DIVERSION — No. 32 — West Indies - Lot 96

Lot 96
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DIVERSION — No. 32 — West Indies - Lot 96
DIVERSION — No. 32 — West Indies [COLLECTIVE]. — West Indies. Diversion, No. 32. Paris, [Laboratoires Longuet / Diversion magazine], late 1930s. In-4, paperback, black-and-white photographic cover printed in pink and black; abundant black-and-white photographic illustrations. An issue of the photography and travel magazine Diversion entirely devoted to the French Antilles, primarily Martinique and Guadeloupe. The cover features a photograph taken in Fort-de-France (Martinique) showing men working aboard a boat in the harbor. This issue is richly illustrated with documentary photographs depicting the landscapes, cities, monuments, and people of the Antilles. Among the views reproduced: Fort-de-France, Saint-Pierre, and Grande-Rivière in Martinique; Pointe-à-Pitre and Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe, as well as various scenes of daily life. The text focuses in particular on the colonial history of the islands, the arrival of enslaved Africans, the slave trade, the Code Noir, the plantation economy, and the historical development of Caribbean societies. Taken as a whole, this volume constitutes an interesting French editorial and iconographic record of the Antilles on the eve of World War II. The layout, very characteristic of the 1930s, combines photography, drawings, and modernist typography. Of particular note is a beautiful opening double-page spread titled “Antilles,” adorned with an illustrated composition combining a ship, figures, and tropical motifs, accompanied by a photograph of the Grande-Rivière in Martinique. The issue also retains its pharmaceutical advertisements, including a remarkable back cover for Strychnal and Phospho-Strychnal from Laboratoires Longuet, featuring vials mounted on springs beneath the slogan “Are you lacking spring…?” Another page presents the laboratory’s various products: Citrosodine, Hamacitro, Strychnal, Phospho-Strychnal, Arsi-Strychnal, Urisanine, Quinuryl, etc. Today, these advertisements lend the booklet added interest in the history of advertising and pharmacy. A fine copy. The cover is slightly scuffed and soiled, with minor wear and creases at the corners and edges. There are a few marks and slight stains inside; a small crease at the bottom corner of some pages. Overall, however, it is well-preserved, appears complete, and is securely stapled.
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