Statue of Liberty souvenir, New York, New York, 1885
date: label: date made
content: ca 1885
label: associated date
content: 1879-02-18
name: label: associated institution
content: Statue of Liberty
notes: label: Description
content: This is one of the first models of Liberty cast in the United States. Often described as the American Committee Model, this statuette was produced in the tens of thousands. It was sold to subscribers to finance the construction of a pedestal for the full-size statue in New York Harbor.
label: Description
content: Based upon the design of the French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, with Bartholdi’s full cooperation, the miniature statues were produced in six- and twelve-inch sizes. A national newspaper campaign advertised statuettes at one dollar for the six-inch model seen here or five dollars for a twelve-inch version. Richard Butler, a New York–based rubber manufacturer, chaired the American Committee of the Statue of Liberty and oversaw the models’ production.
label: Description
content: The campaign disseminated likenesses of Liberty throughout the United States and the world, turning the figure into a household souvenir while raising more than enough money for the construction of the monumental stone pedestal. The finished monument, Liberty Enlightening the World, was dedicated October 28, 1886.
label: Description
content: Gift of Richard Butler, Secretary of the American Committee on the Statue of Liberty, 1885
setName: label: See more items in
content: Political History: Political History, General History Collection
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content: Government, Politics, and Reform
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content: Souvenir Nation
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content: Many Voices, One Nation
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Richard Butler
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PL.001650
label: catalog number
content: 1650
label: accession number
content: 16237
objectType: label: Object Name
content: statue
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 6 in; 15.24 cm