Collecting the Statue of Liberty - Little Known Facts About Gustav Eiffel and Auguste Bartholdi

By: Brian Kathenes

That Face, That Face, That Fabulous Face

You hear a lot about artists and their "muses," but we know one Frenchman who didn't have to go any further than his own backyard to find the inspiration for one of the greatest monuments in America.

No...not Mount Rushmore! (Although those are some fabulous faces). We're talking about the Statue of Liberty.

Before coming "home" to America, the colossal head of Lady Liberty was on display at the Paris Exposition of 1878. Naturally! After all, she was created by a Frenchman and inspired by French women.

Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the French sculptor who created the Lady of the Harbor, modeled his creation on the two favorite women in his life -- his wife and his mother!

Mrs. Bartholdi was "the body" - she probably posed wrapped in a bed sheet, holding her hairbrush high in the air. But it was Mama Bartholdi -- Charlotte -- who put a face on Liberty.

Talk about having a "big head!" Lady Liberty's cranium space can accommodate up to 40 visitors at a time! If he were still alive, Bartholdi would probably have a "big head," too...thanks to the value placed on the famous sculptor's autograph.

His signature on a letter discussing his mother and the Statue of Liberty is sold for more than $3,000.

Let freedom...and cash registers...ring!

Gustav's Grand Tour

When most ladies need a little support, they head for the "unmentionables" department to find something in their size.

But in 1886, there was a lady who was so well-endowed that a call went out across France for a man to "engineer" a solution.

The lady? Why the Statue of Liberty, of course!

Created by Frederic Bartholdi and composed of over 8 million pounds of copper panels, the Statue of Liberty was too flimsy to stand on its own. (Ooops!) Bartholdi was forced to call upon an engineer to create some kind of internal support.

The "miracle man" who saved the day did so a little grudgingly as he had other things on his mind...a "tour" (that's French for "tower") to commemorate the centennial of French Independence.

But he created an iron skeleton for the statue and reassembled the sculpture in the United States. Than it was back to Paris to complete his grand "tour" and the Paris landmark that still bears his name...

Come on. You know what we're talking about. Say it with us. It's Gustav Eiffel's tower. Or just Eiffel Tower to its friends!

Gustav's work as an engineer did not end with the Eiffel Tower ad the Statue of Liberty.

He designed and built many structures. He was certainly ahead of his time. He was the first person to propose digging a tunnel under the English Channel and creating an underground Paris rail system.

Nobody took him up on the offer, so we figure he decided to scrap the idea and just eat lots of French Fries and French Toast.

Article Source: https://www.collectibles-articles.com

Mr. Kathenes has done antique and autograph work and teaching with the International Society of Appraisers, National Archives and Library of Congress and hosts an NPR radio show on antiques. His free report, "How To be Your Own Appraiser," is at www.BestAntiqueTips.com. His latest book is at www.BetchaBook.com.

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