The CELEG Exhibition Poster was produced by U.S.I.S in Paris, France in 1966.
The poster was produced to promote a Mandrake the Magician and Phantom exhibition organized by CELEG held at the American Cultural Center in Paris, France from the 3rd thru till the 15th of June, 1966.
U.S.I.S is an abbreviation for the ‘U.S. Information Service’, an initiative to promote American art in France, established in 1951. Exhibitions were held at a variety of galleries, including the American Cultural Center located at 3 Rue du Dragon in Paris, France.
The ‘Comic Strip Club’ was established in France on the 29th of March, 1962. The Club was chaired by Francis Lacassin, with vice-presidents Alain Resnais and Évelyne Sullerot leading the team. The Club was ahead of its time, being the first in Europe, with its aim to highlight the importance of comics as a media.
On the 5th of November 1964, the Comic Strip Club was renamed to ‘Centre d’Études des Littératures d’Expression Graphique’ (commonly abbreviated to CELEG), which translates to the ‘Center for the Study of Graphic Expression Literature’.
CELEG became well known within the comic industry in Europe with the organization of the first international comic strip festival held in Bordighera, Italy in February, 1965. Lee Falk was in attendance by invite from Alain Resnais.
In 1967, CELEG ceased to exist due to financial problems, with various comic book publications in the pipe-line never seeing fruition.
The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician creator Lee Falk was a member of CELEG.
The CELEG Exhibition Poster is produced in 2-tone color measuring 35cm x 58cm. Text printed on the poster is in French, with an image of the Phantom seen impersonating Mandrake the Magician, an illustration by French artist Jean Alessandrini. The one sided poster can be seen below.
Text seen on the poster translated from French to English reads:
THE CELEG COMICS CLUB PRESENTS FROM JUNE 3 TO 15, 1966 INCLUDED
AT THE AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER 3 RUE DU DRAGON PARIS 6
MANDRAKE & THE PHANTOM
WEEK 10AM-7PM SATURDAY 2PM-7PM
The Phantom 