Air France: French West Africa and Extrême Orient

After World War Two commercial air travel was, for the first time accessible to the public. Wartime technological advancements including radar and improvements in engineering led to faster, safer, and larger planes. An adventurous traveler could now leave their continent and in less than a day find themselves on the other side of the globe. Travel posters, always a tool of mass communication, showed exotic destinations as a means of announcing, “The world is now open to all.” Air France, one of the preeminent airlines both before and after WWII, employed the poster expertly. Their routes traced a history of commerce and many were carved out through colonialism. It is interesting to look at Air France’s choices of which destinations to promote to tourists in their advertising posters and also to examine the images used to evoke adventure, exoticism and ownership.

Although the war afforded advancements in technology and global economics, other institutions, like colonialism, persisted. Many European countries held stake in colonies thousands of miles apart. The British Empire’s holdings in India, the Middle East, and East Africa are often at the forefront of people’s minds, however, France and even smaller nations like Belgium and Portugal were key colonial players. France held power in North and West Africa as well as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and the Caribbean.

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Of the Allied powers, the French suffered particular hardship during WWII. As a Nazi occupied nation and one situated on the front lines, France’s infrastructure and economy were decimated by the end of war. Despite this, companies like Air France thrived in the new postwar environment. Flights around France, Europe, and the French colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean became increasingly popular. France’s colonial presences in West Africa and the Far East or L’Extrême Orient, especially Vietnam, made travel to these locations seem exotic yet possible. Posters, like the ones below, were created to market these destinations. The posters themselves, very similar in subject matter, speak to the ethos of the time.

The West Africa poster was created in 1949 by Albert Brenet and shows two young men in a West African pirogue with their prey. This striking image makes references to the exotic bounty of the colony and would have grabbed the attention of any passer by.

Extrême Orient by Vincent Guerra, was printed in in 1950 and features a beautiful bay and mountain scene with fishermen in their woven topped junks. The prominence of the plane shows France’s ownership of this scene as if to say “It’s ours- come explore it.” Both of these images seem to symbolize a rural, bucolic lifestyle that wasn’t quite the reality (pg. 130 Air France, https://www.scribd.com/document/54130846/The-Junk-Blue-Book). The Vietnam of the 1950s was fully embroiled in a war for its independence, first from the Japanese, then the French, culminating in the Vietnam War.

 

West Africa suffered similar hardships at the hand of its colonial rulers. While embroiled in bureaucratic struggles for recognition by the French Government, the native peoples of these West African nations, (Sénégal, Mali, Côte D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, French Guinea, Benin, and Niger) were treated as subjects not citizens. Independence came in March of 1962 after the bloody Algerian War.

Today the colonial references on these posters are so obvious as to be almost embarrassing to the Western viewer. But they are an indelible record of the prevailing attitudes of the time period, as are all advertising posters. It’s important that they be preserved so that their messages are not forgotten.

 

This post was written by Susannah Starr, Summer Intern and Elizabeth Norris, Proprietor of Vintage European Posters.

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From Reviewed.com: “Vintage Posters: Stylish Art for the Modern Home”

Use vintage poster art to add a splash of color and character to any home.

John Fernie, Original American Airlines Hawaii Poster, Printed c. 1955

The minimalist spaces and clean lines of most contemporary homes and apartments create a perfect backdrop for showcasing art. But if you’re intimidated by the idea of buying original art—and who isn’t?—why not consider vintage posters?

Whether advertising common products, marketing far-flung destinations, or serving as wartime propaganda, poster art of the 20th century can provide a vivid accent for your home. The lush colors of vintage posters offers great contrast to today’s minimalist décor, but can be equally arresting in traditionally styled environments.

Posters are also a cheeky way to illustrate our personal tastes—a favorite locale, a preferred beverage—while reflecting on our culture and history, be it a plunge into the art deco styling of the 1930s or the wartime propaganda of the early 1940s.

“They’re a lens into the twentieth century,” says Elizabeth Norris, owner of Vintage European Posters, a Berkeley, California-based dealer in classic posters who was first attracted to war propaganda posters. “I didn’t pay attention to history in high school and the only war I knew was the one I grew up with—Vietnam. But I saw WWI posters and it made me want to understand what happened in the 20th century.”

Before the advent of mass entertainment like TV and radio, average Joes had a far more limited understanding of the day’s events. Governments used posters to convey messages to the people—to enlist, to buy war bonds, to conserve resources, and more. In the early days, posters were also the dominant advertising tool, selling everything from movies to appearances by magicians.

After WWII, posters were used to popularize travel—by railways, cruise lines and airlines, as well as the vacation spots themselves—and later to promote events. And we’re not just talking American posters: In France, fine artists helped to create the now-iconic branding for products ranging from Gitanes cigarettes to Michelin tires.

The only problem was that posters were typically produced in limited runs of a few thousand, usually on cheap, acidic paper that became brittle and yellowed with time.

“They weren’t supposed to be saved,” said Norris. Indeed, the vast majority were thrown away.

Enter the Collectors

Poster collectors have been around almost as long as posters have been produced. But it wasn’t until the 1960s that buying and trading poster art became a serious business. Since then, a wide range of artists and subjects have become collectable.

Movie posters were among the first to skyrocket in price. While the first auction of 271 movie posters at Christie’s in 1990 netted $935,000, movie posters have continued to soar in value.

Original pieces from early horror classics likeKing Kong, Frankenstein, and Dracula now earn six-figure sums—when they even come onto the market. The record-holder is the original poster for Fritz Lang’s 1927 Metropolis, of which only four are known to exist. (One is reportedly in the hands of Leonardo DiCaprio.)

Because they were produced in limited quantities, posters tend to hold their value, making them a relatively safe investment. But fine poster art needn’t require a king’s ransom. While works by top artists from Toulouse-Lautrec to Warhol command a premium, excellent pieces from the 1950s can be found for a few hundred dollars.

Most dealers now invest in linen backing, a conservation process that washes and removes the acid from the paper before it’s mounted onto heavy-duty fabric. Tears and folds are restored, and missing pieces can be fabricated, extending the life of the poster by decades.

At the recent Dwell on Design show, Norris had several tables brimming with fine posters from both sides of the Atlantic. Here are just a few of the mid-century favorites we lusted after.

To see all images from this article, view the full article on Reviewed.com by clicking here.

This was written by Dave Swanson on Review.com

Our Shop is Open Tuesdays-Thursdays from 11-5 and select weekends.
2201 Fourth Street, Berkeley Corner of Allston Way

Pop up open weekend July 12-13, 2014

Please call 510 843 2201 or email vintage posters@vepca.com to confirm hours.

Visit our collection on the web at vepca.com

Just Landed- Original Airline Posters

“United Air Lines New York” by Stan Galli. Offset lithograph, printed c.1955

This just in! We have acquired a collection of 20 stellar airline posters from the 1960’s designed for American Airlines and  United Airlines. Destinations include  Hawaii, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC,  New York, Boston and more. They were collected by a Chicago businesswoman in the 1950’s and 60’s who made a hobby of visiting travel agencies and asking for posters.  Now retired, she found VEPCA because of our blog post “Travel Posters and the Evolution of Flight.”

This roll of vintage paper is  on the way to our paper conservator. Stay tuned because these gems will hit the table just in time for our run of summer shows. Check out vepca.com for the latest additions to our collection.

Original American Airlines Hawaii Poster by John Fernie. Printed c. 1955

This post was written by Elizabeth Norris, proprietor  of Vintage European Posters.  Our shop is open this Sunday, May 18th from 11-5 pm. Visit our collection online at vepca.com to see new aquisitions and show schedule. To stay abreast of our news, please sign our mailing list on our website.

See us in the Wine Country at Healdsburg Antiques on the Plaza May 25, 2014

On the Peninsula at Sunset Celebration Weekend May 31- June 1

And in Los Angeles at Dwell on Design June 20-22

 

Otto Nielsen’s Fabulous SAS Posters

Original SAS Scandinavia poster by Otto Nielsen printed in 1960

It’s summer, which makes many of us dream of travel. In the 1960’s Otto Nielsen promoted the romance and excitement of faraway lands with his series of posters for the Danish airline SAS. Nielsen was a watercolor painter who when tasked with this graphic challenge, came up with the clever idea of depicting animals traveling two by two to exotic destinations.

Original poster for South America SAS printed circa 1960

In the early SAS posters, you sometimes see the cool oval globe in dense color. The type style is tight, and in some ways suggests the early Pan Am lettering. The type style changes dramatically in a very short period of time. In the mid 60’s, Nielsen employs a looser brush stroke lettering and embraces daring color. The evolution of Otto Nielsen’s style is apparent when looking at a group of his posters side by side. We are pleased to be able to do just that here at VEP as we have just acquired six more SAS posters, bringing our total collection up to 13.

Original South America poster by Otto Nielsen for SAS printed circa 1965

Our new acquisitions are not yet available on our website. To see them, and all of our new acquisitions, visit us at the 15th Annual Preview Show, August 16th-18th at Grace Street Catering- 4629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Oakland.

Friday 12-8 (Happy Hour 5-8)

Saturday 11-6

Sunday 12-5

Watch for a new blog post  next week for more SAS posters.

The Irish Travel Poster – A Rare Gem

Brandt, Land of Legend, c. 1950

It’s winter here in California, so we are cleaning out our flat files.  We have recently rediscovered several of our Irish travel posters from the mid 20th century, and they are beautiful! Irish posters are few and far between, so if you see one, buy it! Chances are you won’t see another for quite some time.  These came to us a couple of years ago when we bought a collection of over 200 travel posters from a librarian who had collected travel posters as a hobby. Her collection started in 1948 and ended in 1965, and there were posters from Many countries we had never seen represented in the poster before, including South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Scotland, Tahiti, and Jamaica.

Dublin Coach Tours, c. 1950

The Irish travel posters that we have in our collection were all printed in the 1950’s. In 1945, at the end of WWII, Ireland was reorganizing its transportation system. The Great Southern Railways (GSR) and the Dublin United Transport Company merged to form Coras Iompair Éireann (CIE), which provided Ireland with the nationalized and multifaceted transportation system that is still in place today.* This merging of companies was followed by a large scale campaign to advertise to new and improved transportation, and these posters are examples from the series. The poster above is specifically advertising Dublin’s coach tours.

Poster: Ireland Holiday Travel, Killiney Beach, c. 1950; Top: 2c, Killiney, Co Dublin, Ireland**

This poster was advertising holiday travel by train to the coasts of Ireland. It depicts Killiney, a coastal village just south of Dublin. As you can see, the national railway still passes through today.

Melai, Ireland Invites You, 1955

This poster advertises ‘An Tostal’, a series of Irish festivals celebrating Irish life and culture with parades, and arts and sporting events. These festivals were held between 1953 and 1958,  during which the government printed posters like this encouraged tourists to come celebrate Ireland during the Easter off season.

These posters were meant to appeal to a broad audience across many countries to invite YOU to Ireland, and they still do so today!

*”About Us.” CIE Group of Companies. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012.<http://www.cie.ie/about_us/schools_and_enthusiasts.asp&gt;.

** Photo Credit to 2c on flickr

This post was written by Emily Jackson, UC Berkeley Art History Student and Gallery Assistant, and edited by Elizabeth Norris, Owner Vintage European Posters  www.vepca.com

Vintage European Posters was established in 1997. We are the West Coast’s Largest Dealer in Original Vintage Posters from France and the United States. See us online anytime at www.vepca.com and at our Berkeley Showroom OUTPOST 2201 Fourth Street, Tuesdays and Thursdays

We will be open during the following weekends in December
Saturday – Sunday, Dec. 8-9
Saturday – Sunday, Dec. 15-16