Postcards for the Centennial: French Algeria, 1930

The centennial of French colonial rule in Algeria in 1930 was marked by major celebrations in Algeria and in the metropole. A year prior, President Doumergue established a "Propaganda Committee" to ensure that the momentous year was properly honored. To commemorate the occasion, the Société de Geographie released a series of postcards capturing images of Algeria and Algerians from all three départements. Gallica has thankfully digitized 280 of them. Although unlabeled, they are an endlessly fascinating resource for the researcher. They immediately prompt questions about image construction, and the photographic gaze, to say nothing of what we can glean from the subjects of the photos themselves. Who were these people? How did they come to appear in these photographs?

For further reading about the 1930 centennial, see André Lambelet, "Back to the future: politics, propaganda and the centennial of the conquest of Algeria," French history and civilization: papers from the George Rudé Seminar. Vol. 1. Melbourne: The George Rudé Society, 2005.