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One sheet This is an original 1931 lithographic poster designed by French artist Victor Jean Desmeures to advertise the Exposition Coloniale Internationale (International Colonial Exposition) in Paris.
Poster Details
• Artist: Victor Jean Desmeures (signed "Desmeures" in the bottom-left corner).
• Printer / Publisher: Robert Lang, Paris (credited along the bottom-right margin).
• Slogan: The vertical border text reads "LE TOUR DU MONDE EN UN JOUR" ("Around the World in a Day").
• Visual Symbolism: The Art Deco composition depicts four stylized figures representing peoples from the colonized regions of the world—North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, and Asia. Behind them are architectural silhouettes of two major exhibition pavilions: a North African minaret flying the French tricolor flag on the left, and a reconstruction of Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple on the right.
Historical Context
• The Event: Held at the Bois de Vincennes from May 6 to November 15, 1931, the six-month exhibition was organized by Marshal Hubert Lyautey to showcase and promote the French colonial empire to the public.
• Scale & Reception: Spanning roughly 110 hectares (270 acres), the fair featured around 200 pavilions, reconstructed villages, and cultural displays. It attracted nearly 8 million visitors and sold over 33 million tickets, though it also drew sharp criticism from anti-colonial activists and Surrealist intellectuals at the time.
• Legacy: While almost all of the exhibition's temporary structures were dismantled after it closed, the main permanent building—the Palais de la Porte Dorée—still stands today and houses the National Museum of the History of Immigration. |
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