"CONGO" 1950 JAMES THIRLAR RARE HUGE ORIGINAL COLORED WOODCUT ADVERTISING POSTER

Congo.

Description: Striking and highly detailed fine unusual oversize original colored pictorial map / poster by James Thiriar detailing the native tribes of the Congo. The map was issued by the information and documentation center of Belgian Congo and Rwanda-Urundi sometime around 1950.
 
Author: The map was entirely illustrated by the renowned Belgian painter, illustrator, and cartographer James Thiriar (1889–1965). Publication details: Produced and printed in Belgium by Lithography "LINSMO" S.A. around Brussels in 1950.
 
Publisher: It was commissioned and officially distributed by the Information and Documentation Center of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi (Centre d'Information et de Documentation du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi).
 
Frame: The top and side edges are decorated with a dense series of vignettes depicting the historical uniforms of soldiers, scouts, and colonial troops (Force Publique) who operated in the territory over the years.
 
The Central Body: The geographical map of the Congo River basin is dotted with illustrated roundels celebrating key moments in European exploration (such as the voyages of Henry Morton Stanley), the founding of missions, and the local fauna.
 
The Lower Section: Contains a large scroll that serves as a detailed "Légende" (Legend), chronologically explaining each numbered point on the map.

Date: 1950 approx. ( undated )

Dimension: Poster size approx.: cm 103,9 x 75,8

Condition: Very strong and dark impression on good paper. Sheet old original colored. Small foxing. Conditions are as you can see in the images.

Author: James Thiriar (1989 - 1965) was a Belgium born WWI veteran and illustrator known in his early days for his many drawings of the daily life of soldiers at the front, published by The Illustrated London. In 1932, he participated in the Belgian Ruwenzori exploration mission where he painted watercolors and gouaches illustrating the vegetation of the Congo and Sudan and wrote a document on the fauna and flora of this region. In 1942 , he drew 232 illustrations included in the three volumes of the Congolese sketches of General Fernand Gendarme (Belgian Crown Force).