Description:

Bartholdi Frederic

Small archive comprised of ANS inscribed overall in French and signed by Statue of Liberty sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, as well as an embossed card from the Union League Club dated the day before the inauguration of the Statue.


What did Bartholdi do before and after the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty? He attended a round of celebratory receptions at places like the Union League Club, and went sight-seeing at Niagara Falls!


The 1pp ANS on cream blue lined "Hoffman House, Broadway, Madison Square, New York, ……. 1886" hotel stationery was hastily hand-written by Bartholdi and initialed "A.B." He writes: "Geo. Glaenzer and Madame, Tomorrow Sunday depart for Niagara either from the hotel at 9 o'clock or from Grand Central at 9:45. With best wishes, A.B." In near fine condition, although trimmed at bottom. With expected folds and minor paper wavering, measuring 5.75" x 4.5".


The card emblazoned "Reception, The Union League Club, October 27th 1886" has an embossed eagle toting two shields representing the Republic of France and the United States. In very good to near fine condition, although some of the gilt components are tarnished and have minor verdigris.


Bartholdi and the French delegates arrived in New York on October 25, 1886, staying at Hoffman House on Broadway between 24th and 25th Streets. This hotel established in 1864 offered its guests opulently furnished rooms, a European design plan, and Parisian cuisine.


Two days after arriving and on inauguration eve, Bartholdi and the French delegates were invited to a posh reception at the Union League Club. Organization headquarters was in a Georgian style mansion on 37th Street and Park Avenue. The ULC was established in 1863 as a gentleman's club, but by the late nineteenth century, it had embraced a philanthropic and cultural mission. It raised money for the Statue of Liberty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Lincoln Monument. Famous Union Leaguers included Teddy Roosevelt, Chester Arthur, J. Pierpont Morgan, and other American elite.


In the week following the inauguration, Bartholdi and his compatriots took the opportunity to visit another famous New York tourist attraction 400 miles to the northwest: Niagara Falls. As we know from Bartholdi's note to Mr. and Mrs. Georges Glaenzer, the group traveled by train. See below for a sepia photo depicting Bartholdi on this trip. He is seated at the center of the front row, holding his bowler hat in his lap.


Statue of Liberty sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904) studied painting, sculpture, and architecture under well-known instructors like Viollet-le-Duc in Paris. Following his service in the Franco-Prussian War, Bartholdi became increasingly interested in sculpting monumental works celebrating resistance against oppression, and Enlightenment ideals like Freedom. Bartholdi later conceived of the design of the “Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World”. The fundraising phase of this process would take years, and indeed long surpass the actual 100th anniversary of the United States. Yet once it was installed in 1886, the massive 151-ft tall copper-clad sculpture of a standing woman would fundamentally change the cityscape.


Georges Auguste Glaenzer (1848-1915) was Bartholdi’s friend and frequent correspondent. Glaenzer was also Secretary of the French Committee of the Franco-American Union, the organization formed in 1875 to fund-raise for the Statue of Liberty. In 1886, Glaenzer was a living in New York as a French expatriate. This Franco-Prussian War veteran transferred his interior decorating business to the United States in 1880, where he beautified the homes of affluent New Yorkers like the Vanderbilts. Glaenzer had numerous extra-professional interests including yachting and architecture. He was also the son-in-law of his American counterpart in the Franco-American Union, Richard Butler (1831-1902).


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