1950 Claude Dohet Pictorial Aviation Map of Africa for Sabena Belgian Airlines

A very attractive c. 1950 Claude Dohet art deco aviation map of Africa and Europe advertising Sabena Airlines, the Belgian national airline. This highly decorative pictorial map highlights Sabena Belgian Airlines routes in Africa and Europe using a gold reflective ink. The map itself recalls Belgium's cartographic heritage with its Renaissance style cartouche (evocative of Mercator and Ortelius), depictions of 18th century sailing ships, and elaborate compass rose. It is further elaborated by pictorial illustrations of European and Congolese people, and a dramatic illustration of the city of Kano (Nigeria) at its height.

Sabena Airlines and Central Africa

In the middle of the 20th century, Sabena maintained one of the largest air networks in Central Africa (then the Belgian Congo), scheduling regular flights between Brussels, Kano, and Stanleyville, along with other destinations. During this era Stanleyville (today's Kisangani) was the darling of the Belgian Congo, where Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart filmed 'The African Queen' (1951), but just ten short years later, following Congolese independence, Stanleyville would turn into a battleground and remain so for the next twenty years.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn by Claude Dohet and published in Brussels, Belgium c. 1950. We note only a handful of surviving examples that have appeared on the private market.