2-888-609 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Paris Fete - Illumination in the Place de la Concorde, 1850. 'Parisians commemorated the proclamation of the Republic...The beautiful Place de la Concorde, which was the chief scene of the display on the occasion, was decorated for the purpose with a view to theatric effect...The square itself was enclosed by a series of columns representing the departments of France, interspersed with lofty poles with tri-coloured flags waving on the top, and rostral columns surmounted by statues. Balustrades encircled the vast space, with 88 antique vases mounted on tripods, and adorned each with three Greek figures holding together by festoons of illuminated garlands...In the evening the illuminations of the Place de la Concorde were magnificent beyond description, and the multitudes that assembled to view them were immense'. From "Illustrated London News", 1850.