Lignes Farman poster – Albert Solon – 1932

Vintage Travel Poster: Lignes Farman poster – Albert Solon – 1932

Lignes Aeriennes Farman or Farman Aviation Works was a French aircraft manufacturing company. It was founded in 1919 by the three Farman Brothers, Richard, Henri and Maurice. The company designed and constructed over 200 types of aircraft between 1908 and 1936. They also built cars and boats.

This vintage aviation poster was created by the artist Albert Solon for Farmin Aviation to promote their passenger flight services from Paris to, as the poster states,  Belgium, Holland, Germany, Scandinavia and Russia.

The vintage Lignes Farman poster features one of the company’s recently added French-built  Farman F.300 airliner. The aircraft were high-wing, commercial monoplanes. A dozen F-300 variations were manufactured, most of which formed part of Farmin’s own airline company. In Solon’s art deco-styled poster, the artist has depicted the Farman aircraft during a night flight with the plane being lit up by a searchlight. The illumination is coming from the letter A in the company name.

Following the French elections in 1936, a series of massively followed sit-in strikes took place in various sectors of the French metal industry. More than a million workers were on strike. The new government, headed by Léon Blum successfully negotiated an agreement with the workers, signing the Accords de Matignon or Matignon Agreements. Amongst other things the agreement offered workers the legal right to strike, a 7-12% increase in wages, a 40 hour working week, and for the first time, two weeks paid holidays. The agreement saw the workers return to work.

Whether it was because of not wishing to be put under strike action again any time soon or perhaps with the ever-growing threat of the forthcoming second world war, Blum and the French government nationalized the chief war industries and the Bank of France. The railway, automotive industry and Aviation companies were all nationalised. In the change, Farman’s assets along with those of Aéroplanes Hanriot et Cie, known simply as  ‘Hanriot’ were assigned to the newly formed, government-run Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Centre (SNCAC). It was the loss of two pioneering aircraft manufacturing company’s that dated back to the very beginning of aviation.

In 1941, the brothers did attempt to re-establish the firm. This time as the “Société Anonyme des Usines Farman” (SAUF). The project only lasted three years before being absorbed by Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du Sud-Ouest (SNCASO), better known as or Sud-Ouest.

Given that this poster was created in 1932 and the company was taken over in 1936, it is likely it would be one of Farman’s final advertising campaigns.

Henri Farman was born in Paris, the son of English parents. From the age of 14, Henri was, with his brother Maurice, already entering and winning bicycle races. Henri became a championship cyclist winning the Paris-Clermont-Ferrand race and the French Championship at the Velodrome Buffalo in 1892. He also took part in tandem races with his brother as his co-rider. For a time holding the tandem bicycle world record for a time, having covered just shy of 45 kilometers in an hour at the Velodrome d’Hiver in 1895. They retired from cycling in 1896.

It wasn’t long before the brothers found another sport to excite them. This time it was motor racing. Another sport they found themselves excelling at. In 1901 Henri won the light car class of the Grand Prix du Palais d’Hiver du sud-ouest. His brother won the same event for the heavy car class. Henri also won the heavy class section of the 1902 Paris-Vienna race and took third place in the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup. During the elimination trials for the 1905 Gordon Bennett Cup at the Auvergne race circuit, Henri skidded and came off the track. Many onlookers believed he had been killed. But Henri according to reports, was actually unharmed.

It was after the motor racing accident, Farman decided to take up the ‘safer’ sport of flying airplanes! He started with a homemade glider but soon purchased a Voisin 1907 bi-plane. It was in this plane Henri would go on to set many aviation records for distance and duration. At Issy Les Moulineaux he recorded a flight of 52 seconds covering a distance of 771 meters. It was the longest flight in the world that year. The flight won Farman the Ernest Archdeacon Cup. The same year he made a complete circular flight covering a distance of 1,031 meters in 1 minute 15 seconds. It was the first time that a European airplane had completed a full circular flight and the first time an airplane had stayed in the air for more than 60 seconds.

In 1908, with other successes under his belt, Farman went on to make the first cross-country flight in Europe covering a distance of 27 kilometers.

In 1909 Farman had ordered a new plane from Voisin. It was to include specifications specifically requested by Henri. Once built, however, Voisin sold the plane to another pilot, JTC Moore-Brabazon. Framin fell out with Voisin over the incident and began manufacturing his own aircraft.

That same year Farman made further record-breaking flights. At Reims, he flew 180 kilometers in just over 3 hours. At Mourmelon-le-Grande the flight was extended to 232 kilometers in 4 hours 17 minutes and 53 seconds. And at the Blackpool Aviation Week, Britain’s first air show, Farman won over £2000 in prizes.

According to Wikipedia Farmin in partnership with his two brothers, Maurice and Richard went on to build a highly successful and innovative aircraft manufacturing plant. Their 1914 Farman aircraft was used extensively for artillery observation and reconnaissance during World War I. The Farman Aircraft company’s Goliath was the first long-distance passenger airliner, beginning regular Paris-London flights.
Henri Farman was made a chevalier of the French Légion d’honneur in 1919. Along with Maurice, he retired in 1937 when the French Popular Front government nationalised the aircraft industry.

For a while, the artist of this rare poster Albert Solon worked under contract for Farman Airlines and produced several publicity and advertising posters for the company. During his career he specialised in aviation posters, going on to design posters for Air France, KLM and Lufthansa. His posters are highly collectible and well sought after. An original copy of this poster sold for $6,000 waayyy back in 2007.

Our posters are carefully and professionally created from vintage originals. Whilst great care is taken in the production of these posters, we also try to maintain a vintage feel, so there may be small imperfections, fold marks, scuffs, tears, or marks that were part of the original poster master. If these do appear they should be visible on the larger views of the item on this listing. The originals of many of the posters we offer can cost many thousands of pounds, so whilst these posters look great, especially framed and mounted on a wall, they are intended as fun, affordable reproductions and not intended fine art prints.

The 50x70cm version has been specially produced to be used in conjunction with Ikea’s 50x70cm Ribba picture frame which currently retails for around £12. So you can bag a print and frame for a great price.