Summer Holidays with Roger Broders and Pierre Lafitte

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Throughout the last century, France was the ideal country for tourism. The coverage of this country by the posters is incredibly tight and varied. Among the illustrators who were mainly expressing on this medium, Roger Broders is one that we see most often in auctions.

On August 5 in New York, Swann Galleries is selling the poster for St Honoré les Bains. We see the building and the park of the spa. In the foreground, three characters. A young woman dressed in the fashion of the time (1928) holds a tennis racket. A golf bag is placed beside the young man. Standing behind them, an employee of hotel is awaiting their orders. Within these few details, all the attractions of the spa are visible. The poster, 99 x 61 cm, condition B +, is estimated 4 K $.

More interesting for our work as a historian: the editor of the poster was Pierre Lafitte. Forgotten symbol of a happy mundane, Lafitte created in 1905 the monthly journal "Je sais tout." He published there by chapters the thrillers of the era including some of the Arsène Lupin of Maurice Leblanc, plus humour and interviews. He created a competition golf which was to preserve his memory by using his name (Trophée Pierre Lafitte).

Thank you to Swann Auction Galleries who friendly invited the bloggers to comment on this sale.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Unsold. The United States might not be the best place to sell such a poster.

Broders posters are popular in France. They are almost always showing holiday locations, and these ones are almost always better known than St Honoré les Bains ...