Z is for Munich Zoologic Gardens

Ludwig Hohlwein (1874-1949)  c. 1912 Dover Press

This zoo, also called the Hellabrunn Zoo, is in Munich Germany.  Its time line reads like a history book.  In 1911, the zoo was opened, closed in 1922 due to inflation in Germany, reopened in 1928, received extensive damage due to allied war raids, but was able to be reopened in 1945.  What do they do with the zoo animals in time of war or do I really want to know?  Now it is a premier zoo, with many displays that are cageless, with moats instead of bars.

Here are some of the highlights if you visit:

1. The old elephant house, constructed in 1914.

2.  The new jungle house which houses Gorillas, Chimpanzees and Mississippi Alligators

3.  The Aquarium with Piranha feeding

4.  "Dracula's villa" bats fly around you

5.  One of the very few zoos that allow you to take your dog

Dracula's villa sounds interesting.  I like bats.  When we first moved here in Colorado, we would see quite a few fruit bats at dusk, but no more.

And now we come to the end of the challenge -- Whew!  This year I had a theme, Vintage Travel Posters, Australia to the Munich Zoo, which I thought would be easier, but it turns out, not so much.  Thank you to all of you who visited.

Those far away places with strange sounding names,

Far away over the sea,

Those far away places I've been dreaming about,

from a book that I took from a shelf."

Y is for Yugoslavia.

"Visit Yugoslavia."  The Yugoslavia for which this poster was created is no more. The artist, Janez Trpin, (1908-1973), created the poster in 1935 for Putnik, Yugoslavia's first travel agency.  Check out Christie's auction site.  If you have any original prints of other posters by him, they could be worth over $1800.

Janez Trpin c. 1935  Dover  Press

During the early 1990's, the Socialist Federation of Yugoslavia experienced a series of political conflicts and what were called "The Yugoslav Wars."  Since 1995, and the Dayton Peace Accords, Yugoslavia was realigned into seven separate states, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. Kosovo is still a troubled region with conflict over borders. The problems with the former country of Yugoslavia involve older ethnic and religious ties and are complex.

"Yugo-nostalgia" is present in some areas when people yearn for the socialist system and the security it gave them and many still feel they are "Yugoslavs," a bit like Russians yearning for the "good old Socialist days."

I don't know anything about printing, but I noticed in this poster that there are multiple colors, and I think you have to have a separate plate for each color which must have been difficult.  It is striking, though.

X is for the Unknown -- the African Continent

Artist Unknown.  c. 1936.  Dover Press.

"Fly Air Africa and Visit Africa by Plane."  Artistically, this is one of my favorite posters.  What would Africa have been like in 1936?

Unfortunately, the artist is unknown, but his use of light and shadow and the point of view from passenger to the ground is unusual.

France had many colonies in Africa in 1936 and if you look at the brochure in the man's hand, it shows the air route.  Can you name the six colonies that are part of the air route? The first one is Algeria. They are the black dots on the map. It does not include Morocco or Madagascar. Clicking on the poster makes it larger. 

The gentleman has two bars over his jacket and the lion or Griffin could be the insignia of the airline or something else.  Any ideas?  

I appreciate your comments, they do not have to be about the poster.