The birth of an icon

Photo courtesy of the LaBudde Special Collections.

Photo courtesy of the LaBudde Special Collections.

With “Ornements en plomb & cuivre repoussé” by the foundries of Maison Monduit & Bechet and Monduit, Gaget, Gauthier & Cie we see history literally in the making. This set of 10 photoprints highlighting the foundries’ work was commissioned for the 1878 Paris World’s Fair or the (Exposition Universelle) and shows various buildings such as the Palace of Justice that they worked on. Also in the photos are two showing what is arguably their most famous work, the Statue of Liberty. One photo show’s her torch-bearing arm under construction in a workshop with a small scale model nearby and dozens of workmen.

 

 

Photo courtesy of the LaBudde Special Collections.

Photo courtesy of the LaBudde Special Collections.

The other photo shows the completed head on display at the World’s Fair, which was set up June 30, 1878 for display in the garden of the Trocadéro palace, while other pieces were on display in the Champs de Mars.
These two photos are an incredible piece of both American and French history and are definitely one of the treasures of the LaBudde Special Collections.