Uncovered Sketches Expose Shocking Last-Minute Redesign of the Statue of Liberty
According to Smithsonian Magazine, the original drawings that were inside Ruderman’s purchased folder had been hidden in plain sight because they were stuck folded together.
The true value of the documents was finally revealed after they were sent to a conservator who placed the papers in a humidified chamber to soften their grip.
Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique MapsRed ink markings were made to the original blue ink drawings as if to make adjustments to the statue’s arm.
The separated documents were more than Ruderman could have envisioned: 22 original engineering drawings of the Statue of Liberty, including handwritten annotations and calculations inside its margins.
“To find the drawings from which all the blueprints were made, that’s just as good as it could get,” said Alex Clausen, the director of Ruderman’s gallery.
The newly discovered drawings depict multiple angle views of Eiffel’s designs for the iron trusswork to support the enormous statue. The papers also feature closeups of many key elements of the statue, like the hardware needed to attach the statue to its concrete base.
On the margin of the drawings appear handwritten calculations which seem to have been adjustments to the original measurements planned out by Eiffel.
Most notably, several drawings show Lady Liberty’s arm with a bulkier shoulder, holding the torch much higher than was later built. The bulkier drawings offer a sturdy structural foundation to support the raised arm of the statue.
But one of these drawings is hand-marked in red ink, drawing an outline that has the statue’s arm tilted more outward, as Bartholdi wanted.
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