1957 Air France Pictorial Air Route Map of Africa

Africa takes flight: vibrant 1957 map of Air France routes.

This colorful 1957 Dunlop pictorial map of Africa, produced for Air France, blends the romance of air travel with a continent-spanning panorama of cities, wildlife, and landmarks. Bold red routes cross ochre landscapes and turquoise seas, connecting France with destinations throughout Africa and the western Indian Ocean.

A Closer Look

Coverage extends from western Europe and the Mediterranean to the Cape of Good Hope, including Madagascar, Mauritius, and Réunion. Small vignettes depict architecture, animals, waterfalls, agricultural scenes, and other regional attractions, while aircraft and ocean liners animate the surrounding seas.

Air France's routes are overprinted in red, with prominent airport labels identifying Yoff at Dakar, Robertsfield near Monrovia, and Maya-Maya at Brazzaville. Colonial-era names, including French West Africa, French Equatorial Africa, and the Belgian Congo, place the network within the political geography inherited from the colonial period.

The decorative presentation extends to advertisements for Nautamine travel-sickness tablets, Christofle silverware, Nestlé, and Société Générale. Together with Air France's winged seahorse emblem and the slogan 'Le plus grand réseau du monde' ('The world's largest network'), these frame the map as both a practical passenger guide and an invitation to travel.

Publication History

Published by Dunlop for Air France as part of the Cartes Itinéraires Dunlop series, this issue is marked 'No. 5 - Juin 1957'. The imprint states that the map was offered to passengers on Air France's France-Africa services and was also available for purchase for 100 francs from Édicta in Paris.

Condition

Good. Exhibits soiling and wear, particularly along original fold lines. Text and printed advertisements on verso.