How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X

Locations vary, ca. 1883-87. Group of items related to the Statue of Liberty, including, a Merrick Thread Co. trading card, "Liberty Enlightening the World" (encapsulated by SGC, 3.5 VG+); Bartholdi Statue of Liberty. Liberty Enlightening the World (1884, 24mo), a series of small black and white illustrations; an 1887 German edition of Puck magazine discussing the Statue; three manuscript letters, New York, August-September 1883, discussing moulds for the Statue of Liberty. Size and condition varies, but generally fine.

The idea of presenting the American people with a monumental statue representing liberty was first proposed in 1870 by French president of the Anti-Slavery Society Édouard René de Laboulaye, who wanted to honor the Union's victory in the Civil War. Laboulaye also hoped to inspire the French people with the great strides in human rights achieved by their compatriots in the United States to demand a democracy of their own. Architect Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was inspired by depictions of Columbia and of Libertas, Roman goddess of freedom. Original designs included Liberty holding a broken chain to symbolize the end of slavery, however it was decided that this was too divisive a message so soon after the end of the Civil War.

Construction began in Paris in 1877, with the statue's head completed just in time to be displayed at the Paris World's Fair the following year. While this was going on, a pedestal was constructed on Bedloe's Island, in Manhattan harbor. On July 17, 1885 the French ship Isère arrived in New York carrying the parts of the statue. Upon completion of the pedestal, the statue was assembled and a dedication ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland, was held on October 28, 1886. Poet Emma Lazarus was commissioned to compose a short verse to be included on the statue which reads in part, "Give me your tired, your poor / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Lazarus had been heavily involved in relief efforts for immigrant communities in New York and elsewhere, and she would later write that she wished to "dedicate" the statue as a welcoming beacon to those seeking safety from persecution in the United States.