7. Statue of Liberty Artifacts

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One display case in Port City is dedicated to the construction of the Statue of Liberty and includes an original manuscript from Emma Lazarus of “The New Colossus,” from which the famous lines inscribed on the statue’s bronze tablet come from. The sonnet includes the famous phrase, “”Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

The exhibition description points out that Lazarus was a descendant of some of New York City’s earliest Jewish settlers and that the poem was written as an effort to fundraise for the construction of the pedestal. Pieces of the statue were displayed in New York City and Philadelphia to drum up donations and an albumen silver print photograph included here shows the torch in Madison Square. Also in this case include an invitation to the opening ceremonies for the Statue of Liberty and other souvenirs.