HOST: Since the first World's Fair in London in 1851, international expositions have optimistically looked to the future, showcasing the latest ideas in design and technology. Expert Eric Silver met us at the Wolfsonian-Florida International University, where they have a large collection of World's Fair objects. Eric, the World's Fair display here at the Wolfsonian has everything from ashtrays to works of fine art, and you've selected a few examples to share with us today. And let's start with this beautiful bronze sculpture.
APPRAISER: This is a wonderful sculpture by Arthur Waagen, and it commemorates the World's Fair of 1889 in Paris. That was the centennial of the French Revolution.
HOST: And what do we see in this bronze?
APPRAISER: We see these two workers in the midst of constructing the Eiffel Tower, which was an architectural and an engineering marvel of its day. It's called The Glory of Iron. The figures themselves are made out of bronze, and the rest of it is made out of brass and tin.
HOST: Is this a one-of-a-kind piece, or are there other bronze statues similar to this by Waagen?
APPRAISER: Well, there were a number of them made, and I recently found auction records for one that was sold a couple of years ago.
HOST: And if we were to find one like the one you found at auction, what would be the value?
APPRAISER: The price range at auction would be between $5,000 and $7,000.
HOST: Eric, tell me about this bronze.
APPRAISER: Well, this sculpture was done for the Panama Pacific Exposition of 1915. It was held in San Francisco, and it commemorated the opening of the Panama Canal. It's called The Star, and it was done by Alexander Sterling Calder, and he was the father of Alexander Calder, who, we all know, developed mobiles. This was atop a building at that fair.
HOST: And there were many of them along the building.
APPRAISER: That's right.
HOST: And so if we were to find one, what would be the value of that piece?:
APPRAISER: Well, actually, one recently came up at auction, and it brought $65,000.
HOST: Now, tell me about these important volumes here.
APPRAISER: This is a 12-volume set that records things that were shown at the 1925 Paris Exposition.
HOST: Paris Exposition is where we got the phrase "art deco," I understand.
APPRAISER: That's right. The term "art deco" is a shortening of arts décoratifs.
HOST: Thank goodness. Much easier to say "art deco."
APPRAISER: That's right.
HOST: Somewhere in those books, you might find a picture of this next item, and that's something that if we could attend in person, we might want to purchase it at the gift shop.
APPRAISER: That's right-- this is a small medal made to commemorate the fair by Pierre Turin, who was a French Art Deco sculptor. These medals are quite interesting. They were very highly collected in their day, and today you could probably buy one in a coin or medal shop for about $400 to $600. The set itself is quite valuable. It's wonderful because of the bindings, which spell out the name of the exhibition across the 12 volumes, and if you could find one in a retail setting, it would probably be between $5,000 and $7,000.
HOST: For a set of 12 books.
APPRAISER: For the set of 12 books.
HOST: Well, this is really great. We've gone from the birth of the phrase "art deco" and seen all these great sculptures, representing some fantastic World Fairs. Thank you very much, Eric.
APPRAISER: You're welcome.
