CÔTE D'IVOIRE - INDEPENDANCE 1961 / Gift for official guests - Lot 211

CÔTE D'IVOIRE - INDEPENDANCE 1961 / Gift for official guests : rare souvenir album of the Côte d'Ivoire Independence celebrations of August 6 and 7, 1961, with 79 original photographs (18 x 24 cm) by Louis NORMAND (born in 1930, he moved to Côte d'Ivoire in 1953 and became the official photographer), including 8 in color, all with the photographer's inked stamp on the back, the album is in full olive percaline, with spirals and reinforced transparent plastic insert sheets (the material has aged badly on some sheets, without altering the photos): title page, detailed program of festivities, 2 official portraits of President Houphouët-Boigny, August 6 : aerial view of the Abidjan lagoon, arrival of delegations and military honors, airport decorated with flags, President H-B in a limousine flanked by motorcyclists passes under a triumphal arch "la Ville d'Abidjan vous souhaite la Bienvenue", presentation of delegates in frac and top hat to President H-B in his palace, presentation of the Decoration of the National Order of Côte d'Ivoire, guests at the picnic in the Banco Forest, traditional dances, parade of President H-B and Michel Debré in a limousine, sports events at Stade Champroux, intimate dinner at the President's Palace, the Palace by night, torchlight procession, August 7 : review of National Army units by President H-B, parade, lunch at the National Assembly, traditional dances at the stadium, exhibition of Ivorian art at the Hôtel de Ville, reception at the Palais and fireworks.