TRAVEL NYK / WORLD - WIDE PASSENGER SERVICE. 1935.
35 1/4x24 1/4 inches, 89 1/2x61 1/2 cm. Kyodo Printing Co., Ltd., Japan. Condition A-: expert overpainting and restoration at edges and in lower text.
Japanese-born Satomi moved to Paris in 1922, where he studied at the École des Beaux Arts. For a short period of time, he worked as an assistant to Cassandre in his studio. This experience, combined with his own strong sense of design, helped him gain commissions in both France and Japan. Here, he depicts the Nippon Yusen Kaisha Line's Chichibu Maru, which had its maiden voyage in 1930 and primarily made the crossing between Yokohama and San Francisco. Commandeered by the Japanese government during the war, the vessel was sunk while serving as a troopship in 1943. Its speed and direction are suggested by the arrow enveloping it. One of Satomi's rarest posters, we have not found another copy at auction in the last 10 years. Weallans p. 144.
