Description:

Bartholdi Frederic

Rare Bartholdi Statue of Liberty souvenir card 


Handsome 6" x 3.125" cream colored printed stock card depicting Statue of Liberty inscribed with 15 words in English and signed by French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi as “A. Bartholdi” at top right. The souvenir card, showing the Statue of Liberty overlooking New York Harbor dotted with sailing vessels, is silhouetted by the slanting rays of an auspicious sunrise. The card is further dated "1893." In near fine condition, with expected toning. Minor tape marks at top and bottom recto, and rusted paperclip impression verso.


Bartholdi hated communicating in English, which perhaps explains the awkward phrasing of his English inscription: "Please to agree my grateful remembrance of your reception and kind sympathies." This card likely dates from one of Bartholdi's last visits to the United States. (He had traveled there four times previously, in 1871, 1876, 1885, and 1886.) Bartholdi was thus employing his rusty English some seven years after his last visit to the U.S. (on the occasion of the unveiling of his Statue of Liberty.)


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 designed 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 New York in 1886, the massive 151-ft tall copper-clad sculpture of a standing woman would fundamentally change the cityscape.


Bartholdi continued working after the Statue of Liberty: he completed six major projects in the 1890s, including municipal statues and sculptural groupings in Paris, Sevres, Lyons, and his hometown of Colmar.  The Gorham Manufacturing Company commissioned Bartholdi to design a monumental statue of Christopher Columbus in sterling silver for the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Bartholdi's model was sent to a Providence, Rhode Island foundry where it was cast in silver, transported by railway, displayed in Chicago, and then melted. To thank their host city, Gorham gave a bronze copy of Bartholdi's statue in 1893. Archival evidence shows that Bartholdi was in Providence in 1893, although it is unknown whether he participated in the bronze casting process. The 6.6 feet tall statue is still on display in Providence's Columbus Park.


The similarities between Bartholdi's Statue of Liberty and Christopher Columbus are evident; see a photo of Christopher Columbus below.


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