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Hand-decorated commemorative album of the liberation of Paris, compiled in 1944 by the “Photo” Service of General Koenig’s General Staff, 10.25 x 12.75, containing 108 photographs and photographic cutouts mounted on numbered pages, with handwritten captions and vibrant gouache embellishments, plus 15 unmounted photographs. The album is bound in black half-cloth boards, the front cover is hand-lettered in gold, “Service ‘Photo’ de l'Etat-Major du Général Koenig,” beneath a gouache flag of the Military Governor of Paris bearing “G.M.P.” and the arms of the city, tied with a tricolor ribbon. Inside, a tricolor “1944” opens the album, followed by an oval portrait of Koenig framed by the Paris motto, “Fluctuat Nec Mergitur,” and crossed flags of the Military Government and Free France with the Cross of Lorraine.
The succeeding pages chronicle the liberation of Paris through press photographs of Koenig, de Gaulle, and Leclerc, including a striking image of the three generals together and de Gaulle saluting at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The highlight is a sequence documenting Eisenhower's visit of September 8, 1944: his tribute at the Arc de Triomphe, where he “dépose une plaque commémorant la libération de Paris” (lays a plaque commemorating the liberation of Paris), and a ceremony in which “Le Général Eisenhower décore le Général Koenig de la Croix de Commandeur de la Légion du Mérite, une des plus hautes distinctions américaines” (General Eisenhower decorates General Koenig with the Commander's Cross of the Legion of Merit, one of the highest American distinctions). These pages are decorated with hand-painted American, British, and French flags. The album also features Omar Bradley, heroes of the Resistance, members of the French Forces of the Interior (FFI), and veterans. Also included is a press photograph bearing the stamp of the Washington-Lafayette Committee, showing General de Gaulle decorating Eisenhower with the Croix de la Libération (Medal of Liberation). In very good to fine condition, with wear and scuffing to the covers, silvering and small areas of surface loss to a few photographs, and at least one page lacking its photograph.
Celebrated for his defense of Bir Hakeim in 1942, Koenig commanded the French Forces of the Interior during the Normandy campaign and was appointed Military Governor of Paris following the city's liberation in August 1944. This album, compiled by his own staff's photo service, captures those euphoric weeks as liberated France restored its army, its institutions, and its place among the Allies. Koenig was posthumously named a Marshal of France in 1984. A handsome and historically rich visual record of the liberation of Paris, and of one of the leading figures of Free France.
