Maison de France Royalist Dynastic Poster Jean III circa 1930

Description

Original French royalist poster entitled Maison de France – Famille royale, published between 1929 and 1940.

The composition presents three members of the House of Orléans who were regarded by Orléanist monarchists as representatives of the French royal dynasty.

At the top of the image is Jean d’Orléans Duke of Guise, presented under the dynastic name “Jean III”. He is accompanied by his wife Isabelle d’Orléans Duchess of Guise and their son Henri d’Orléans Count of Paris, who later became the Orléanist claimant to the French throne under the name Henri VI.

Their photographic portraits are incorporated into a large symbolic family tree. The trunk bears the names of Robert the Strong, Hugh the Great, Hugh Capet, Louis VI, Philip Augustus, Saint Louis, Henry IV and Louis XIII. These names establish a visual line of continuity between the early Capetian dynasty and the twentieth-century House of Orléans.

The lower part of the poster depicts Reims Cathedral, the traditional coronation church of the kings of France, and a panorama of Paris dominated by Notre-Dame Cathedral.

The inscription at the bottom reads:

“Jean III héritier des quarante rois qui en mille ans ont fait la France”

This can be translated as:

“Jean III heir to the forty kings who created France over a thousand years”

The poster is an evocative example of French royalist and Orléanist propaganda produced during the interwar period. Its date can be narrowed to between 1929, when Henri d’Orléans assumed the title Count of Paris, and 1940, when Jean d’Orléans Duke of Guise died.

An example of this same poster is recorded by the French Inventaire général du patrimoine culturel under the title Maison de France.

Antique printed poster on paper with a blank reverse.

Sheet size: 54.4 × 36 cm or approximately 21.4 × 14.2 inches.
Printed composition: 50.3 × 33 cm or approximately 19.8 × 13 inches.

Antique condition with folds, paper undulations, age toning, foxing and surface marks. Small marginal tears and areas of fragility are present, particularly along the upper edge. The reverse also shows stains and traces of age. Please examine the photographs carefully as they form an essential part of the description.