Oct 10 at 12:00 PM - Sale 2681 -

Sale 2681 - Lot 61

Estimate: $ 5,000 - $ 7,500

A. STEPANOFF (DATES UNKNOWN)

THE TRANS - SIBERIAN EXPRESS / 12 DAYS PARIS - PEKING. Circa 1925.

37x26 inches, 94x66 cm. L. Abramovich, Harbin, China.
Condition A-: minor repaired tears and abrasions in margins; unobtrusive repaired pin holes in corners; slight offsetting at top margin.

This exceptional and rare poster was published by the Chinese Eastern Railway Company and printed in the Chinese city of Harbin, which was a major railroad hub. It was most likely published in the years prior to the establishment of the Soviet State Travel Agency, Intourist, in 1929. The poster advertises travel from Paris to Peking (Beijing), with the landmarks of Paris shown at the top and several prominent Peking landmarks below - including the gate to the Forbidden City and The Liuli Ta, the Glazed Pagoda tower. In the middle, a locomotive steams atop a globe superimposed with a map of the train's route across Russia, from Moscow to Vladivostok and to Chinese cities further south.

For all of its graphic appeal, the poster leaves many questions unanswered, for example, why was it printed, and for whom? The only service between Paris and Peking in the 1920s would have been by the Compagnie Internationale de Wagons Lits (whose name does not appear on the poster) and furthermore, the route map does not include Paris at all but originates in Berlin. The Chinese Eastern Railway was built, owned and operated by the Russian Imperial government between 1897 and 1902, and served as part of the Trans-Siberian Express, which was completed in 1916. Most likely, this poster was printed between 1925 and 1929, a brief period in which the Chinese believed the Russians were prepared to return ownership of the railway to them, but ultimately did not, resulting in the Sino-Soviet conflict of 1929. The 1930 invasion of Manchuria by Japan ultimately led the Soviets to sell all their rights to the railroad to the Japanese.

We could find no other copies at auction.
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