This original French advertising poster from 1930 announced a sensational evening devoted to Les Pouvoirs occultes de la chance—“The Occult Powers of Chance”. Organised by the Studio Addéiste, the event was held at the Sociétés Savantes, 8 rue Danton in Paris, on Wednesday 22 January at 8:45 pm.
The programme promised an extraordinary mixture of astrology, spiritualism, magic and experimental entertainment. Subjects included seduction, black magic, predictions and the possibility of breaking “the inflexible law of destiny”, with demonstrations by the hermetic magician Alfred Billy, Maurice Braive, the fakir Scarha-Bey and several mediums.
The evening’s principal attraction was the Zodiaque lumineux, a device presented publicly for the first time and supposedly capable of identifying a person’s fortunate days and the elements of future success. A second apparatus claimed to measure the aura, fluidic power and an individual’s “coefficient of luck”, revealing the period’s fascination with presenting occult beliefs through scientific language.
Printed entirely in black on ochre-yellow paper, the poster relies upon an exceptionally energetic typographic composition. Dramatic changes in scale guide the eye through the crowded programme, while the monumental words La Chance, Le Zodiaque lumineux and L’Appareil à mesurer la chance! give the design the visual force of a theatrical announcement.
A fascinating survivor of interwar Parisian popular culture, this original poster documents the meeting of entertainment, esotericism and pseudo-scientific spectacle. Its unusual subject and powerful typography will appeal to collectors of occult imagery, astrology, French ephemera and early twentieth-century advertising.
Original Poster
Education - Magic - Divination - Seduction - Black Magic
Organized by Studio Addéiste at the Salle des Sociétés Savantes, located at 8, rue Danton (6th arrondissement) in Paris
Printed by Morice Frères in Paris
Good condition, creases, tears
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