|
||
|
|
|
|
An Early Aviation Board Game
This board game map is a remarkable artifact from the early era of long-distance aviation, offering a captivating visual narrative of the heroic achievements of aviators during the interwar period. This French board game celebrates the global routes and daring expeditions of some of the most famous aviators of the era.
The game board itself, designed as an expansive map, depicts interconnected routes spanning North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Each route is traced with vividly colored lines and punctuated by numbered stops, evoking the logistical complexity and scale of real-world long-distance flights. The map is adorned with finely rendered illustrations of notable landmarks, from the Eiffel Tower to the Pyramids of Giza, and various modes of transportation, underscoring the global scope and ambition of early aviators.
Central to map is the prominent depiction of the Loire et Olivier LeO 21, an aircraft used by the French airline Air Union in the 1930s. This inclusion anchors the game within the broader context of commercial aviation development in France and highlights the transition from daring exploratory flights to the establishment of more systematic air routes.
On the cover illustration (2nd image), the game pays homage to six illustrious pilots whose exploits defined the age of aviation:
-
Hugo Eckener, famed manager of the German Zeppelin Company, who piloted the Graf Zeppelin on its celebrated circumnavigation of the globe in 1929.
-
Arturo Ferrarin, an Italian aviator renowned for his Rome-to-Tokyo flight in 1920 and for breaking the world duration record in 1928 with over 58 hours aloft.
-
Charles Lindbergh, the iconic American aviator, whose solo transatlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis in May 1927 marked a watershed moment in aviation history.
-
Dieudonné Costes, who, together with Joseph Le Brix, completed a round-the-world flight covering 36,000 miles in 338 hours in 1928.
-
A.H. Orlebar, commander of the Royal Air Force’s High Speed Flight, leading the Schneider Trophy seaplane races at Calshot, England.
-
Martín Ignacio Jiménez, representing Latin American contributions to aviation, whose presence underscores the international character of early long-distance flight.
The game’s visual elements, produced by La Selechromie of Paris, employ a bold graphic style characteristic of the Art Deco period. The design blends playful elements with a celebration of technological progress and human achievement. Although it functions as a game, Le Jeu des Grands Raids also serves as a commemorative tableau of early aviation, documenting not only the physical routes but also the pilots who made such flights conceivable.
In sum, Le Jeu des Grands Raids encapsulates the spirit of an era when air travel transitioned from adventure to enterprise, merging playful engagement with a deep reverence for the aviators who redefined the limits of possibility. The poster’s imagery and layout reflect the optimism of the early 20th century, where technological advancements and individual heroism were intertwined in the public imagination.
