1950 Poisson Pictorial Map of Nice, French Riviera, France

This is a charming c. 1950 O. Poisson pictorial map of Nice, France. Situated over the Baie des Anges, the map depicts Nice from the south. Famous tourist sites, such as the Promenades de Anglais, Victorine Studios, the castle of Nice with its famous waterfall, and Notre Dame de Nice are all illustrated. Major roads are illustrated and labeled as well, many of which are lined by trees. The city's many train stations and parks are also noted. A large depiction of the city's coat of arms is situated in the upper right corner.

Dating this Piece

Although undated, three pieces of modern technology place this map firmly in the post-war period. The airplane illustrated in the lower left corner is certainly a post-World War II commercial airplane, as something of that design would not have been flying out of a commercial airport before the war. The second is the thoroughly modern train engine leaving the Gare de St. Roch in the upper right quadrant. The most convincing, however, is the helicopter flying over the Baie des Anges. Igor Sikorsky, the first man to design and fly a working helicopter with a single main rotor and a tail rotor, took to the air for the first time on September 14, 1939, which was after the beginning of World War II in Europe. This firmly places this piece in the post-World War II era, because there would not have been advertisements for 'helicopter rides' in Nice before the war.

Publication History and Census

This map was created by O. Poisson and published by the city of Nice and its tourism office. Two examples of this map are catalogued in the OCLC as being part of the institutional collections at the Library of Congress and at the National and University Library of Slovenia in Ljubljana.