A sizeable archive of approximately 480 loose postcards (including some cut from postcard albums), a bound album of 20 postcards, and a small "Vuew de Paris 1937" accordion-style booklet, for a total of approximately 500 postcards (including duplicates), showcasing the various pavilions, architectural landmarks, and events from the 1937 fair in Paris, including a number of nighttime views. Most approximately 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches. Loose as issued, currently housed in modern albums. Many unused, a small percentage written on and/or mailed. Scattered soiling and handling wear, light dust-staining or toning, some trimmed or removed from souvenir albums, overall very good. [Paris, circa 1937.].

The Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne, or International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life, was held from May 25 to November 25, 1937. Originally planned to cover only 30 hectares, the exposition ended up spanning 100 hectares with pavilions and contributions from 45 international participants. The area of the fair included the Trocadéro, the Champ de Mars, and the quays of the Seine between Pont de l'Alma and Pont de Passy. By the time the fair closed, estimates are that over 31 million people attended the exposition, with 2 million people alone visiting the Palais de la Découverte, a science museum held inside a temporarily-converted Grand Palais.

Two major buildings in Paris, the Palais de Chaillot (which currently houses the Musée de l'Homme) and the Palais de Tokyo (currently home to the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris), were both created specifically for this exhibition. Other notable pavilions included the Spanish pavilion, built by Josep Lluis Sert, which displayed Picasso's Guernica and Miró's The Reaper (also known as Catalan peasant in revolt) while the Spanish Civil War was ongoing, along with Calder's Mercury Fountain. There was also the Finnish pavilion, designed by Alvar Aalto; the Italian pavilion designed by Fascist architect Marcello Piacentini and which showcased Mario Sironi's Fascist mosiac Corporative Italy (Fascist Work); and the Pavillon des Temps Nouveaux designed by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret.

Other noteworthy aspects of this fair were the pavilions of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, placed directly across from each other. The German pavilion was designed by Hitler's architect Albert Speer, with a tall tower crowned with an eagle and a swastika, and Josef Thorak's sculpture Comradeship. The Soviet pavilion was designed by Boris Iofan, topped by a large figurative sculpture by Vera Mukhina titled "Worker and Kolkhoz Woman", symbolizing the union of workers and peasants.

The fair issued hundreds of commissions, including from such noted artists such as Fernand Léger, Raoul Dufy, Auguste Herbin, and Robert and Sonia Delaunay. There were pavilions dedicated to electricity, national solidarity, hygiene, tobacco, the coffee of Brazil, cinema and radio, aviation, labor, and the railway.

This remarkable collection of postcards showcases all that the exposition had to offer. Most of the views are architectural, depicting the numerous buildings which were constructed for or used by the exposition. There are a number of nighttime views, and some colorized views as well. The pavilions showcase the work of noted international architects as well as the various styles of those countries.

A wonderful collection showcasing a fair devoted to progress, innovation, and art, reflecting the climate of the inter-war period in Europe.

Book ID: 53681

Price: $2,250.00