1950 Air France Planisphere Poster, Decouvrez Le Monde (Lucien Boucher)

Description

Date: 1950
Size: 43.25 x 29 inches
Artist: Lucien Boucher

Air France has an illustrious history, as do their posters. … more Date: 1950
Size: 43.25 x 29 inches
Artist: Lucien Boucher

Air France has an illustrious history, as do their posters. The company was formed on 7 October 1933, from a merger of Air Orient, Air Union, Compagnie Generale Aeropostale, CIDNA, and Societe Generale de Transpost Aerien. The constituent members of Air France had already built extensive networks across Europe, to French colonies in North Africa, and farther afield. During World War II, the company moved the headquarters to Casablanca (Morocco). By the early 1950s, around the time this poster was designed, Air France had 130 aircrafts - one of the largest fleets in the world.

Lucien Boucher (1889-1971) was a French illustrator, engraver, painter, and graphic designer. Known primarily for a series of absorbing, detailed Air France poster designs of world maps, he is often referred to as "Monsieur Planisphere" (planispheres are flattened representation of planet earth) because of the many illustrated World Maps he created that depicted the global flight routes serviced by the airline. This one's caption, found at the bottom of the poster in the scroll, reads: "Sur les ailes d'air france decouvrez le monde a votre tour," which translates to "Discover the world on the wings of Air France."

This unlined poster is in excellent condition and measures 43.25 x 29 inches. less