La Galerie Historique du Palais de l'Air l'Exposition de 1937

A scarce, beautiful commemorative souvenir of the aviation pavilion at the 1937 Paris World Exposition and of French aviation up to that point. Oblong folio, 31.5 by 41.5 cm. 16 photographic plates (mostly photographs of artwork), each on a heavy card, and each protected by tissue guards. Scarce. OCLC has listing for this book, but notes no instituional holdings. The pavilion celebrated French inventors, aviators and manufacturers, with nary a nod to even the Wright Brothers. The historical paintings begin with the launch by the Montgolfiers of their balloon in 1783, and figures honored include Francois Ader, who managed to get a machine heavier than air off the ground in 1897, Eiffel, Henri Farman, Bleriot, Francois Garros, Pegoud, etc. And of course the war pilots from the First World War received a great amount of attention. Be that the exhibit was chauvinistic, it is undeniable that the large panels were unquestionably dramatic and striking, with not a few depicting planes flying over colonies with awed natives looking up. The final plate in the album shows a rendering of the then new airport at Le Bourget, which opened in November of that year. Another plate reproduced four photos of the French airplanes on display in the Palace. The paintings reproduced on the other plates are, it should be pointed out, all representational artworks, and not the abstractions produced by artists such as Sonia and Rober Delaunay, whose work was also on display in the pavilion.

Product Info

Year: 1937

Type: Used

Binding: Hardcover

Seller Info

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