Exceedingly rare original color 31.25 x 47.5 poster designed by French artist Jean Droit for the Paris 1924 Summer Olympics. Printed by Machard & Cie, the poster depicts a group of male athletes with their arms raised in salute against a background of France’s national flag, with laurel branches and a shield featuring the Parisian coat-of-arms pictured below. Upper and lower portions of the poster bear large text: “Paris-1924” and “Jeux Olympiques.” Rolled and in very good to fine condition, with intersecting folds, edgewear that includes paper loss and tears, and mirroring of ink to upper and lower portions; in spite of these flaws, many of which could be matted out if so desired, the poster’s strength lies in the retention of its color, which remains appreciably bold.
Of the 150 projects submitted for the official poster of the VIII Olympiad, the French Olympic Committee selected posters from two finalists—Jean Droit and Orsi. Ten thousand copies of each were printed, and of these 20,000 posters, a total of 12,000 were sent abroad and distributed with the help of the National Olympic Committees, Sporting Federations, and Olympic Associations. Those that remained in France were distributed by sporting establishments, theater companies, and travel agencies. A rare and impressive Olympic poster fast approaching its 100th anniversary.
Jean Droit was a painter and illustrator (1884-1961) who designed several posters for France during the First World War and several travel posters in the years between the wars.
