~ Victorian Treen Eiffel Tower Stanhope ~
A Victorian cherry wood carved Eiffel Tower souvenir stanhope.
Stanhopes (optical devices that enable the viewing of microphotographs without using a microscope) were popular in the second
half of the 19th century. They consisted of any small item containing a small lens through which can be viewed an image. Often, as in
this case, stanhopes were made as souvenirs.
This particular Stanhope is in the form of the Eiffel tower. The piece is carved from cherry wood. It is inscribed ‘vrai merisier’ (real
cherry) and has a mark of ‘HFS’ within a shield, presumably the makers mark.
The microphotograph image shows the Eiffel Tower amongst other monuments, reading below ‘One Of The Most Famous
Monuments In The World’. In the top right corner is a portrait of Gustave Eiffel, the engineer whose company built the tower and after
whom it was named.
~ Dimensions ~
The stanhope measures 3cm by 10cm.
It weighs 15.9g.
~ Condition ~
There is a tiny chip to one of the feet and some wear around the edge of the ’hole’ to the centre of the piece. There are a couple of tiny
splits/cracks to the wood which are just from age. Otherwise the carving is in a nice condition with light general wear.
The lens is a little dirty but (most probably just needs a clean) but the image can nonetheless be clearly seen and is crisp with no
damages.
#7973
