SOUL OF FRANCE

Original French 12 1/4 inch x 8 3/4 inch 8 Page Illustrated Pressbook for the 1928 André Dugès-Delzescauts & Alexandre Ryder French Drama THE SOUL OF FRANCE (LA GRANDE EPREUVE), based on the novel by Georges Le Faure and starring Bartolomeo Pagano (Maciste), Rina De Liguoro, Umberto Casilini, Alex Bernard, Cellio Bucchi, Giuseppe Brignone, Mimi Dovia, Manlio Mannozzi, Oreste Grandi and Carlo Valenzi as Napoleon.

The film is about two brothers who are very different; one becomes an army officer and the other is wanted by the law, so to avoid trial, he enlists in the army as a private. They meet on the battlefield, where the bad brother rescues his good brother, who then dies. This causes the bad brother to change his ways, and he goes on a suicide mission, but miraculously survives, and finds love with a Red Cross nurse who helps him get reconciled with his family!

Cover art, and possibly centre spread, attributed to Henry Martin Gasser (1909 – 1981). An American artist, teacher, and author whose social-realist paintings depicting life in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey and wintry, snow-laden renderings of the towns and harbours along the North Shore of Massachusetts earned him much attention and acclaim during the first half of the twentieth century. He also executed many critically praised works during his travels throughout Europe and during a brief but highly productive sojourn to the island of Bermuda in 1949. Known primarily for his watercolours, he worked in a variety of mediums, including oil, gouache, and casein.

Gasser spent a considerable amount of time traveling abroad. Though these sojourns resulted in work that, stylistically, was often at variance with his domestic efforts, a number of these paintings are regarded as notable representations of his more mature artistry. His trips to France produced many Parisian street scenes, often centred in the Montmartre district, which were executed in a colorful, Impressionist mode.

The pressbook is in very good condition with minor wear along the spine.