PIERRE LAGARRIGUE (DATES UNKNOWN) POUR QUE LA FRANCE SOIT FORTE / SOUSCRIVEZ. Circa 1939.
46 1/4x31 inches, 117 1/2x78 3/4 cm. Schuster, Paris.
Condition A-: minor restoration and small stains along horizontal fold; water stain in upper right corner. Framed.
An important, rare, early French World War II poster. In the days before the German invasion of France, the French tank Char-B was renowned as one of the most powerful tanks in the world. It is no surprise, then, that it is proudly featured here, along with bombers, in a powerful, sophisticated photomontage in an attempt to raise money to build more armaments. One of at least two posters from the same series, this poster has the added ironic element that the call for Bonds is to "Keep France Strong." Powerful as it was, the Char-B was used as an infantry tank, and as such, couldn't hold its own against the German Panzer units. France was invaded in May 1940, making this one of the few pre-invasion French bond posters. Zeman p. 62.