Marseille–Alexandrie – La Route D’Égypte – J. Daviel – 1924 - French Railways and Ship Travel

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Marseille–Alexandrie – La Route d’Égypte – J. Daviel – 1924

Rare original French travel poster designed by J. Daviel for … Read more Marseille–Alexandrie – La Route d’Égypte – J. Daviel – 1924

Rare original French travel poster designed by J. Daviel for the PLM railway and Messageries Maritimes, promoting the celebrated route from Paris and Marseille to Alexandria, Egypt. The poster brilliantly combines the two great forms of luxury travel of the period—the railway and the ocean liner—in a single dramatic image.

A monumental Egyptian pharaoh dominates the composition, holding a PLM locomotive in one hand and a Messageries Maritimes steamship in the other. Behind him, a map of the Mediterranean links Marseille with Alexandria, visually presenting the complete journey from France to Egypt.

Travelers could leave Paris aboard the PLM railway for Marseille, with luxury trains offering sleeping cars and couchettes for the overnight journey south. At Marseille they transferred to the steamships of Messageries Maritimes for the Mediterranean crossing to Alexandria. This coordinated train-and-ship journey was promoted as the “Route d’Égypte,” combining comfort, speed and the romance of international travel during the golden age of rail and ocean liners.

The design also reflects the extraordinary fascination with ancient Egypt that swept Europe following the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. Daviel cleverly juxtaposes the ancient pharaoh with the most modern forms of transportation—the locomotive and steamship—creating a particularly memorable image of travel to Egypt.

Joseph Daviel de la Nézière was himself a widely traveled French artist whose experiences in North Africa and the Middle East influenced a number of his travel designs.

A rare and historically fascinating original French travel poster from the golden age of luxury rail and ocean travel, professionally backed on linen and preserved in excellent condition.

Artist: J. Daviel (Joseph Daviel de la Nézière)
Printer: PLM, Paris
Size: 30 x 40 inches / 76.2 x 101.6 cm
Linen: On linen
Technique: Lithography
Year: 1924
Condition: Excellent A See less