French Line - England & France

This colorful poster was designed for The French Line of cruise ships in 1953 by the highly regarded French artist Jean Mercier ( 1899 - 1995). The Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (shortened to "CIE. GLE. TRANSATLANTIQUE", or CGT, and commonly named "Transat"), typically known overseas as the French Line, was a shipping company established in 1861 as an attempt to revive the French merchant marine, the poor state of which was self-evident during the Crimean War of 1856. The company's first vessel, the SS Washington, had its maiden voyage on 15 June 1864. Other than operating ocean liners, the company also had a significant fleet of freighters. The company survived both World Wars, but the development of jet travel doomed its mainstay passenger liner business. In 1977, the company merged with the Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes to form the Compagnie Générale Maritime. Then, in 1996, the company Compagnie Générale Maritime merged to form the CMA CGM.

In this image , we see a vignette of some of the sights to be enjoyed at the destinations reached by The French Line - England, France, West Indies, Colombia, Jamaica, and Venezuela. The message is that this cruise line travels the many directions of the compass , primarily from Europe to southwestern destination in and around South America.
Jean-Adrien Mercier studied fine art in Paris before he began his career as a poster artist for film and advertising, before becoming artistic director of Cointreau , his mother being a granddaughter of the company's founder and daughter of the creator of the triple-sec Cointreau. He went on to design many well regarded cinema posters as well as advertising posters for many companies as well as for the Government of France.

This is an Original Vintage Poster; it is not a reproduction. This poster is conservation mounted, linen backed, and in excellent condition. We guarantee the authenticity of all of our posters.