An Original Invitation to the Inaugural Celebration Unveiling the Statue of Liberty, Provided by the Monument’s Creator, Sculptor Frederic Bartholdi Himself, With the Letter Sending It

This is the only original invitation to the Statue of Liberty unveiling provided by Bartholdi that we have ever seen

At dinner party in 1865, Edouard Laboulaye, chairman of the French anti-slavery society, proposed that France present the United States with a monument to liberty in the centennial year of American independence- 1876. Noted sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was present and took to the idea. In 1870, he decided to move the idea forward and began sketching figures of “Liberty” for such a monument. The following year, encouraged by President Grant, he toured the U.S. promoting the idea of a Franco-American monument, to be placed on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor. In 1875, although the project could not be ready for the centennial, France determined to proceed and the Franco-American Union was created there. That committee approved Bartholdi’s plaster model of “Liberty Enlightening the World,” began fundraising the 600,000 francs necessary to build it, and Bartholdi began constructing the statue. The plan called for the people of France to donate the statue and the people of the United States to build the pedestal on which it would rest.

On October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty was officially dedicated in a day-long celebration led by President Grover Cleveland. The festivities included a land parade through Manhattan, a naval parade on the Hudson River and an unveiling ceremony on Bedloe’s island. The land parade began around 9AM with militiamen from the National Guard appearing on Fifth Avenue and Madison Square where President Cleveland was perched in a reviewing stand with the statue’s designer Frederic Bartholdi.

The New York Times reported:

“The parade which wound its way through the city’s streets yesterday was one of the largest ever seen here, and it was notable for the amount of enthusiasm which it evoked… The display of banners and flags, and similar devices was remarkable for its variety… The marshals, commanders, and officers of all civic divisions carried the French colors, in many instances wound around their chests in sashes.”

M. Buchot de Kersers was a French expert in monuments, studying and lecturing on modern sculpture and statues from antiquity.

Autograph letter signed, Paris, October 8, 1886, to Buchot. “Having been authorized by the American Committee to extend a few personal invitations to the inaugural celebration of the Statue of Liberty, I beg you to do me the pleasure joining this group.

“I have sent your name to the Committee so that it might added in advance to my lists.

“You will receive in New York the special invitations relative to the celebrations that will take place; in the meantime please keep the present letter which will be useful to you on that occasion.”

Included is that original invitation, issued to “Monsieur Buchot.” “You are invited to be present on the occasion of the inauguration by the President of the United States, of the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World.