6/27/10

Collectin' The Statue of Liberty

"I've packed, un-packed and lugged her around for years."
...said my SisterInLaw Sharon. 
 Yep, Sharon, collects Americana and her FourFoot Statue of Liberty is certainly the Star of her Collection!

Now, we all learned about the Statue of Liberty as part of our American History lessons in school. 
HERE you can read the Basic Facts.

I wish I could be happy just knowing the Basic Facts about Stuff!

But Noooooo!  It seems I'm always Diggin'Deeper  and sometimes finding out more than a person with any sense needs to know.

Like all the uses for CowPoo.  You can enjoy that Boot Liftin' experience HERE

But guess what?

I'm not Alone In The Quest for Off The Wall Knowledge!

And Thanks to Google and the WWW, finding answers is eaiser than ever.

If you are ready...I'll now share my Q&A List about The Statue of Liberty...



#1...How many yards of fabric would it take to make the Roman Style garment that Lady Liberty wears?
The Statue is about 35 feet in diameter at the waist, 111 feet tall, with a 17' long head, about 90 feet to the shoulders. Very roughly, then 1200 square yards of surface area, but the way she's wrapped, two layers, and to allow for some trim, her garment consists of about 4000 square yards of cloth.
...well, by my calculations at today's price per yard that not so 2010 Stylish Gown would cost ...$32,000...and that's just for the fabric.

#2...What woman in her right mind would pose for this forever standing, arm in the air statue?
The first model for the Statue was the sculptor's mother, Mme. Batholdi. Becaue of her age, she found it difficult to sit for the extended periods needed for the model. Madame Bartholdi from Statue of Liberty History by The American Park Network
One rumor offers that she tired quickly during the modeling, so Bartholdi used his mistress, a younger, more durable subject for the final modeling. He eventually married this second model, Jeanne-Emilie Baheux de Puysieux, whom he met in Newport, Rhode Island in 1871 during his first visit to the United States.
...of course...only a Mother would endure that for her child or a woman holding up for a Weddin'Ring!

#3...What was LadyLiberty's Original Hair Color?
As it was assembled, the statue was a dark brown, almost black color. The copper color had weathered to dark as it was built in Paris. It took about 20 years for the black color to turn to the color of copper patina, the green color you see today.


Thanks to my SIL Sharon for Collectin' Americana...I now know I have a few more years before my Brown to Gray Hair will turn Green!

PS...I'm done....for now!

8 comments:

  1. Cool collection! Love all the info!

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  2. Great post, just love the collection!

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  3. Wow! I can't imagine a dress for $32,000!!! Good thing I gave up wearing dresses, lol.

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  4. Hooray for the red, white, and blue AND Lady Liberty! Great post, Sue!

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  5. Hears to Lady Liberty! Hoping your hair doesn't turn green quickly.

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  6. I don't have any Americana...nothing.

    I don't know why, but that is just WRONG! I must do something about this.

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  7. Hi Sue, it is great to be visiting again. I tried to visit all day and kept falling asleep with my hands on the keyboard. Sigh. I finally gave in and took a looooong nap. it sure felt good. I visited all of your posts I missed but the comment is here. Just too many visits to make after a week of not being out there. Smile.
    I love your sister-in-law's liberty collection. It is a great patriotic show of loyalty. Good for her! Your facts about the sizable amount of fabric it would take to drape Lady Liberty is amazing. I will come to you for all calculations in fabric in the future. HA!

    Love your red, white and blue post and info about our flag. The Texas info too. Love the Texas Star.

    I laughed about your typing class. I took two years and I still am not a great typing expert. I was slower and strove for accuracy. I'm still slow. Fast is better because of spell check! sigh!

    Gotta run my friend. Thank you for your very sweet comment today.

    Love ya! Jeanne

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  8. I am having a Vintage 4th of July blog party. You may want to come by and join up. If you do just follow the directions. xo Joan thepottingshed-anythinggoeshere.blogspot.com/

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