American Historical Ephemera & Photography

1p, 5 1/8 x 8 1/8 in. (creasing, pinholes along right edge not affecting text). 

Laboulaye writes in response to what he characterizes as a kind letter, apparently asking for his autograph. He writes, "...accept my autograph, not as of an eminent man, but of an old friend of America." 

Édouard René de Laboulaye (1811-1883) is likely most known in the United States for originating the idea for what would become the Statue of Liberty, presented to the United States by the French people. He was also notably an anti-slavery activist, serving as chairman of the French Anti-Slavery Society. It was the triumph of the Union cause in the Civil War and the abolition of slavery that, in part, bolstered Laboulaye in proposing the idea of a monument to honor the United States and strengthen the bond between the two nations.