Created circa 1958 by Roger Chapelet, this original French poster promotes the services of the Compagnie de Navigation Fraissinet & Cyprien Fabre between Marseille and the western coast of Africa. Regular postal services carried passengers and merchandise, connecting the Mediterranean port with numerous destinations along the Atlantic coast. The company was formed in 1956 through the union of two long-established Marseille shipping businesses. Fraissinet and Cyprien Fabre had both played important roles in French maritime transport, operating passenger, postal and commercial routes across the Mediterranean and towards Africa. The composition is dominated by a richly detailed map extending from Western Europe and the Mediterranean to the African continent. Three maritime flags appear on the left, while a passenger and cargo liner cuts through the water at the bottom of the image. Bold lettering and a restrained palette of blue, green, red and black give the poster the clarity of both a navigational chart and a travel advertisement. The map also preserves the geographical and political nomenclature of its period, adding considerable documentary interest. Roger Chapelet (1903–1995) was one of the leading French maritime artists of the twentieth century. Appointed an Official Painter to the French Navy in 1936, he travelled extensively aboard naval and merchant vessels and became renowned for the technical accuracy of his ship portraits. His first-hand knowledge of maritime life made him a natural choice for France’s principal shipping companies. Printed in lithography by Gaillac-Monrocq & Cie in Paris, this original poster will appeal to collectors of maritime history, ocean-liner advertising, pictorial maps and French travel graphics. Its large format and combination of cartography, typography and naval imagery make it an impressive decorative work with a particularly strong historical character. Original poster Maritime Company - Map - Africa Marseille lines to the west coast of Africa Gaillac Monrocq & Cie Paris Good condition
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