Bartenders' Statue of License Lightening New York
- Title:
- Bartenders' Statue of License Lightening New York
- Alternate Title:
- Bartenders' Statue of License Lightening New York
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- McCarthy, Daniel
- Date:
- 1885
- Posted Date:
- 2017-04-14
- ID Number:
- 2125.01
- File Name:
- PJM_2125_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1870 - 1899
- Subject:
- New York City
Advertising & Promotion
Satirical
Pictorial - Measurement:
- 31 x 22 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- Most Americans today understand our iconic Statue of Liberty as a gift to the nation from the people of France. To be more precise, the French had made it clear from the outset that they would design and produce the Statue itself, but that it was for the Americans to find an appropriate site and to finance and build the pedestal on which it would rest. See generally Mitchell 2014.
Although France began work on the Statue in the early 1870s, financing the construction of the pedestal encountered a number of obstacles in the U.S. Money for public projects was hard to come by in the years following the Civil War, and the Statue itself was attacked on aesthetic grounds, as was the notion that important national works would be produced by foreign artists. When Bartholdi's work was completed in 1884, the U.S. had not raised the funds for construction of the pedestal. Work was suspended, and the Statue remained in France.
Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the New York World, was enraged by the inability of the government to fund construction of the pedestal. In March 1885, he established a drive to raise the final $100,000 (about 2.7 million 2016 dollars) and promised to publish the name of every contributor. When the paper began to print the notes received along with the contributions, the drive became a notable success, and raised sufficient funds to complete the pedestal in April 1886.
The collection includes two satirical bird's-eye views of New York satirizing the inability of the nation to finance construction of the pedestal, ID #1091, Let the Advertising Agents Take Charge of the Bartholdi Business, and the Money Will be Raised Without Delay and ID #2125, Bartenders' Statue of License Lightening New York. These were published in April and May of 1885, as Pulitzer's fundraising was under way. This example suggests that construction of the pedestal could be financed out of the proceeds of police corruption. Lady Liberty had been replaced by a policeman holding aloft a cornucopia overflowing with coins and carrying a book of "Broken Rules & Regulations of the Police." The pedestal below him is occupied by all manner of illegal operations: opium joint, sucker's dive, dance house, policy game, etc. The view shows Blackwell's Island (now Roosevelt Island), site of a 19th century prison and "Lunatic Asylum," labeled "Blackwell's Summer Resort."
The collection includes a number of persuasive maps featuring the Statue of Liberty: ID #2309 (1875), #1091 (1885), #2125 (1885), #1109 (1890), #1176 (1915).
For further information on the Collector’s Notes and a Feedback/Contact Link, see https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/about-collection-personal-statement and https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/feedback-and-contact - Source:
- The Judge, May 23, 1885.
- Repository:
- Private Collection of PJ Mode
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.