NOVAGEM 1915 PPIE TOWER OF JEWELS – Original San Francisco World’s Fair Artifact For Sale

A RARE LARGE loose 1915 PPIE TOWER OF JEWELS NOVAGEM – Original San Francisco World’s Fair ArtifactPrice: $695Description:Large 47 mm (approx. 1⅞ in.) clear PPIE NovagemAn extraordinary surviving piece of San Francisco’s 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition: an original large clear Novagem from the legendary Tower of Jewels.The 435-foot Tower of Jewels was the dazzling centerpiece of the PPIE, the enormous world’s fair built along San Francisco’s northern waterfront to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal and, just nine years after the 1906 earthquake and fire, announce the city’s recovery to the world.What made the Tower unforgettable were its approximately 102,000 faceted glass “jewels,” known as Novagems.These were not ordinary decorative glass stones. They were specially cut to catch and fracture light and were mounted across the enormous surface of the Tower. Suspended so that they could move in the San Francisco breeze, the Novagems constantly shifted and flashed in the sunlight.At night the effect became even more spectacular. The exposition was famous for its pioneering electric illumination, and 54 searchlights were directed at the Tower of Jewels, causing the moving facets to glitter against the night sky. Contemporary visitors repeatedly described the effect as almost impossible to reproduce in photographs.This example is one of the larger clear Novagem sizes, with substantial depth and dramatic faceting. As it is moved through the light, the individual facets flash white, silver, rainbow and dark depending on the angle, giving a small sense of the effect that made the Tower famous in 1915.The Novagem also has unusually evocative San Francisco provenance. It traces to an early-1960s acquisition from an antique shop at the historic Cliff House, where it was represented as an original jewel from the 1915 exposition. It subsequently remained preserved in a private World’s Fair collection for decades.That history creates a remarkable San Francisco arc: from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915, to the Cliff House in the early 1960s, to the present more than a century later.The Tower of Jewels itself did not survive. Like most of the exposition, it was temporary architecture and was dismantled after the fair closed. The buildings, courts, fountains and vast majority of the “Jewel City” disappeared.That is what makes an original Novagem such a compelling PPIE artifact.Unlike a postcard, medal, photograph or souvenir depicting the Tower, this is an actual physical survivor of the spectacle itself: the faceted glass was the spectacle.The clear Novagem retains the surface character one would expect from a genuine object dating to 1915, including minor age-related wear and small edge imperfections. These pieces are now over 110 years old.A superb artifact for a collector of San Francisco history, PPIE material, World’s Fairs, California history, architectural fragments, historic glass, early electric illumination, or anyone who wants an actual surviving piece of San Francisco’s vanished “Jewel City.”1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition
Tower of Jewels
San Francisco, California
Original large clear Novagem$695
Selling as is Keywords: PPIE, Panama Pacific International Exposition, 1915 World’s Fair, Tower of Jewels, Novagem, San Francisco history, California history, antique glass, architectural artifact, world fair souvenir, Cliff House, San Francisco collectible.