“This unusual poster—the only other black-and-white poster of Colin which I have ever seen is that of Madika [see No. 119]—celebrates an equally unusual, and now somewhat obscure, sketch at the Théatre des Champs-Élysées. Colin himself does not recall it but we can surmise that Olive Nègres was a sketch meant as a parody of the colonial exhibits which were being organized all over France at that time. A couple of Africans are shown visiting the French in ‘Le Village Blanc.’ The caricature was as much of the hosts as of the visitors. The primitive look, enforced in its black-and-white simplicity, is further abetted by the hand-drawn lettering. The book for this sketch was by Henri Falk, music was by Jean Wiener... and decors and costumes by the great painter, Jean Hugo, great-grandson of Victor Hugo” (Colin, p. 7).
Imp. H. Chachoin, Paris
literature: Colin, 16; PAI-XLIII, 286