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Scarce French-language original invitation from the Franco-American Union Committee for the first official presentation of the Statue of Liberty, which was held in the foundry yard of the Gaget, Gauthier & Co. workshops in Paris, France, on July 4, 1884, one page, 7.25 x 9, which reads (translated): “Count Ferdinand de Lesseps, on behalf of the Franco-American Union, requests Mr. Detmold, to do him the honor of attending the Official Presentation of the Statue ‘Liberty Enlightening the World,’ which will be made to His Excellency Mr. Morton, Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States, in the presence of Mr. Jules Ferry, President of the Council, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Ceremony will take place on July 4, 1884, at 11 a.m. sharp, at the Gaget, Gauthier & Co. workshops, 25, rue de Chazelles.” The header of the invitation features an engraved image of the iconic statue looming high over a valley, with text that reads: “Commemorative Monument of Independence / Official Presentation to the Minister of the United States of the Statue, Liberty Enlightening the World.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope, postmarked in Paris on June 7, 1884. After the presentation, the Statue of Liberty, which was conceived by jurist Édouard René de Laboulaye and designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, was disassembled, packed into 214 crates, and shipped to the United States. It arrived in New York Harbor in June 1885 and was dedicated on its pedestal on October 28, 1886.
