3-039-221 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Cutting the base of the column in the Place Vendôme, Paris, 1871. Illustration of '...the wilful destruction of this famous monument of French military glory by the Red Republican faction of the Commune. The fine Doric column...is familiar to all who have visited Paris...The rage of the Communist Dictators against everything that belonged to the Bonapartes has been gratified by the destruction of this monument. Our Illustrations show the manner in which the silly task has been effected, by first sawing through the base of the shaft, a little above the pedestal, and cutting out a huge notch...and then pulling the column to the ground...The green curtain was removed, showing that a great wedge-shaped piece had been cut out of the shaft...the capstan bars were manned by fifteen men...Another turn was given; then came another stoppage...It was found necessary to go on deepening the incision in the stone, and the men went back to their post to pick, chisel, and saw. Two of them even got inside the hole - which seemed to indicate that they, at all events, did not consider a rupture imminent...Suddenly, to the surprise of all spectators, the vast column moved, swayed, and then swept magnificently down'. From "Illustrated London News", 1871.