Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 21

Jean Mercier
Mid-Century Original Printed Menu, Transatlantic French Line, 'Ile de France'.

1956

About the Item

Mid-century French transatlantic liner menu with printed illustration by French artist Jean Adrien Mercier. Signed in the print, top left and dated 1956 inside centre. This highly colourful and charming piece of history gives us a window into the lives of the wealthy travelling across the Atlantic in style in the 1950s. An arresting and highly colourful design based on the tale and song of 'Le Chevalier du Guet' adorns the front cover. Turn to the inside to discover the bilingual menu offering delights such as Baltic Herring, consommé, kidneys sautéed in Marsala with raspberry flavoured sherbet to finish. This menu graced the decks of the cruise liner the "Île de France" on its way to the Caribbean on Wednesday 11th January 1956. Finally, to the reverse the charmingly illustrated song with lyrics and music. A wonderful piece of history from a voyage on this iconic liner. SS Île de France was a French luxury ocean liner that plied the prestigious transatlantic route between Europe and New York from 1927 through to 1958. She was built in Saint-Nazaire for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (or CGT, also known as the "French Line"), and named after the region around Paris known as "L'Ile de France". Launched in 1926, she commenced her maiden voyage on June 22, 1927, as the first major ocean liner built after World War I, and the first ever to be decorated almost entirely in modern Art Deco style. Though she was neither the largest ship nor the fastest, she was considered the most beautifully decorated built by CGT, becoming the favoured ship of the pre-World War II era among the young, wealthy and fashionable elites. Jean-Adrien Mercier (1899–1995) was a French illustrator, poster artist, and advertising designer. Born in Angers, Mercier received his training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (School of Fine Arts) in Angers, and then transferred to the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs (National School of Decorative Arts) in Paris in 1921. He began his career in 1924 as a designer of publicity and cinema posters, a field in which he remained active throughout his life. Between 1925 and 1942 Mercier designed more than 120 cinema posters and also produced numerous commercial posters. Notably, he designed for the house of Cointreau because of connections through his mother, the granddaughter of the founder of the company and daughter of the creator of triple sec Cointreau. Mercier worked there for some forty years, eventually becoming the artistic director of the firm. At the end of the 1930s, Mercier began producing illustrations for children's books and fairy tales. His entrance into children's book illustration was aided by his creation of the "Salut Olympique" for the Vichy government in 1940. Mercier was hired by the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique in 1961 to decorate the children's playroom on a transatlantic ocean liner and also design the ship's menus.
  • Creator:
    Jean Mercier
  • Creation Year:
    1956
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 13.39 in (34 cm)Width: 9.45 in (24 cm)Depth: 0.08 in (2 mm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Foxing and wear commensurate with age and use.
  • Gallery Location:
    Cotignac, FR
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: GB/MercierMenu1stDibs: LU1430214942252

More From This Seller

View All
Mid-Century Original Printed Menu, Transatlantic French Line, 'Ile de France'.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Mid-century French transatlantic liner menu with printed illustration by French artist Jean Adrien Mercier. Signed in the print, top left and dated 1956 inside centre. This highly c...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Printer's Ink

'Chamonix' Mid-Century Hand Signed Original Lithograph.
By Joan Gardy Artigas
Located in Cotignac, FR
Mid-Century original lithograph entitled " Chamonix " hand signed by Joan Gardy Artigas and numbered 12/75 on arches vellum rag paper from the 1966-70 edition. Presented in period 19...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Figurative Prints

Materials

Printer's Ink, Rag Paper, Lithograph

The Harvest, Cherubs Disporting with a Goat, Fine Framed 18th Century Engraving
By Jean Jacques Lagrenée the Younger
Located in Cotignac, FR
Fine 18th century engraving by French artist Jean-Jacques Lagrenée. Presented with hand cut mount and gilt filet in fine wood and gilt 'ribbon and reed' frame. Very charming renditi...
Category

Mid-18th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Printer's Ink

(創作版画 Mid-Century Japanese Coloured Woodblock Print. Ploughing the Fields.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Mid-Century coloured woodblock print of 'ploughing the fields' by 20th century Japanese artist Ini Kumo. The print is hand-signed in pencil, dated 1966 and numbered 130/700 to the bottom right and presented under glass in a black wooden frame. A beautiful woodblock printed image of a Japanese farmer in traditional attire ploughing the land with his ox. It is early evening and as the sun goes down it casts long shadows in front of the two figures. Perhaps the farmer is on his way back to the houses grouped in the distance already in shadow. The artist has carefully picked out areas of vibrant green and blue to give energy and colour to the image which contrast against the black of the ox. A thoroughly enchanting image. Ini Kumo is a recognised Sõsaku-hanga artist. His work is included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Sōsaku-hanga (創作版画, "creative prints") was an art movement of woodblock printing which was conceived in early 20th-century Japan. It stressed the artist as the sole creator motivated by a desire for self-expression, and advocated principles of art that is "self-drawn" (自画 jiga), "self-carved" (自刻 jikoku) and "self-printed" (自摺 jizuri). As opposed to the parallel shin-hanga ("new prints") movement that maintained the traditional ukiyo-e collaborative system where the artist, carver, printer, and publisher engaged in division of labor. The birth of the sōsaku-hanga movement was signaled by Kanae Yamamoto...
Category

Mid-20th Century Edo Landscape Prints

Materials

Paper, Ink

Set of Four, Early 19th Century Hand Coloured Engravings, Horses and Carriages
Located in Cotignac, FR
Set of four early 19th century English hand coloured caricature engravings of horses and carriages by S and J Fuller. Presented in period plain wood frames under glass. A charming s...
Category

Early 19th Century English School Animal Prints

Materials

Paper, Ink

Hand Coloured 18th Century Copper engraving from "Small Riding School" No 26
Located in Cotignac, FR
Mid 18th century hand coloured copper plate engraving of an equestrian subject by Johann Elias Ridinger. Initial signed 'in the plate' bottom right. Presented in a fine gilt wood fra...
Category

Mid-18th Century Rococo Animal Prints

Materials

Ink, Watercolor

You May Also Like

"Horses", 1960's Pop Art Etching A/P
By Marc Foster Grant
Located in Soquel, CA
A late 1960's modern Pop Art etching of horses by Marc Foster Grant (American, b.1947). The galloping horse motif is repeated, in the style of Warhol...
Category

1960s Pop Art Animal Prints

Materials

Printer's Ink, Etching, Paper

Hunting Scene - Original Etching by Antonio Tempesta - Early 17th Century
By Antonio Tempesta
Located in Roma, IT
Image dimensions: 20.4 x 27.5 cm. Hunting Scene is a wonderful black and white etching on thick laid paper, realized by the Italian master, Antonio Tempesta (1555-1630). Monogramm ...
Category

Early 17th Century Baroque Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Conversations at the Bar - Figurative Animal Etching
Located in Soquel, CA
1970's modernist anthropomorphic animals at a bar by Stephen Martin (American, 20th Century). Several animals sit at a bar, with a few in the b...
Category

1970s Contemporary Figurative Prints

Materials

Ink, Paper, Etching

"The Engraver" Double Layer Woodblock Print
Located in Soquel, CA
Bold woodcut print by M. Sheppard (20th Century). This piece is filled with Neolithic imagery of people and animals. There are two figures that are engaged in hunting and several pre...
Category

1980s Other Art Style Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Woodcut, Ink

1970's Figurative Home Interior Etching, Portrait of a Couple with Dogs
Located in Soquel, CA
1970's modernist etching of a man and woman at home with their dogs by Stephen Martin (American, 20th Century). The enigmatic couple both wear sungla...
Category

1970s Contemporary Figurative Prints

Materials

Ink, Paper, Etching

"Gulls On The Rocks" - Original Lithograph On Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
"Gulls On The Rocks" - Original Lithograph On Paper Original Lithograph on paper titled "Gulls On the Rocks" by artist Margaret Kilburn (American, 1891-1984). A group of seagulls ca...
Category

20th Century American Impressionist Figurative Prints

Materials

India Ink, Laid Paper, Screen

Recently Viewed

View All