What book does the American Statue of Liberty hold? * Interesting

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The Statue of Liberty proudly rises above Liberty Island in New York and is considered the country's national monument. What does it symbolize, and most importantly, what book does the statue hold in its hand?

History of creation

The creator of the statue is a French sculptor named Frederic Bartholdi, and the idea is ascribed to the thinker Eduard de Laboulet. As planned, she was a present from the United States to the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which in 1876 turned 100 years old. But in reality, the sculpture appeared 10 years later.

According to the agreement, France creates and installs a statue in America, and the United States is engaged in the manufacture of a pedestal for it. But both countries lacked funds. For their accumulation, the French accepted charitable contributions, organized raffles, and entertaining events. The Americans organized auctions, boxer fights, performances.

Interesting fact: There is a version that the sculptor created sketches for the statue in the image of Isabella Boyer - the widow of the American inventor Isaac Singer, the founder of Singer. According to another version, he created the face of the statue from a portrait of his mother.

Engineers also participated in the design, including Gustave Eiffel, in the future - the creator of the Eiffel Tower. Engineers dealt with constructive issues.

It is noteworthy that the first of the entire construction of the statue appeared precisely the hand holding the torch. Bartholdi continued to work on the project and at the same time was creating the right hand.

This piece was presented in 1876 at an exhibition in Philadelphia. Visitors had the opportunity to climb the balcony (torch). Later, the hand was exhibited in Madison Square, and only after that it was connected to the rest of the monument in France.

All work on the creation of the sculpture was completed in 1884. The finished sculpture was divided into 350 components and sent to America by ship. They delivered it on June 17, 1885. However, the construction of a pedestal has not even begun due to lack of money.

The architect of the pedestal was Richard Morrison Hunt. It was built from August 1885 to April 1886. The assembly of the entire statue took 4 months. On October 28, 1886, it was opened with a speech by President Grover Cleveland.

Statue Description

The statue is built of several materials: copper, steel, granite and concrete. Steel is used as a frame, copper is the basis of clothes, head, arms and legs. Tongues of flame are decorated with gold. The basis of the sculpture is a concrete base, on top of which a granite pedestal is installed.

Outwardly, she depicts a woman in a dress that resembles a tunic. Clothing covers almost the entire body, with the exception of the head and limbs. A woman is standing on broken shackles. The head is decorated with a crown, which consists of a rim and 7 rays. Rays designate 7 continents and 7 seas (oceans).

Technical specifications:

the height of the entire structure is 93 m;
statue - 46 m;
the weight of the statue is more than 200 tons;
pedestal - 27,000 tons.

In one woman’s hand is a torch with a flame, and in the other - not a book at all, but a tablet. This is a stone tablet on which you can clearly see the text: "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI."It marks July 4, 1776 - the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence. The tablet has the parameters: 7.19 m, 4.14 m and 0.61 m.

Interesting fact: The full name of the monument is Liberty Enlightening the World.

You can look at the statue not only from the outside. It is usually available to visitors all the time. A museum is organized inside. It demonstrates the story of the creation of the figure. Several areas are also provided - at the top of the pedestal, on the torch and inside the crown. Conventional stairs and elevators have been built to lift onto the sites.

The Statue of Liberty does not hold a book, but a tablet - a tablet, slightly larger than 7 by 4 meters. It depicts a text consisting of numbers and letters - "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI". He points to the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America - July 4, 1776. The creation of the statue was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of this event, although its official opening took place 10 years later.

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