Auguste BARTHOLDI Autographed Letter Signed Statue of Liberty

  

Frédéric Auguste BARTHOLDI (1834 - 1904), French sculptor. Signed autograph letter to the politician Henri Martin. Paris, July 19, 1883; 2 pages in-8°. A beautiful letter from the young sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, completely devoted to the colossal project of the Statue of Liberty, present on all fronts, including promoting his work: "Thank you very much for your kind note; it pleases me with its friendly nature; but it saddens me on the other hand, because I regret not being able to leave!

There are too many things that require my presence and I find myself unable to leave! I would have been very happy to be able to travel with you and see with you the beautiful things of the past that you know how to bring back to life before our eyes. Alas, necessity is law and I must stay on shore. I recently saw that you were in contact with the society of Hungarian travelers.

If you wanted to send them to see the Statue of Liberty, I am sending you an invitation card attached that you could address to them, if necessary I would go to receive them, if I am informed of the day and time. This might not be a bad thing to do for the moral character of our work (... The project of the Statue of Liberty came to life on April 21, 1865 when Edouard de Laboulaye, a law professor at the College de France and admirer of young American democracy, proposed the idea that France offer the United States a statue symbolizing Liberty enlightening the World, thus sealing the friendship between the two countries. The design was entrusted to the young Auguste Bartholdi, distinguished by his colossal Lion of Belfort.

France's defeat at Sedan, followed by the Paris Commune and the political and financial problems encountered, delayed the project by ten years. The statue was supposed to be inaugurated on the centenary of American independence, July 4, 1876, but construction had barely begun at the Gaget-Gauthier & Cie foundry in the 17th. Auguste Bartholdi is said to have been inspired by the features of his dear mother for the statue's face, while the torch was crafted by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. Funding was a real challenge, with donations from Americans and French being essential.

The hand was presented at the Philadelphia Universal Exhibition in 1876 and the head was admired at the Champ de Mars during the 1878 exhibition. Gustave Eiffel, the brilliant designer of iron bridges, was chosen to build the iron framework of the Lady. The 46-meter-high structure was completed in July 1884.

Bartholdi, visiting New York, chose the small island of Belloe's Island to house his masterpiece. It was dismantled piece by piece to be transported by boat to Le Havre on May 21, 1885. It triumphantly entered the port of New York on June 17. Erected on its metal pedestal designed by Gustave Eiffel, it could finally light up the world from its 93 meters. The inauguration took place on October 28, 1886 in the presence of American President Grover Cleveland and Auguste Bartholdi.