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Description

Spectacular Lucien Boucher vintage pictorial map poster, done for Air France in 1938 or '39. The map shows the airline's routes emanating across a thinly-outline world map superimposed over a dramatic celestial map.

The map was produced to emphasize that Air France could fly both day and night flights and therefore get one to their destination faster and more comfortably than if they flew only during the day. This is also alluded to in the subtitle of the map.

Air France (page 91) notes: 

[Here] we have a genuine ellipse, the omission of the globe, just barely suggested by the names of the stops written next to the air routes. But if we stand back and look from a distance at this network drawn on the celestial chart, we have the strange impression of seeing the world projected onto the sky . . . The result is astonishing, this magnificent representation of the signs of the Zodiac becoming a mirror in which the earth suggested by Air France routes is reflected.

Rumsey (8096) estimates the date of the map to 1939, other sources say 1938.

Condition Description
Minor dampstain at the margins. One or two repaired thin marginal tears barely into the image.
Lucien Boucher Biography

Lucien Boucher (1889-1971) was a French artist whose work spanned various mediums including cartooning, painting, and illustration. Born in Chartres and educated at the École de Céramique de Sèvres, Boucher initially focused on ceramics before World War I significantly altered his artistic trajectory. His period of captivity as a prisoner of war during the conflict led him to discover and hone his skills in drawing, thereby shaping his future career.

Before the war, Boucher had already begun to make a name for himself in the French art scene, particularly through his cartoons published in the weekly magazine "Le Rire." His early works demonstrated his capability for visual satire, but his subsequent experience in the war led to a more serious engagement with themes and subjects. After his return, Boucher navigated toward commercial illustration and poster design, successfully integrating his artistic sensibilities with the needs of the market.

Starting in the 1920s, Boucher began to produce a series of posters that drew inspiration from the surrealism movement. This work culminated in his most well-known project: a series of planispheric and celestial maps designed for Air France. These maps served a dual purpose. While they were essentially utilitarian, providing navigational information, they were also aesthetically innovative. Boucher employed elements of surrealism to add layers of meaning, transforming what could have been straightforward maps into more complex visual narratives.

Boucher's work with Air France solidified his reputation as an artist who could balance commercial needs with artistic innovation. His approach to map-making was characterized by a careful attention to detail, a strong sense of composition, and a willingness to explore the boundaries of the medium. While his maps were intended to serve a practical function, they also succeeded in capturing the public's imagination, offering a vision of travel that was aspirational yet grounded in geographical realities.