On this day 129 years ago, the Statue of Liberty was unveiled to an eager crowd of New Yorkers in a ceremony that included fanfare and presidential pomp and circumstance.
These images come from an issue of Scientific America, Architects and Builders Edition, published in November 1886, just after the big reveal.
From Lot 10: Scientific American, Architects & Builders Edition, Volumes 1-6, New York, 1885-88. Estimate $2,500 to $3,500.
The article itself was written just before the statue was unveiled, and details the planning, execution and assembly of the statue, including detailed engravings outlining the process for the in-the-know audience this issue was targeting.
According to the article, "We give a series of engravings from which a fair idea of the appearance and nature of the structures can be gathered." The writer goes on to detail the exact proportions of the base on Bedloe Island, the price of the statue, even the length of the girders that support the statue internally.
We very much agree with the author's closing sentiments, "The whole structure in its final appearance is eminently satisfactory.
Long may it stand as an emblem of Freedom and a monument of the good will and friendship existing between France and the United States of America!"
From Lot 10: Scientific American, Architects & Builders Edition, Volumes 1-6, New York, 1885-88. Estimate $2,500 to $3,500.
From Lot 10: Scientific American, Architects & Builders Edition, Volumes 1-6, New York, 1885-88. Estimate $2,500 to $3,500.