CHARLES TICHON (DATES UNKNOWN) SEMAINE D'AVIATION DE LYON. 1910. 62x46 1/2 inches, 157 1/2x118 cm. Emile Pécaud & Cie., Paris. Condition B+: expert, extensive overpainting and restoration in margins and image; restoration along vertical and horizontal folds. In the years following the Wright Brothers' first heavier-than-air flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903, interest in all things aeronautical blossomed. Interest was especially high in France, where flying gripped the national consciousness, aviators became darlings of the public and the government and entrepreneurs began investing large sums of money in the aviation industry. In France, aviation meets had the biggest crowds, offered the most prize money and were advertised by the best posters, which combine solid, Art Nouveau design sensibilities with the newfound passion for flying machines. For the Lyon event, Tichon, an accomplished poster designer, depicts airplanes flying above the city and the Rhone river. An elegant woman seen from the back is waving at the soaring airmen. In the foreground amidst roses, the city's coat of arms is depicted. A classic document of early aviation. Villard / Allen pl. 36, l'Histoire de l'Aviation p. 52.
