Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi’s journal

In the summer of 1871, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904) arrived in New York for the first time. He was seeking a suitable location for his immense statue, though at this stage he was still unsure whether the project would come to fruition. In his journal entry on June 22, shown here, Bartholdi wrote, “The little island seems to me the best site.” Two days later he wrote a letter to his mother, also in the Library’s collections, in which he describes “the site that I dream of … a little island … occupied by a fort.” He marked the spot, Bedloe’s Island, on an accompanying map, since lost. Now known as Liberty Island, this is in fact where Liberty Enlightening the World—the Statue of Liberty—stands.