Description:

Bartholdi Frederic

1pp DS inscribed in French and signed by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi as “A. Bartholdi” at bottom right. Cream faintly lined paper inscribed in purple ink, with four excerpts double underlined in red. One stamped and one embossed stamp duty mark, both depicting a Classically dressed woman, appear in the upper left corner. In near fine condition but with light expected paper folds. Purple ink a little faded but Bartholdi’s signature is bold and dark. Minor surface roughness verso indicates document was previously adhered to another backing. The page measures 6.875” x 8.875”.

This June 20, 1877 legal document granted power of attorney to Georges Glaenzer, Bartholdi’s business associate, friend, and fellow member of the Franco-American Union. It might be a clerical copy as only one of the parties signed it.

“Between the undersigned: --------

1st Mr. Auguste Bartholdi, sculptor, residing in Paris, no. 40 rue Varin on one part --------

2nd Mr. Georges A. Glaenzer, merchant, Secretary of the Committee of the Franco-American Union residing in Paris, no. 35 boulevard de Strasbourg on the other part --------

As follows:

Mr. Bartholdi gives for the present to Mr. Geo. Glaenzer full and entire power of attorney to supervise the reproduction, effect the sale, and prosecute any counterfeiting of his work, the statue of ‘Liberty Illuminating the World’, commemorative monument that must be raised in the port of New-York and authorizes him to act in his name in all that is necessary to accomplish this triple goal.

Mr. Geo. Glaenzer accepts the above mandate and agrees to act only to safeguard the interests of Mr. Bartholdi”.

Bartholdi and Glaenzer collaborated extensively during the process of fundraising for, fabricating, and overseeing the permanent placement of the Statue of Liberty. This document authorized Glaenzer to act on Bartholdi’s behalf to protect the integrity of the sculptor’s design in all of its manifestations. Bartholdi was extremely protective of his rights and reproductions. Even with patent protection, bootleg Statue of Liberty souvenirs abounded in both France and the United States.

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 one of the people who made the project possible. 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 a member of the French Commission to the Centennial, and secretary of the French commission charged with fund-raising for the Statue of Liberty.

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