Sale 2459 - Rare & Important Travel Posters, October 26, 2017

CHARLES RAMBERT (1867-1932) 140 c GRANDE SEMAINE D’AVIATION / ROUEN. 1910. 50 1 / 2 x36 1 / 2 inches, 128 1 / 4 x92 3 / 4 cm. Girieud, Rouen. Condition A-: water staining, creases and minor tears in margins. Paper. Framed. A mere 7 years after the Wright Brothers took to the air, “a rash of aviation meetings broke out in the spring of 1910 in places as diverse as Saint Petersburg, Vienna, Budapest, Bournemouth, Boston, Lanark and New York City,” as well as Rouen (Villard / Allen p. 57). “The beauty, originality, and sly humor of the artist’s design [make this poster] a memorable work of art. Flying past the spires of the cathedral, then under repair, the pilot of a sprightly (though improbable-looking) monoplane cheerfully salutes two ecclesiastical statues in a niche who throw up their hands in amazement at the miracle of human flight” (Looping the Loop p. 59). In a curious instance of life imitating art, one of the more memorable moments of the event was when Leon Morane “caused a sensation by flying around the venerable cathedral in the heart of the city” (ibid). Looping the Loop pl. 37, l’Histoire de l’Aviation p. 56, FAI 97. [6,000/9,000]