Here's how to buy a piece of Paris history
The Paris Mon Amour auction was on this week... And I bought something!
This week played host to the annual Paris Mon Amour auction, where nostalgia from the City of Lights is sold to a crowd of ravenous Francophiles.
This time around, the sale included a Hector Guimard art nouveau bench, an actual bouquiniste bookstand by the Seine, antique canes, beautiful Paris paintings, Eiffel Tower trinkets from the 1800s, and much more.
The main drawcard were chandeliers that once hung in the Grand Hôtel of the Palais d’Orsay, which sold for 25,000 euros.
If you weren’t there in person, it didn’t matter, because you could have bid online from anywhere in the world. I know this because… I did it! And I actually won something! I’ll reveal more after I’ve picked up the object. Any guesses?
The head auctioneer was Christophe Lucien, a charming French gentleman who was once a guest on my podcast. I re-shared his episode this week, check it out below or anywhere you get pods.
The point of all this is, if you listen to The Earful Tower podcast when it comes out, you’re in the know (and logically, you can bid on things like auctions that loads of other Francophiles out there don’t even know about).
Speaking of the pod, here’s a clue for next week’s episode: The Seine might be Messy, but the Boutique is Chic. Any guesses?
Meanwhile, if you’re an Earful Tower member, this week I released a 30-minute video of Christophe Lucien the auctioneer showing us around his showroom from a few sales ago. It made for a really interesting deep-dive into the history of Paris. Patreon members, click here to watch it. Substack members, I’ll email it through to you later today. Not a member? Please sign up to support the channel and unlock extras. Links at the bottom of this email.
New YouTube Videos
In other news, we’ve been very busy adding videos to our YouTube channel almost non-stop. Especially slow-TV walks through each of the arrondissements. Yesterday, we uploaded a video from the 9th district, a walk around the Palais Garnier Opera house, and then through the Galeries Lafayette and onto its stunning rooftop. You can see that video below, or you can click here for the full playlist.
And just one hour ago, we released the video from the elegant 8th arrondissement. Look below, at the 16 minute mark we take you into the opulent Petit Palais for what must be the most gorgeous lobby in Europe. It’s free to enter that place. Look at the cafe!!
Meanwhile, don’t forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel. It’s truly jam-packed with Paris content. In fact, all 412 episodes of The Earful Tower podcast are now on YouTube (audio only). They all went up automatically this week.
This means I now have 412 new videos with 0 views each. But it also means that if you’re looking for any episode from the archives, they’ve never been so easy to find. If you Google search key words, plus the word Earful, the relevant YouTube video will be the top hit. I just Googled “Cheese Earful” and found this. A classic!
Our New Books!
I’m very excited to announce that our new children’s book, The Animal Games in Paris, is on sale at the following places: Shakespeare and Co, The Red Wheelbarrow, Galignani, Smith and Son, Le Peloton Cafe, The US embassy shop (only if you work there!), and a new boutique that will feature on Monday’s podcast episode.
It’s also in several smaller shops in the 7th arrondissement including: Jeux Lis La, Lapin d’Alice, Tome 7, and Chantelivre.
Look below, that’s the Red Wheelbarrow bookshop. You can’t miss it, all four of our books are in the entry windows!
Next week I’ll be taking them to the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay. And if you’re anywhere else in the world but Paris, I’ll send one to you. Browse my online shop here.
OK, that’ll do for me. It’s the Fete de la Musique street party tonight, and I need to figure where to go! I heard that Slim and the Beast, the first ever guests on my pod, are reuniting for one-show only…
Have a lovely weekend, thanks for reading.
Oliver
Ooooh, are you visiting Messy Nessy's new boutique in next week's episode? Can't wait! I'm so looking forward to popping in when I come to Paris in a couple of months to volunteer for the Paralympics.
I bet it was a cane!