1931 PARIS INTERNATIONAL COLONIAL EXHIBITION. - Lot 100

1931 PARIS INTERNATIONAL COLONIAL EXHIBITION. The 1931 Colonial Exposition. Elbeuf, Paul Duval, 1931. Large folio (approx. 38 × 29 cm), publisher’s red percaline cloth binding, gilt title on the front cover, pasted-in illustration. An illustrated album comprising an introductory text and numerous photogravure plates depicting the pavilions, indigenous villages, monuments, official ceremonies, and attractions of the 1931 International Colonial Exhibition in Paris. A luxurious commemorative publication issued on the occasion of the Colonial Exposition, held in the Bois de Vincennes from May 6 to November 15, 1931—one of the most significant cultural and political events of the Third Republic. The illustrations now constitute a major documentary record of the ephemeral architecture of the colonial pavilions, the staging of the French Empire, and the representations of the colonial territories in the early 1930s. Condition: a school prize copy, with a prize distribution sticker pasted onto the inside front cover (1932). The cardboard binding shows some scuffing, minor wear on the corners, and on the spine. The sections are slightly browned, with a few scattered foxing spots. The interior is well-preserved overall, with no missing pages.