[Miles O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] Ah, the Eiffel Tower, graceful symbol of the City of Light. But sometimes things get lost in "le translation." CNN's Paris Bureau Chief Peter Humi shows us Eiffel Tower memorabilia that's going on the auction block in Paris today.
[Peter Humi, Cnn Correspondent:] Not only can you see it from everywhere, you can find it everywhere. Wrote French author and poet Guidemo Poisson, he added, "It's an unavoidable excruciating nightmare." Guidemo Poisson wrote those scathing words just one year after construction of arguably the world's most famous landmark for the 1889 Paris Exhibition. What the poet found a nightmare was a collector's dream. Over a quarter of a century a Parisian couple gathered 2,000 items related to the tower and the international fair. The tower was meant to be demolished afterwards, explains Andre Fetro, who put together the collection's catalog, even though it was the highlight of the show, he says. Debate raged at the time but the tower survived, of course, and became a tourist magnet almost immediately. The collection may not be expensive, there are just a few objects that would make much more than 1,000 francs, about $175, but they have historical value.
[Andre Fetro:] It shows quite very well the decorative arts of the beginning of the century.
[Humie:] These matching chairs with the Eiffel Tower carved into the back rest were found in a bar in Vietnam. [on camera]: And then there's this monumental work, almost as impressive as the real thing. And it took 10 times as long to build. [voice-over]: More than seven feet tall and made of 18,000 match sticks built over nearly two decades by someone who can, at best, be described as patient. Another tower, this one made entirely of foil used in cigarette packs. Turn of the century souvenirs, says Andre Fetro, were more practical than today's. There are bottles for perfumes, for liqueurs, even baby bottles. This one was condemned as a health hazard in 1910 but it sold in its thousands by then. Scissors, plates, glasses and even a bell, the form of the tower to summon the help. And what would Monsieur Gustave Eiffel have made of all of this? He would have been delighted, says Fetro. He was first and foremost a businessman, after all, he says, and one whose biggest gamble paid off handsomely. Peter Humi, CNN, Paris.