A stretch of the original stairs of the Eiffel Tower in Paris will be auctioned as part of a set of symbols of the city that will be exhibited at the headquarters of the auctions huse, the Hotel Drouot.
Among the 301 items to be auctioned is a section of glass broken during the construction in 1987 of the glass pyramid now standing at the entrance to the Louvre Museum. Estimated at euro500 to euro1,000 ($735-$1,470), it is accompanied by a photograph taken at the time.
The idea of an auction was generated when authorities at Nogent-sur-Marne, east of the city, asked Lucien to sell the part of Eiffel Tower staircase, bought by the town in a 1983 auction.
Gustave Eiffel himself climbed the painted iron stairs linking the third and fourth floors of the tower (second and third floors by French count) during the 1889 inauguration of the monument, today the symbol of Paris, to plant the French flag.
Of a more modest size, and price, are a taxi counter from around 1920, estimated at euro100-euro150 ($147-$220), and a pair of wooden Metro seats, hat racks included, from the early 20th century, estimated at euro400-euro500 ($588-$735).
