This object is an exceptionally rare, original 1880s leaded glass advertising display from the Collier Shot Tower Company based in St. Louis, Missouri. [1]

Object History and Function

What it Represents: It is a miniature advertising model and salesman's sample. It was used to display "drop shot" lead ammunition. 

The Ammunition Inside: The clear glass hollow body is filled with actual graduated lead shot pellets ranging in sizes from 00 at the base up to 13 near the top. 

Industrial Context: Historical shot towers manufactured spherical ammunition by dropping molten lead from the top of a massive tower. As the lead fell, gravity and surface tension pulled the liquid into near-perfect spheres before it solidified in a water basin at the base. 

Design Twist: While it resembles the Eiffel Tower, the base specifically bears the relief-molded company text: "COLLIER SHOT TOWER COMPANY / ST. LOUIS MO".