Compagnie Générale Transatlantique "Le Champagne" 1886 1972

This 1972 original poster pays tribute to one of the elegant steamships of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, better known as the French Line—a company that defined the golden age of ocean travel.

Featured at center is the La Champagne, a celebrated passenger liner launched in 1886, majestically illustrated in full steam, slicing through the open Atlantic beneath a dynamic sky of swirling clouds and morning light. The poster presents the ship in rich nautical detail, from her dual red-and-black funnels to her towering masts, rigged sails, and the unmistakable French tricolor fluttering at the stern.

Printed by G. Mottet et Cie. in Paris, this piece was issued as part of a commemorative series celebrating the long and prestigious history of the French Line’s transatlantic fleet. Below the artwork, technical specifications of La Champagne are elegantly typeset, offering insights into her dimensions, tonnage, speed, and capacity, making the poster as informative as it is beautiful.

Originally operated between Le Havre and New York, La Champagne was a marvel of late 19th-century engineering—a transitional vessel combining steam power with traditional sail, emblematic of a moment when transatlantic travel was evolving from epic voyage to modern luxury.

This poster offers more than historical admiration—it captures the romance of ocean liners, the spirit of adventure, and the pride of French maritime craftsmanship. Ideal for collectors of nautical memorabilia, vintage travel posters, or lovers of ocean liner history, it remains a rare and stately piece from the post-war revival of French poster art in the early 1970s.

Affiche Originale

Compagnie Maritime - France

Reissue printed on clennil

Printed by Blondel la rougery in Paris

Bon état