Description:

Bartholdi Frederic


Statue of Liberty Inauguration Ceremony ALS: we "were pulled up in a basket to the Torch!"


1pp ALS on watermarked cream stationery with "D.H. King, Jr., 35 Wall St., (Mills Building,) New York." letterhead inscribed overall and signed by Statue of Liberty General Contractor D.H. King, Jr. as "D.H. King Jr." In very good to near fine condition, with expected overall toning and paper folds. Page measures 5.25" x 9".


On October 22, 1886, here written as "22 Oct/86", D.H. King, Jr. wrote a letter from his lower Manhattan building offices to Georges A. Glaenzer. "My dear Sir: I desire to have you act as one of my aids at the Inauguration Ceremonies at Bedlow [sic Island on Thursday next -- Please advise me of your pleasure in the matter & oblige, Yours kindly…"


We know that Georges Glaenzer agreed to help D.H. King, Jr. because of an inscription in his hand written in red ink at upper left: "DHK + I drove the first Rivet into the Statue. were pulled up in a basket to the Torch!"


There is not much biographical information about letter writer D.H. King, Jr., but he was mentioned in period journals through his connection to the Statue of Liberty and other building projects. In 1886, D.H. King, Jr. was a contractor who "had general charge [of the Statue of Liberty building project from the laying of the first stone of the pedestal to the driving of the last rivet", as Engineering News, Vol. 15-16 described his responsibilities. It seems that King, Jr. was a New York City real estate broker before entering into construction, and he enjoyed considerable commercial success. Besides the Statue of Liberty, other King Jr.-supervised construction projects included the Produce Exchange Building, the Times Building, the Hamilton Club in Brooklyn, and the Equitable Life Assurance Building among others.


The Statue of Liberty's dedication ceremony on Bedloe's Island was an exclusive event attended only by dignitaries, first among them 24th U.S. President Grover Cleveland (1837-1908). Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805-1894) and William M. Evarts (1818-1901) spoke on behalf of the French and American Committees of the Franco-American Union respectively. Bartholdi declined to speak, but did signal the release of the French flag covering Liberty's face prematurely. According to a report of the ceremony later published by the American Committee of the Franco-American Union, King, Jr. was there to help him: "At the close of Mr. Evarts's speech, M. Bartholdi, assisted by Mr. D.H. King, Jr., removed the French flag, which had covered the face of the statue … "


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. It is possible that Glaenzer knew King, Jr. prior to the Statue of Liberty project, as both had worked for and with the Vanderbilts.


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