The Statue of Liberty is such a symbol of Americana, that often we forget it was cast, assembled and built in Paris years before it was disassembled, shipped across the Atlantic and dedicated to the United States as a gift from Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi.
There is a long and complicated story on how the statue came to be placed on Liberty Island, one best told whilst drunk.
Enjoy these amazing vintage photographs from the late 1870s through the 1890s showing various phases of Lady Liberty's construction.

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Public Domain

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![Preparing the Statue of "liberty" on Bedloe's Island, for the formal unvailing [sic] on October 28th - Present condition of the work / from a sketch by a staff artist. 1886.](https://cdn.viewing.nyc/assets/media/e85befde54a29c5029b2d56908c339bb/elements/2ee629f58ca79e047dd402d821c199cf/xl/b0a1a989-07da-41a3-9aed-d3ff2e095a50_2x.jpg)
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Public Domain

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Public Domain

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Public Domain

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Public Domain

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Public Domain
via Vintage Everyday
Statue of Liberty National Monument
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