." Covers somewhat soiled, worn original backstrip laid down; heliogravure portrait laid down to inner front board with staining and foxing, but otherwise contents clean throughout.
Locally nicknamed "La dame de fer" (French for "Iron Lady"), The Eiffel Tower was constructed as the centerpiece of the 1889 World's Fair, and to crown the centennial anniversary of the French Revolution. Although initially criticized by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, it has since become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world.
Late in life, the renowned structural engineer Gustave Eiffel embarked on aeronautical research. Reliable data and repeatable research methods were rare in the early 1900s, but Eiffel brought an engineer's discipline to the field. In the process, he produced the most accurate aeronautical data of the time, confirmed a long-held theory about fluid flow that had never been unequivocally proven, and established a laboratory that became a model for future practice. In 1903, Eiffel built a device to test the drag on various bodies by dropping them along a vertical cable hung from the second level of the tower that bears his name. He built a machine that accurately measured drag during the fall and recorded it on a chart within the machine and tested about 40 shapes this way over the next three years. The present volume relates to this research.