Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
 

A French sticker album from the 1960s : Ethnological portraits of the human race …

A sticker album is a book in which a person sticks collectable stickers in designated sections. Sticker album themes can be sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup or TV shows like Doctor Who.

Until recently, sticker albums were not common in the US and Canada and the market was dominated by trading cards, but since the entry into the market of Italian-based company Panini, this has changed. Now US sticker collections include the NFL, the NBA and NHL are available primarily aimed at the youth market.

The stickers are usually sold in blind packs, so the purchaser does not know which stickers they are buying. This can mean a collector has to buy huge numbers of packs to complete their collection. Collectors get around this problem by swapping or selling their spares with other collectors.

Most of the sticker albums that are sold on the market are usually sports related, or depict characters from some famous movies or show, but this old one  that is described here is a little different. It is more educational than the usual ones. It represents an ethnological collection of people from different nationalities around the world. The beautifully made illustrations in the album depict people from a variety of ethnic groups wearing their traditional  dresses. All of the illustrations are accompanied by a nicely written description of the culture they represent.

 

humanrace2-930x630
Photo source

The online collector that discovered this collectible gem, “Agence Eureka”, explains that this French collectible album was produced in the 1960s and it sold for 50 Francs back then. The album contains 288 color portraits and it looks like it was an attempt for documenting the human race. The album was primarily made for children, a fun way for them to learn the different cultures in the world. Although educational and nice, the whole album has a slightly colonialist stereotype look.

For those of you who are interested in this kind of collectible items, there are some original copies of the album floating around the Internet. In the meantime, enjoy at some of the illustrations that are shown here.

 

2084544223_6220e351d8_o-930x1363
Photo source

 

954718136_32471d0202_o-930x1306
An Italian girl / Photo source

 

1000433705_d2e418eef4_o-930x1318
A Greek orthodox priest / Photo source

 

1001264790_0634cba3a9_o-930x1312
A woman from Provence, France / Photo source

 

1086800367_052fddc8f4_o-930x1321
A Turkish man in his traditional dress / Photo source

 

1087679602_44cdb1dd54_o-930x1308
A man from Kirghizstan / Photo source

 

1087693538_ced3705519_o-930x1315
A Mesopotamian man / Photo source

 

1120273598_f0ce99d08a_o-930x1290
A Dravidian girl. Dravidian people are mostly found in southern India and Sri Lanka, with smaller groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan. / Photo source

 

1198257562_b0ba01c2a7_o-930x1304
A Loatian woman. / Photo source

 

1288823855_b316a0b28b_o-930x1343
A Bedouin woman wearing a traditional dress / Photo source

 

1288830591_12ac240c91_o-930x1315
A Tunisian man / Photo source

 

1289587410_d943d42597_o-930x621
African beauties (the country is not specified) / Photo source

 

1289631100_2992d25bf1_o-930x1323
Angolan woman / Photo source

 

1473228569_3f22d47dd5_o-930x1324
Chippewa, one of the largest groups of Native Americans and First Nations on the North American continent. / Photo source

 

1474100408_f61678494b_o-930x643
Inside an Igloo / Photo source

 

1518353515_03e6760a11_o-930x1294
A Puerto Rican woman / Photo source

 

1518358951_9e00276d62_o-930x1294
A Pima man. Pima people are a group of Indigenous Americans living in an area consisting of what is now central and southern Arizona. / Photo source

 

1519227260_a48f689dda_o-930x1303
Guatamalan woman / Photo source

 

2084552579_dee36214cd_o-930x1313
Celebes people (from an Indonesian island) / Photo source

 

2084566881_ee0ed97b94_o-930x1334
Javanese woman / Photo source

 

2085330500_6c4abd74c7_o-930x1313
A Polynesian man / Photo source

 

2085362652_2c85a5b4a6_o-930x1350
Photo source

 

Boban Docevski

Boban Docevski is one of the authors writing for The Vintage News