1886
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It's Conception It's Construction It's Inauguration B.W. Dinsmore & Co. |
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| This pamphlet is a reproduction of the original published in 1886, sold for 25 cents, as a souvenir of the Inauguration of the Statue of Liberty. It contains a history of the Conception and Construction of the Statue and a complete itinerary of the Inauguration ceremonies. About half the publication contains advertising, which was obviously the incentive for the printing. From the title page: "Being a complete history to the date of the inauguration, October 28, 1886, and containing the official programme of the ceremonies on that occasion." Published by B.W. Dinsmore & Co., New York, 1886. |
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ITS CONCEPTION.
In the growth and development of nations, as of individuals, certain lofty ideas, whether of literature, of philosophy, or of art, are impossible of birth or accomplishment until a certain stage of acquirement has been reached. It was fitting, therefore, that the grand idea of a statue of "Liberty Enlightening the World," to be placed at the gateway of the metropolis of a land where liberty had at last found a sure and abiding resting-place, should have been conceived in a country where liberty was equally worshiped, and which has advanced among the furthest in civilization and in art. The ideal of the French nation, Liberte, Egaulite, Fraternite - an ideal for whose realization the streets and boulevards of their cities have time and again run with blood, and for which countless thousands of their citizens have mourned - they have beheld accomplished, not wholly without bloodshed either, but accomplished to its fullest degree in America, one of the youngest nations of the world. Across 4,000 miles of ocean have been borne to their ears the exultant shouts of a nation of freemen; their writers have described our proud, lofty bearing, our mutual self-respect, and pointed toward America as the true haven of the oppressed. The sons of their noblest houses drew
their swords and shed their blood for American independence, and with heart and hand the French have for many years past been our strongest allies. Meanwhile, the United States, enjoying a period of peace, has flourished and become one of the mightiest nations upon the earth. In this the French saw the beneficent results of liberty, and cried, "Behold! where liberty reigns how prosperous and mighty is the land! " With two nations thus morally related and at peace the time grew ripe for some noble act of mutual appreciation and regard. At last came the hour for its fulfillment, and, as ever before in the world's history, "the hour found the man, the man his hour." It was on an evening in the Summer of 1865, the Summer following the Spring when closed the great Civil War in America, that the idea of the statue of "Liberty" was first conceived. A memorable evening it was, and one that will hereafter hold a prominent place in the annals of France and of America. M. Bartholdi describes what took place on that historical evening, in the following glowing words:
M. Laboulaye observed, that in the case of Italy there had never been a popular tradition of friendship; that in 1859 a service had been done her, but she had been made to feel that France had repaid herself for it; and that fact was sufficient to make the remembrance unpleasant to the Italians. It was a wholly different thing in the case of other nations or peoples with whom there was a genuine flow of sympathy, caused by experiences common to the two nations, it might be by affinity of aspiration, or by the influence of certain feelings which served as a bond of union. Coming to the American Naiton, he said that it had more sympathy for France than for any other European nation; that this sentiment did not bear the stamp of gratitude, but was based upon the remembrance of the community of thoughts and of struggles, sustained with common aspirations. The Frenchmen who fought in the United States spilled their blood for the principles that they hoped to see prevail in France and in the world. The first volunteers went away - in spite of the Government, and all the world recalls the difficulties encountered by Lafayette at his departure. There is then, he said, in that struggle for independence, not a simple service rendered to a friendly nation, but a fraternity of feelings, a community of efforts and of emotions; and when hearts have beaten together something always remains among nations as among individuals.
The proof, he added, is that in the United States they hold up to honor the remembrance of the common glories, they love Lafayette and his volunteers as they revere the American heroes. In the public mind this remembrance is much clearer than that of the political action of the French Government. No one in the United States speaks of the Treaty of Versailles, which made the United States what they are. Many Americans are ignorant even of the date of that treaty; on the other hand everyone recalls the names and deeds of the French soldiers. There, said Mr. Laboulaye, is the basis of the sentiments which are felt in the United State toward the French, an indestructible basis, a sentiment honorable to the American as to us, and if a monument were to be built in America, as a memorial to their independence, I should think it very natural if it were built by united effort, if it were a common work of both nations. M. Bartholdi states that he often heard these ideas combatted during the Franco-Prussian war, but that at no time did he lose faith in them and their ultimate realization. "When the war was over," he says, "I could not go to my native land, Alsace, which was shut against me by the Germans; at Paris, the Commune was in power and civil war was raging. After a short stay in Switzerland, I resolved to take a journey in order to withdraw myself from all the painful impressions of the year through which I had just passed, and the idea came to me of going to visit America. "I went to Versailles to see again the friends whom I had not seen for so many dolorous months; I found myself again at the house of M. Laboulaye, with Messieurs Lafayette, Henri Martin, Remusat, Volowski, de Gasparin and other distinguished men, whose sympathies toward the United States were well known. They talked again of American sentiment, of the shipments which the Americans had made to Paris, of the diverse opinions which prevailed in America. M. Laboulaye took up again his views as expressed previously, and declared that without any doubt there would be at the hundredth anniversary of the Independence of the United States a movement which would enlist the sympathies of the French and American people in a common bond of unity and fellowship. Turning to Bartholdi, he said:
 Never was an artist before inspired by such words or intrusted with so grand a commission. Fired with the idea, which he embraced with all the ardor of his French and artistic temperament, "imbued," as he himself says, "with the thoughts of such eminent men as Laboulaye and his associates," Bartholdi started for America. No sooner had he reached the harbor of New York than he discovered the place for the monument and the form it should assume. Listen to the glowing words in which he describes his discovery: "When, after some days of voyaging, in the pearly radiance of a beautiful morning is revealed the magnificent spectacle of those immense cities, of those rivers extending as far as the eye can reach, festooned with masts and flags; when one awakes, so to speak, in the midst of that interior sea covered with vessels, moving to and fro like a crowd upon a public place, it is thrilling. It is, indeed, the New World, which appears in its majestic expanse with the ardor of its glowing life. Was it not wholly natural that the artist was inspired by this grand spectacle Yes, in this very place, said I, shall be raised the statue of 'Liberty,' grand as the idea which it embodies,. radiant upon the two worlds. If then the fame of the accomplished work is mine, to the Americans I owe the thought and the inspiration which gave it birth. I was conscious, when I landed in New York, that I had found the idea which my friends had hoped for." M. Bartholdi, in conversation with M. Laboulaye was told by the latter to study the habits, art, feelings and ideas of the American people and decide upon a proper gift, one that would serve to perpetuate the friendly relations tha.t had been formed in the struggle for independence. "We" said Mr. Laboulaye, "will take up a subscription in France. If you find a happy idea, a plan that will excite public enthusiasm, we are convinced that it will be successful on two continents, and we will do a work that will have a far-reaching .effect." 
It was in these convictions that the germ of the monument of the French-American Union was found. Charged with his mission, and enthusiastic in the hope of accomplishing it successfully, M. Bartholdi sailed to this country. He had no idea what shape the gift of France to the United States was to take when he left his friend Laboulaye. "In the course of the voyage," he says, "I formed some conceptions of a plan of a monument, but I can say that at the view of the harbor of New York the definite plan was first clear to my eyes." Bartholdi traveled from East to West, as he says, "on an artistic journey through the cities and wild regions as well, painting, designing and making acquaintances everywhere; and I employed my time so well for five months that I acquired a more general knowledge of the United States than many Americans possess." He met many distinguished men, among whom were the poet Longfellow, and Senator Charles Sumner, and received from them warm and hearty encouragement. M. Bartholdi made a sketch in water colors, of the monument of Liberty on Bedloe's Island, and on his return to France placed it before his friends. 
The plan of the French-American Union was not launched upon the public until the end of the year 1874. Up to that time it had been organized, the means had been prepared, and he made the first models. The following appeal was issued throughout France and it served to draw attention to the Bartholdi Statue among French people and awaken in them the interest that the massive undertaking demanded:
The principal signers to this appeal were: Messieurs Laboulaye, DeNoailles, DeRemusat, Waddington, Henri Martin, De Rochambeau, Dietzmonuir, DeToqueville, O. de Lafayette, DeLasteyrie, Count Serurier, Valowski and others. These men were all interested from the start in promoting Bartholdi's statne to a glorious completion, and they spared no exertion to realize the grand idea which had interested them.  Subscription lists were circulated throughout France at that time. They bore at the head the following, prepared by Mr. Laboulaye:
The appeal had a considerable response. The birth of the work was celebrated on November 6, 1875, in the Hotel of the Louvre by a banquet which has remained memorable. The arts, letters, the press, politics, sent their illustrious representatives both from America and from France. In that hall whose echoes repeated again and again the names of Franklin and of Washington, were seen near each other the representatives of the names of Lafayette and of Rochambeau. Near Mr. Washburne, Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States, near Mr. Forney, Commissioner-General in Europe of the Universal Exposition of the same States, were seen the members of the originating committee: Messieurs Laboulaye, Henri Martin, Dietz, Mounir, Oscar de Lafayette, Jules de Lasteyrie, Paul de Remusat, Waddington, Count Serurier, Cornelisde Witt. Jean Mace, Victor Borie, Cauoert, A. Bartholdi, de Lagorsse, de Tocqueville, Viollet-Leduc, Volowski. At this banquet M. Henri Martin offered a toast to the Republic of the United States, and to President Grant, to which Minister Washburne replied as follows:
M. Laboulaye replied as follows:
To raise the necessary funds there were many festivals and exhibitions in different parts of France, and these Circumstances served to arouse patriotic feeling among the French and American people. On M. Bartholdi's return to this country to enlist the aid of the United States in his great project, some 402 gentlemen, prominent in different sections of the country, were then or afterward elected members of the Statue of "Liberty" Committee. Mr. William M. Evarts was at that time chosen Chairman, Mr. J. W. Pinchot, Treasurer, and Mr. Richard Butler, Secretary, of this Committee, and issued an announcement to the people of the United States. A sub-committee of this general committee, consisting of William M. Evarts, the late ex-Governor Morgan, Parke Godwin, Clark Bell, and J. W. Pinchot, was charged with the duty of procuring the necessary legislation, and obtained from Congress, on the recommendation of President Hayes, the passage of the following resolution providing for the acceptance of the colossal statue, and the designation of either Governor's or Bedloe's Island, in New York Harbor, as its site and its future maintenance as a beacon:
President Hayes authorized General Sherman to select the site, and he, acting upon a suggestion from the committee, who were aware of Bartholdi's preferences, designated Bedloe's Island. This island, about a mile in circumference, lies at the western edge of the channel of the Upper New York Bay, about two miles from the Battery. It was known in the early days of New York as Love Island, and acquired its present title when it was sold by Admiral Kennedy, of the British Navy, who had occupied it as a Summer residence, to a member of the old and esteemed Bedloe family of New York. It was at one time noted for its rabbits, and the pickled oysters which were prepared there. It became the property of the United States Government early in the present century, and was considered very valuable for the purposes of harbor defense. Fort Wood, whose granite sides form an admirable base for the pedestal, was partly built in 1814, and was finished in 1840. 
The site having been selected, the committee issued to the people of the United Stated an address which was at first quite generously responded to. An Executive Committee was soon formed. Richard M. Hunt was appointed Architect of the Pedestal by this committee, and to him was intrusted the design of the exterior of the pedestal. General Charles P. Stone, formerly of the United States Army, and better known by his title of Stone Pasha, bestowed upon him by the Khedive of Egypt, was appointed Engineer-in-Chief. The statue was nearly finished in 1883; but as the work on the pedestal was not far enough advanced to permit of its erection, it was decided to leave it for some time exposed to view in Paris. On June 11, 1884, at a great dinner given by Mr. Morton to the Committee of the French-American Union and to the Ministers of the French Government, M. Ferry, announced that he found it was time for the Government of France to associate itself with the undertaking, and the colossal Statue of Liberty presented to the Americans would be transported to New York on a State vessel under the official banner of France. On Friday, July 4th, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States, M. Ferdinand de Lesseps, President of the American-Union, officially presented at Paris the statue of "Liberty Enlightening the World" to Mr. Levi P. Morton, Minister of the United States. As early as 10 o'clock the workshops of the constructors were besieged by the crowd, and a nnmber of curious persons had perched themselves on the roofs of the neighboring houses. The whole establishment was dressed with the French and American colors. At 11 o'clock, heralded by "The Marseillaise," the official cortege took its place under a pavilion erected for the occasion. M. Ferdinand de Lesseps opened the speaking, and read the following letter from M. Jules Ferry, who was not able to be present at the ceremony:
Then M. de Lesseps, after an allusion to the Panama Canal, "which is the work of the citizens of the two Republics," thanked M. Bartholdi, who conceived and executed the immense statue, which may be characterized, said he, as the eighth wonder of the world. M. de Lesseps said that he was handing over to the United States this great artistic monument, the gift of France, to which have contributed by their votes 180 cities, forty general councils, a large number of chambers of commerce and of societies, and over a hundred thousand subscribers. He thanked the modest co-workers, M. Bergeret, M. Baron, and particularly M. Simon, the brave assistant of M. Bartholdi. He dwelt upon the merit of the great industrial house, Gaget, Gauthier & Co., whose director, M. Gaget, was able so successfully to accomplish such extraordinary labors, He concluded by saying:
Mr. Morton then answered M. de Lesseps by reading a congratulatory telegram from the President of the United States. He eulogized M. Bartholdi and his co-workers, and warmly thanked France for this new testimony of friendship, which owed its beginning to the people. He concluded by thanking Admiral Peyron, who had offered a vessel for the transportion of the statue. 
After this speech M. de Lesseps requested the Ministers to sign the deed of gift, a magnificent parchment enveloped in a case of Russian leather, of which the text is as follows:
The statue was officially presented to the United States in Paris on July 4, 1884, amid the greatest enthusiasm. It arrived in New York Harbor on the 17th of June, 1885, on the transport steamer Isere, after a leisurely trip of twenty-five days. On the 19th of June occurred the formal reception of the Isere and her precious freight. The day was bright, and, decoration being universal, the city presented a beautiful appearance. Flags fluttered from thousands of tall poles. The Broadway store-fronts presented a continuous line of brilliant bunting on either side. Everywhere the Tricolor and the Stars and Stripes were blended, and the emblazoned arms of the French Republic were hung out conspicuously on the facade of the City Hall. The harbor and lower bay fairly swarmed with craft of all kind, from men-of-war to tiny canoes; and not one was without its flag or lines of flags. At ten o'clock the United States naval vessels, which were to escort the "Isere," the fleets of the American Yacht Club, and the citizens' flotilla steamed down the Narrows. Thousands of smaller vessels and pleasure boats formed in line, and amid the booming of cannon from the war. ships and the adjacent forts, the great naval reception to the French ship began. The "Isere" was in the centre of the fleet, surrounded by flagships and war-vessels. First in the procession came the United States steamer "Dispatch," with Secretary Whitney, Commodore Chandler and staff, followed by the "Powhatan," "Omaha" and "Alliance." Then the French flagship "Le Flore," streaming the Tricolor and Stars and Stripes, preceded the "Isere." Behind, and on each side, were the vessels of the American Yacht Club, and countless pleasure-boats thronged with spectators. Various bands of music, after the booming of cannonry died away, began to play patriotic airs, which sounded stirringly over the waters. The "Isere" was exceedingly picturesque with her bright, white sides, her black, gold-trimmed boats and lofty masts trimmed with a hundred bright-colored flags. At 12:15 the "Isere" anchored off Bedloe's, three hundred feet from the spot where the statue now stands. 
We are met at the outset by the difficulty of finding any work with which to compare it. When a picture or a piece of statuary or sculpture of ordinary size is to be judged or criticized, the first step generally taken is to compare with either a former one by the same artist, or with one similar in subject or execution by another hand, which has won reputation and the approval of artists and connoiseurs of its time. But in the "Statue of Liberty" we find a work which had no prototype in earlier times, or no counterpart in the present.Among the seven wonders of the ancient world was placed, perhaps foremost, the Colossus of Rhodes. We are told that this massive structure spanned with outstretched legs the entrance to the harbor of Alexandria, and that ships sailed easily to and fro between them. Allowing for the exaggeration which comes with time, and remembering that the ships of those days were the merest tiny barks compared to the stately vessels that now glide in and out of our harbors and over the oceans, it is yet safe to say that this far famed Colussus, if placed alongside the present statue, would reach but a little way above her knee. The next colossal statue in the course of history is the Jupiter Pluvius of the Protolino Villa; and then comes the well-known one of St. Charles Borromeo, on the shores of the Lago Maggiore, in Italy. This is about half the height of the statue of "Liberty," and is not in any sense a great work of art. Compare it with the present statue, and the distinction between colossal statuary and ordinary sculpture can be seen at once. The statue of St Charles Borromeo is simply an ordinary monument enlarged. It is a reproduction in metal of a man's form and features many times multiplied. It is set in its pedestal without reference to the surroundings. It produces no emotion in the heart of a spectator, it conveys to him no sentiment, it brings to him no conception of some noble idea; in fine it fails to inspire or to elevate as a true work of art should inspire him who gazes upon it. How different with the statue of "Liberty." In form, in conception, and the idea it conveys, it moves and thrills the spectator. The poet gazing upon it sings :
Well says M. Lesbazeilles in his work on colossal statuary: "It is within its scope when it represents power, majesty, infinity. It can lay claim to that class of effects which are produced in us by the heaving of the boundless sea, the bellowing of the wind, the rolling of the thunder."
The statue of St. Charles Borromeo has, however, interest to the student of colossal statuary, because it is the first example of the use of repousse copper mounted on iron trusses. Metal beaten out into sheets had been used earlier, but simply as a covering modeled on a solid wood or stone form. The repousse copper of which the Borromeo statue is made was worked with the hammer both outside and inside, and is freely supported on iron beams. This gives lightness to the work, and the statue of St. Charles Borromeo has withstood the storms of two centuries.Other colossal statues of modern times are those of "Bavaria" at Munich, one-third the height of the statue of "Liberty"; of the Virgin of Puy, a few feet higher than the last named; and the celebrated statue of "Germania," erected a few years since in the Niederwald, which would reach about to the waist of our colossal maiden. This short review of these noted works will enable us to see more clearly the difficulties under which Bartholdi labored in designing and executing the statue of "Liberty." The others have been and are all more or less unsatisfactory, chiefly because their designers did not pay sufficient attention, or were incapable of doing so, first, to the character or thought of the subject, which should be in harmony with the size of the work; second, to the suitableness of the site and the surroundings of the monument; third, to the under standing of the lines and the make-up, which in all colossal works are rendered necessary by the execution. Bartholdi himself sums it up by saying: "The immensity of form should be filled with the immensity of thought, and the spectator, at the sight of the great proportions of the work, should be impressed, before all things else, with the greatness of the idea of which these ample forms are the envelope, without being obliged to have recourse to comparative measurements in order to feel himself moved." But the site is, after all, what determines most surely the effect of a colossal statue when erected; and let the many critics who have condemned the choice of Bedloe's Island for this purpose, reflect that this point was probably the one most carefully studied by the sculptor, and know that the master mind who designed the great work was better fitted to select the frame for his great picture than those who had simply seen models for his work. The frame should lend itself to the subject. It may or may not be approved by architectural effects, by the flight of stairs which lead up to the statue and contribute to the monumental character, but above all a site favorable by its own nation should be sought. There is an instinct which ought to guide the artist, for he ought to turn nature to account in such a way as to make her contribute to the aspect of the monument. The neighborhood of large masses should be avoided. The artist ought to choose his site in such a way that the lines of the ground, and the coloring of the background, will become his assistant in heightening the proper appearance of his work, and the impression which it is to produce.
There is one other most important element in the construction of colossal statuary, and that is, the observance of great simplicity in the lines. The spectator should be able to tell at a glance what meaning the work is intended to convey. His eye should not be led away by the contemplation of details, but he should take in at once the stupendous whole. Simplicity in the lines will give simplicity to the movement and to the gesture. This is very clearly shown in the statue of "Liberty." Its whole mass and form impress themselves immediately upon the spectator; he thinks not of the details; he only feels that the figure conveys to him instantaneously a sense of power and of grandeur, and he bows instinctively to the idea - that idea of liberty which has led armies to battle, has wrecked thrones and overturned nations, and which to-day still stands forth as the grandest that the mind of man has yet conceived. Having glanced at the essential characteristics and elements of colossal statuary, and seen how Bartholdi has conformed to them in the design of the Statue of Liberty, we .pass to a brief review of the details of its manufacture. These presented almost as great a problem as the designing of the statue in the first place, and following this, its adaptation to its surroundings. There having been no statue of the same extraordinary proportions ever erected before - or, at least, none of which there is any record extant - the planning of these details, including the choice of materials, etc., had, to a great extent, to be done in the dark, as it. were. After much cogitation and deliberation, hammered copper was chosen as the matenal, it being light, yet capable of great resistance, and easily subdivided so as to permit easy transportation. This point having been decided upon, a study model, 4 feet in height, was erected. From this was modeled a statue, 6-1/2 feet high, with the greatest care and exactitude. This statue was then reproduced four times as large by ordinary processes. A model, about 36 feet in height, was made from this. This was large enough, when placed by itself, to give some idea of the statue as a whole. This small statue was then divided into a large number of sections, to be reproduced separately, later, four times their individual size. When this last enlargement was made, changes were no longer possible, so that the greatest care had to be exercised by the sculptor in modeling the surfaces, for if mistakes were at any time made, they could not well be rectified. Four plane surfaces, surrounded by frames, arranged in numbered divisions, were placed on the floor of an immense workshop. Similar frames, corresponding in every way with the former ones were hung from the ceiling of the shop. Large pieces of the statue were then modeled by sculptors on these frames. The sections reproduced were placed near by in frames one-fourth the size, so that they could be easily studied. The general form was first laid out with wooden beams covered with lathwork. A coating of plaster was next placed over the laths. The forms of the finished portions were then surrounded by boards, cut so as to adapt themselves to the plaster. These were placed one opposite to another, and crossed at top and bottom. The hammerers then approached, and pressed the sheets of copper into the sort of moulds the boards formed by hammering with mallets. Sheets of lead were next pressed into the board forms, and the copper was again shaped upon these. Iron braces ran from point to point within the copper sheets.
When the pieces were finally completed, they were fastened separately upon the iron beams of the trusswork which supports the whole statue. The core of the trusswork is formed by four great stanchions, bound together by St. Andrew's crosses. From these go out braces to support the surface of the statue. Three bolted braces run from the foot of these stanchions 26 feet into the masonry of the pedestal, and are there connected with an iron framework.
The plaster model being finished, it was necessary to take an impression in wood on which the sheets of copper could be shaped with the hammer. This was the work of the carpenters who took the form of each part by means of planks cut out in silhouettes, which were placed close together or crossed, and in this wooden mould the workmen shaped the sheets of copper by the pressure of a lever or the blows of a hammer. The finishing touches were made with little hammers. The copper was again worked to conform to profiles taken with sheets of lead pressed upon the model. The iron braces uniting the copper shell with the supporting truss-works were forged to the form of the copper sheets after the latter had been entirely completed. The finished pieces were finally carried into the court of the workshop, and there assembled and fastened to the frame. The truss work within the statue was designed and executed by the constructing engineer, M. Eiffel. . The work was done at the establishment of Gaget, Gauthier & Co., Paris. The copper entering into the construction of the statue weighs 80,000 kilos, the iron 120,000, making a total weight of 200,000 kilos, or about 400,000 pounds. The total cost of the statue, including gifts, gratuitous work, and losses sustained by those who gave valuable assistance, is about $200,000. L'illustration gives the cost of the statue proper at $40,000. The immense amount of calculation necessary in the manufacture of. these detailed portions of the statue may be imagined when it is stated that, in addition to the ordinary mechanical difficulties preseated, the resisting power of the iron pieces upon the centre of gravity and upon the action of high winds had to be considered. The most tremendous hurricanes that have blown in Europe and America were taken as a basis, and from this the results were worked out. According to General Stone, the engineer of the pedestal, the entire structure should withstand a gale blowing 141 miles an hour, a force that is almost unknown, certainly in this latitude.
The head was executed for the Paris Exposition of 1878. In the folJowing year all the funds necessary for its execution were attained. On July 7, 1880, the sending of the official notification to the American Committee of. the progress of the work and of the date when the labors upon it would be completed, was celebrated by a fete given to General Noyes, the United States Minister at Paris. The work of execution made rapid progress. On October 24, 1881, the anniversary of the battle of Yorktown, all the pieces of framework and of the base were put in place. The Committee invited Mr. Morton, who was the new United States Minister at that time, to come and drive the rivet of the first piece which was to be mounted. It was the left foot of the statue. Mr. Morton was cordially greeted by a numerous assemblage and M. Laboulaye bade him welcome. This ceremony left a strong impression on everyone, and it echoed through the country. The work on the statue was carried on from that time without. slackening and with a numerous force. It was constantly visited by the public, who showed a lively interest in it. It is estimated that: about 300,000 persons visited the workshops. The statue is made of repousse copper, one-eighth of an inch thick. The envelope is kept in position by iron plates and braces riveting it to a frame work. Each section of the shell is so supported from the frame that it will not be forced to carry the weight of any of the sections above it; in other words, each part will be seff-sustaining. The frame consists of four angle iron corner posts united by horizontal and diagonal angle pieces, dividing each side into panels. To approach more closely to the shell, the main frame is provided with side extensions located according to the contour of the figure. The frames supporting them are similar in desjgn to the main frame, but of lighter material, and are united to the upper end of the mainframe. The head will easily accommodate forty persons, and the torch which is reached by a spiral staircase will hold twelve persons. This torch contains five electric lamps of 30,000 candle power, the light of which will be thrown heavenward. It is believed that the light will so illuminate passing clouds that they will be visible at a distance of 100 miles. Four electric lights of 6,000 candle power each are to be placed at the foot of the statue, so as to illuminate it. The diadem on the head of the figure contains incandescent lamps to give the effect of jewels. Thus was the statue built. It was executed in about six years, but the work met with repeated delays, and was not prosecuted continuously until within the last few months of 1884. Not alone Bartholdi, the designer and chief sculptor, but many other French sculptors of note, labored in the erection of the statue; so eminent an engineer as M. Eiffel had entire charge of the ironwork and bracing of the figure, and the work itself was done in the house of Gaget, Gauthier & Co., of Paris. The weight of this stupendous statue is 440,000 pounds, of which 176,000 are copper, and the remainder wrought iron. But the statue needed a pedestal to make it complete, and this Laboulaye, Bartholdi, and his associates in the French-American Union, felt confident the United States would provide. They have done so. After many months and years of solicitation and constant appeal, the necessary funds were obtained. The sum of $100,000 raised by the World was about one-third of the amount expended on the foundation and pedestal, but it came at a most important and opportune moment, just as Congress had denied the amount asked for to complete the same. The Committee were relieved of a great burden and anxiety by the aid rendered at a supreme moment by the aid of this great journal. Its contributors were confined to no class. The wealthy banker's $500 was matched in spirit by sums ranging from 5 to 10 cents, and an occasional $5 and $10 from some poor workingman or woman, who, roused to enthusiasm by the World's appeals, responded patriotically to them.
While the monument lasts through unnumbered years to come, the World's patriotic effort will be gratefully remembered. Great credit is due to the executive committee composed of the following gentlemen: William M. Evarts, Chairman; Joseph W. Drexel, Parke Godwin, J. W. Pinchot, V. Mumford Moore, Frederick A. Potts, Richard Butler, Secretary; Henry F. Spaulding, Treasurer. These gentlemen have had to contend with many difficulties, but every duty that has fallen to them has been performed cheerfully. Their services have been contributed in an unselfish spirit of devotion to the great work that devolved upon them, and their work has been crowned with success, which, no doubt, recompenses them for the annoyances which they have had to endure. They have performed their duties cheerfully, animated wholly by patriotic ideas, and the people are indebted to them for the fact that the great statue of "Liberty Enlightening the World" has become a glorious reality on Bedloe's Island. The ground was first broken for the erection of the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty now stands in April 1883; the excavation was begun in June; the laying of the foundation in October, and the work was continued until December, 1884, a period of 18 months. Work was stopped, owing to a lack of funds, which were finally supplied by contributions through the World and operations were again begun on May 11, 1885, and rushed along rapidly. The erection of the pedestal involved great difficulties. The committee were constantly annoyed by the many unforeseen obstacles that arose during the progress of the work. The great magnitude of the statue required that the pedestal on which it is placed should be as solid as the rock of Gibraltar, and to make it so it was necessary to bring into service every detail of engineering skill. No point was so trivial that it could be ignored. Everything had to be adjusted with mathematical precision. A few measurements will convey some idea of the immensity of the statue, and the difficulty that General Charles P. Stone, the civil engineer having the work in charge, had to contend with in making a secure foundation for it, a foundatlon, bear in mind, that is to last how long a limitless future alone can reveal. The proportions of the statue are as follows, all of which has been furnished .through the kindness of the Scientific American:
Unquestionably, the final artistic success of such a work as this depended upon the fact that the pedestal should bring out, without in any way detracting from or obscuring by too great prominence, the beauties of the figure. The material underlyig the foundation of the pedestal is compact clay, gravel, and boulders. The foundation up to the terrace level - where the pedestal proper begins - is of solid concrete; it is 90 feet square at the bottom, 65 feet square at the top, and 52 feet 10 inches high. In the center of the mass is a well hole 10 feet square. Leading from the sides to the base of the central shaft, or well hole, are four arched passageways at the level of the parade. Spanning the space between the inside walls of the old fort and the foundation of the pedestal, and carrying the four flights of steps leading to the terrace and also the grassy mound between, is a concrete arch about 3-1/2 feet thick, and having a chord span of 49 feet. The pedestal is built of granite, backed with concrete. The principal dimensions are:
The top of the pedestal is 43-1/2 feet square, and has the corners cut off, making it octagonal. The balcony at the top is 3 feet 7 inches wide in the clear, and extends all around. The loggia is 26 feet 7 inches high, the opening being 27 feet 11 inches wide by 3 feet deep in the clear. The columns are 3-1/4 feet wide, the space between them being 6 feet. On each side of the base of the pedestal are ten circular shields carrying coats of arms of the several States. The terrace will have a clear width of 15 feet, while the stairways leading to it are 10 feet wide.
The method of holding the statue to the pedestal is very ingenious. Extending across the top of the pedestal are six channel bars arranged in two sets of three each; these bars are directly beneath the corner posts of the main frame in the interior of the statue. Beneath and at right angles to these are six other channel bars, also arranged in two sets, placed under the corner posts. These bars are 34 feet long, so that each end rests in the masonry to the depth of 10-1/4 feet, the well hole or shaft being 26 feet square. The channel bars are 4 feet deep, the web plates are 5/8 inch thick, and the angles are 4 by 5 by 5/8 inches. The base of each post and the two sets of bars immediately beneath it are united by three bolts 5-1/2 inches in diameter. A little over 60 feet below is a second and similarly arranged systetm of girders 41 feet long, 36 inches deep, with web plate 5/8 inch thick; the angles are 4 by 5 by 1/8 inch. In the lower system there are only two channel bars in a set. These two systems are joined by four sets of eye bars placed as near as possible to the side walls of the shaft. Each set consists of four bars 4 inches wide by 13/8 inches thick. Upon the sides of the statue the upper ends of these bars are prolonged to join the main frame at the tops of the first and second panels. All bracing within the pedestal is made of steel. The following table shows the heights of celebrated statues (in feet):
The work of building the pedestal was directed by General Charles P. Stone, under the supervision of the Executive Committee, to the builder, David H. King, Jr., to whom the committee and the public are under great and lasting obligations. Mr. King built the pedestal as well as erected the statue, and to his great force and ability are largely due the early completion of both works.
His labors were literally pro bono publico. In fact, he has sustained quite a loss in the erection of the statue, and his name deserves the grateful remembrance of all, and especially of those who have had the onus of the responsibility on their shoulders. Even those unacquainted with the details of such work may, by carefully considering all the conditions involved, form a tolerably accurate idea of the labor expended and the patience and skill exercised in the erection of such a structure as the Statue of Liberty. The last operation before the figure left France was the assembling of all of the many pieces comprising the shell or statue proper and the final fitting of each piece to each of its surrounding neighbors. Each piece was then marked with a particular number or figure, and every two meeting pieces were designated by the same character marked upon their adjoining edges; this of course was to serve as a guide when reassembling the statue upon its pedestal at Bedloe's Island. Surrounding each separate piece at a short distance from the edge is a row of small holes; when two pieces are joined together, the holes in one coincide with those in the other, so that the two may be firmly united together by rivets. When the statue was taken down in France, the pieces were packed in frames of wood, to prevent as much as possible their being bent by handling during the passage to this country. But it was impossible to prevent a certain amount of distortion from taking place, so that the reassembling while in progress was to some extent also a work of refitting. This, together with the drawbacks under which the men labored, particularly the great height above ground, rendered the otherwise simple work of erection one of great magnitude. The thousands of rivets added most materially to the labor, as they had to be so driven as not to disfigure the statue by presenting conspicuous and unseemly lines. The copper of the shell being only about three thirty-seconds of an inch thick, lacked rigidity, so that it was necessary to increase the stiffness of every piece, particularly those of a large size, by means of iron bars secured to the interior surface. These bars are three quarters thick by two inches wide, are bent to closely conform to the curves in the copper, to which they are fastened by copper bands whose ends are riveted to the shell, and are so disposed and united to each other as to form a most intricate network of bracing, covering and strengthening the entire statue. This bracing is connected by bars with the main frame that holds the statue upon its pedestal. By this means the rigidity of the whole work is assured, and any wind pressure, the force most to be provided for, upon the pliable, paper-like shell, is transmitted to the four massive iron corner posts of the frame, which are firmly anchored to the masonry. All the framework in the interior of the statue was made in France; and while there is regularity in the main frame, there is nothing apparent in the connecting bracing but a seemingly confused collection of bars of all shapes and lengths, and extending in every conceivable direction. This is caused by the constant change in the direction assumed by the copper, and the endeavor not to have too large a surface unsupported. No part of the ironwork is in direct contact with the copper, a thorough insulation being obtained by shellacking the adjoining surfaces and interposing a strip of asbestos. This is necessary to obviate the deleterious chemical action that would occur if the iron were in direct contact with the copper. The method pursued in the erection of the statue may be briefly described.
The various pieces were temporarily stored in a shed between the base of the pedestal and the dock at which visitors are landed by the little tug plying between the Battery and the island. The piece wanted was carried to the foot of the pedestal, the face of which was protected from injury by a covering of wood, and if large, lashed to a wooden frame to which was attached the end of a rope passing over a derrick on top of the frame, and thence to a hoisting engine on the ground. The piece was then raised to a platform built around the top of the pedestal, and carried to the place where its marks indicated it belonged. The difficulty of the work increased as the top was approached, mainly because of the increased height above ground, the top of the pedestal, where the statue begins, being 151 feet, and the torch 305 feet above water level. There are three kinds of joints in the copper. Where it is particularly desirable that the joint should be concealed, the meeting edges are brought flush together, and are held by a double line of rivets through a strip covermg the inside of the joint. In other cases one edge overlaps the other, a single line of rivets uniting them, and the outer edge was either hammered down to make a flush joint or was not touched further, the selection of the style of seam being governed by its location. The outer heads of the rivets, which are of copper, are countersunk. The two systems of heavy girders, whose ends are embedded in the masonry in the interior of the pedestal, one at the top and the -other sixty feet below, together with the four sets of eyebars that unite the two systems, were placed in position after considerable difficulty. These girders extend across the well at right angles to each other, and, being connected at the top with the main frame, serve to anchor the statue to the pedestal. Lightning has several. times struck the ironwork, but, owing to the means that were early taken to lead the current away, not the slightest damage was done. Extending down each inside wall ot the pedestal is a copper rod five-eights of an inch in diameter. The lower ends of these four rods are joined to plates that are buried in wet earth beneath the bottom of the foundation before building was commenced. The upper ends are united to the frame, and are joined to four diametrically opposite points of the shell. Up to the present time, no portion of the foundation has settled; and tbe solid concrete foundation proper, which is easily the largest single block of artificial stone in the world, being ninety feet square at tne base, sixty-five feet square at the top, and fifty-two feet ten inches in height, with a central well-hole ten feet square, is without a crack or flaw of any description. The inside of the pedestal walls are also of concrete, the face being granite, and they display the same perfection in both material and workmanship. No statue has ever been executed of the extraordinary proportions of the Statue of Liberty. In order to form an idea of the work it was necessary to give the greatest attention to foresee the elements of solidity and the exigencies that were likely to arise. The work has been admirably conducted throughout. Obstacles very annoying have constantly arisen since the idea of the statue was first conceived many years ago, but they have all been bravely met and overcome. The pedestal is indeed worthy of the magmficent burden it will carry for hundreds of years to come. It is built inside of the stone walls of the fort on Bedloe's Island. Architecturally it is, as it ought to be, not obtrusive in design or ornamentation, but its massiveness is sufficiently relieved by architectural variety and ornament to prevent an appearance of a mere pyramid of stone. The design is such that the pedestal calls no attention to itself, but directs it to the statue; and so modest is it in its appearance that a spectator would not be likely to guess how large and how high it is. The foundation of the pedestal proper makes its pryamidal ascent, not with a continuous wall, but with a series of great layers of concrete, each one smaller than the one it rests on. The base of this foundation mass is 13 feet above the mean low-water mark, and its top 52 feet 10 inches. The pedestal, itself, therefore, begins at an elevation of 60 feet 10 inches, which is high above the stone walls of the fort. From these walls curved footways lead to the top of the foundation at the centre of every side. Every side of the foundation and of the pedestal is alike. The solidity of this vast foundadon work is broken only by wide passageways through it at a level with the ground, and a circular vertical shaft in the middle, up which stairways and and elevator run.
At its base. the pedestal proper is 62 feet square. In the centre of each side, at the base, is a doorway 5 feet wide and 13 feet high in the middle, to which tbe footways from the walls of the fort ascend. On either side of every door is a projecting disk of stone, on which are placed the coats of arms of France and the United States in relief. A good architectural effect is produced by the rough-stone work at the corners of the pedestal. At an elevation of 72 feet 8 inches the walls of the pedestal recede, leaving on every side between them and two large columns and two pilasters a balcony off which doors from the inside open. The view from the balcony, on one side, of New York City, Brooklyn, Governor's Island, New Jersey, and the East River Bridge, and on the other, of Staten Island and the Bay, is among the finest that can be enjoyed anywhere in the vicinity of New York. By reason of the steps on the sides of the foundation, the doors in the lower part of the pedestal, the pediments, the projecting stone disks, the panels and the balcony, what would otherwise have been the monotonous walls of a pyramid, have been relieved so as to produce a good architectural effect, and at the same time to give the appearance of the great elevation to the statue itself and not to the pedestal. On this surface, nearly 43 feet square, the gigantic statue stands, its footstool 89 feet above the mean low-water mark. The statue is 151 feet 1 inch high. and the top of the torch is at an elevation of 305 feet 11 inches from mean low-water mark. The pedestal is one of the heaviest pieces of masonry ever done, even in the vicinity of New York, where the piers of the East River Bridge stand as monuments of massive stone work. How to illuminate the torch of liberty was one of the serious concerns of the committee having the Statue in charge. Naturally no other than the electric light was considered as suitable for the purpose. All the various systems of arc lighting presented their claims and made their strongest arguments in favor of their illuminators. Each one seemed to look upon it as a great honor to be able to say that their light gleamed from the summit of the Bartholdi Statue. Therefore competition was very sharp and investigation close. It took some time to decide so important a matter. The American system of electric lighting was not a party to the struggle between the older companies, but its system attracted the attention of those having the investigation in charge and brought careful inquiry from them. The steadiness of flame sliown by the American, the simplicity of its construction, the minimum expenditure of power for great results, the automatic regulator and other points of excellence were soon discovered. The result was that the committee readily selected the American system as the best, and ordered its officers to light the Statue. How well they have done the work and justified the good judgment of those making the choice the magnificent lights now illuminating the great work of art amply testify. It was perhaps fitting that a company bearing the American name should do this work. Patriotism is a crowning characteristic of this people. This Statue is to be one of our idols. It is to stand as the emblem of our broad national sentiment. Mr. Edwards H. Goff, the president of the American system, after the committee had decided upon the superiority of his system and awarded him the contract, determined to respect this feelmg of national pride. After putting the great light in the torch he donated the plant to the people of the United States, who now own this beacon, lighting the pathway of our national advancement. The statue was born for the place which inspired its conception. "May God be pleased to bless my efforts," says M. Bartholdi, "and my work, and to crown it with the success, the duration and the moral influence which it ought to have. I shall be happy to have been able to consecrate the best years of my life to being the interpreter of the hopes of the noble hearts whose realization was the monument to the French-American Union."
Such in brief is the history of this great statue, more marvellous in its conception, in its various stages of progress and final completion and dedication than any work of art ever conceived by man. It cements the bonds of friendship between the two greatest republics in the world, and is a standing beacon of welcome to all the oppressed of every nation who find within our institutions that liberty they have been denied at home. May our people for all time to come prove themselves worthy custodians of so sublime a conception as that of "Liberty Enlightening the World!"
The career of M. Bartholdi, the most distinguished living sculptor of colossal statuary, bears testimony to the genius and unselfish industry which fashioned the Monument to Liberty. Born at Colmar in 1833, like some of his predecessors in the plastic art, he started life as a painter. Though apprenticed to the famous Ary Scheffer, M. Bartholdi, following a natural bent, soon turned his attention to sculpture, and produced, at the early age of 19, a notable bas-relief of Francesca da Rimini. From that time forward his fame has grown with the years. Like the battle painters, de Neuville and Detaille, M. Bartholdi became inspired by the bloody Franco-German conflict, and produced in 1878 the Lion of Belfort, a colossal monument to the heroism of a beleaguered garrison, carved in the solid rock. A plaster cast of this great work, together with his statue" Gribeauval," now the property of the French nation, were, in 1878, among the chief attractions of the Paris Salon.
The Government bestowed on the sculptor the Cross of the Legion of Honor, and at the Centennial Exhibition he was awarded the medal for sculpture for a remarkable exhibit of an early but powerful work termed "Genius in the Grasp of Misery," and the later productions, "Peace," and "The Young Vine-Grower," all in bronze. Among his other important works may be named "Vercingetorix," the old Gallic patriot, the graceful statue of "Lafayette" now standing in Union Square, New York, and three tributes to his native town, a fountain dedicated in 1863 to the memory of Martin Schongauer, the painter, a statue of Admiral Brouat, and one of General Rapp. In the face of great difficulties, M. Bartholdi has, for over ten years, struggled manfully to see his gigantic work erected on the threshold of the new world. For strange though it may seem, the sculptor has derived no pecuniary benefit from his arduous task. But, if the burden has been hard to bear, he has found his reward. In consecrating a tribute to Liberty, he has fashioned the eighth wonder of the world.
The President has appointed General Schofield to superintend the exercises, as his representative. Gen. Schofield appointed Gen. Chas. P. Stone, Grand Marshal. The following order has been promulgated :
The programme of the exercises will begin with a grand military and civic parade through the principal streets of the city. In this the United States troops, the State militia, the marines from the North Atlantic squadron and the troops from the French fleet that will then be in the harbor will participate, with a long line of French and American organizations and associations of veterans, firemen and citizens. Upon the arrival of the column at the Battery the military will be taken on board transports, which, headed by the French and American fleets, will take their stations near Liberty Island. Then the military bands and such forces as are assigned to places on the Island will be landed. Platforms will be erected upon the parapets at the base of the statue, where the speakers and those who are to participate in the exercises will be located.
The ceremonies at the statue will last during the afternoon, after which the fleet of French and American war vessels will salute each other and go through evolutions. The huge torch of the statue will then be lighted and then the flotilla will return to the city and the French visitors will be given a banquet.The place of honor in the column and at the exercises on Liberty Island will be given to the French visitors who will be the guests of the American committee. Invitations have been sent to the Governors of all the States, many of whom will be present with their staffs. . The following is Gen. Stone's circular:
 "Liberty Enlightening the World" Washington Building. NEW YORK CITY, October 26, 1886. General Orders No 14. I. The following is announced as the formation of the column of Military, Naval and Civic parade in the City of New York, October 28th instant. Col. John Hamilton, 5th U. S. Art' y, Marshal. The U. S. Naval Brigade, Commanded by Capt. Robert Boyd, U.S.N. The U. S. Army Brigade, Commanded by Major WaIlace F. Randolph, 5th U. S. Artillery, 2d Reg't National Guard, State of New Jersey. A Detachment of Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. 2D DIVISION. Brig. Gen. Louis Fitzgerald, Com'd.' g 1st Brigade. The First Brigade N. G. S. N. Y. escorting the French Column. Captain A. George, Marshal. The French Column. U. S. Judges and high officials of the U. S. (in carriages). Governors of States and Territories and high officials thereof. 3D DIVISION. Hugh J. Grant, Esq., Marshal. Mayors of cities and Municipal Officers (in carriages), followed by a Battalion of the Police Force of Philadelphia, and a BattalIon of the Police Force of Brooklyn. Veterans of the War of 1812 (in carriages). The Aztec Club, Veterans of Mexican War (in carriages). The Military Order of the Loyal Legion. Retired Officers of the Army and Navy. 4TH DIVISION. Col. C. A. Wells, Marshal. War Veteran Military Organizations. 5TH DIVISION. Brig.-Gen. James McLeer, 2d Brigade, N.G.,S.N.Y., escorting the Grand Army of theRepublic. 11th Separate Company, N.G.S.N.Y. Comrade O. H. Lutjens, Marshal. The Grand Army of the Republic. 6TH DIVISION. Col. Locke Winchester, Marshal, Veteran Military Organizations other than purely War Veterans. 7TH DIVISION. Maj-Gen. A. S. Webb, Marshal. Aid-Marshal Col. Alexander P. Ketchum, U. S. Vols. The Educational Division. 8TH DJVISION. Gen. H. C. King, Marshal. Independent Military Organizations. Gen. Washington's carriage drawn by 8 horses, escorted by the Continental Guards of Washington, D. C., and by the Old Washington Continental Guard (mounted). Sons of the Revolution (in carriages). 9 TH DIVISION. Mr. Bernard J. Doran, Marshal. Sons of Veterans. A Detachment of the Fire Department of Brooklyn. The Association of Old Brooklynites (in carriages). Representative Citizens of Brooklyn (in carriages). 10TH DIVISION. Mr. John Decker, Marshal. The Volunteer Firemen. The Board of Trade and Transportation (in carriages). Regiment Uniformed Knights of Pythias (Indiana). Regiment Uniformed Knights of Pythias (New York). Charitable Organizations. Other Civic Societies. Citizens
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