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| Affiche du Commissariat au Tourisme de 1950 - Cesar Gemayel (source Gaby Daher) |
Gaby Daher on whom one can always count for exceptional archival pieces has just unearthed this beauty - a poster from the "commissariat au tourism de 1950" by famed Lebanese painter Cesar Gemayel. To me the most striking aspect is the logo on the right hand upper corner which seems like a precursor to the one Lebanon is adopting currently in Arabic. Below is flashback of an older published post about said national logo.
I saw this in a private residence, in the children's room which has not been changed since the 70s and my heart skipped a beat. We are all accustomed to see the logo below as being the one promoting Lebanon through the ministry of tourism.
Of course, the difference between the two is minimal... And yet, the above version by all means precedes this one. First, the "symmetry" of the letters was still imperfect (specifically the dots). But also, it included a Phoenician boat at the base. Knowing that the legend of the Phoenicians (and by legend, I do mean the word!) was associated with Christians trying to differentiate themselves from the "Arabs" (yes, including those non-Christians who happened to live in Lebanon) which was dumped in the latter version.
Still, this is a priceless find.