Numbered simply as “Design No. 16,” this slender, needle-like proposal rises from the page with the confidence of late-Victorian engineering, its latticework structure tapering to a sharp pinnacle. The drawing reads like a technical pitch as much as an architectural vision: crisp lines, measured symmetry, and a clear emphasis on height, lightness, and modern materials. Even in this spare presentation, the ambition behind London’s “Great Tower” competition comes through—an invention-minded race to define a new skyline landmark.
Look closer and the base resolves into a more practical world, with a grounded platform and a compact interior zone that hints at public access, machinery, or exhibition space rather than pure monumentality. The open truss sides and layered sections suggest a designer thinking about wind, weight, and construction logistics, translating daring ideas into something that could be fabricated. Details like the printed credit—“E. De Vere Buckingham, St. John Street, Winchester”—add a human footprint, reminding us how widely such calls for designs reached beyond the capital.
More than 50 competitive designs were submitted for this 1890-era concept, and this entry embodies the period’s fascination with towers as symbols of progress, industry, and national prestige. As a historical artifact, it also speaks to the culture of innovation: proposals circulated on paper, judged by form and feasibility, and preserved as evidence of dreams that may never have been built. For readers interested in Victorian inventions, ambitious architecture, and London history, this image offers a striking snapshot of how the future was drafted—line by line—before it ever touched the ground.