There was a great demand for reproductions of David d‘Angers works during his lifetime, but the artist did not make casts himself. These were produced in gypsum molding workshops, which were largely responsible for the distribution of sculptural works.

In a letter to an unknown person [16], David d'Angers explains that a gypsum cast of the original Goethe bust could be commissioned from the caster Monsieur Michelli in Rue Guénégaud in Paris. The undated letter was written between 1832, when the Goethe bust was already popular, and David d'Angers' death in 1859:

Dear Sir,

Your last letter made me

worry that you had not

received the reply you

asked me for.

In my letter, I told you that

I do not have a mold

of Goethe's bust, but

I recommended that you

contact Mr. Michelli,

a caster in Rue Guénegaud,

so that he could make a

cast from the original model

that I have in

my studio.

I have the honor of being

your devoted servant,

David d'Angers

Wednesday morning