This rare molded glass advertising ashtray for Air France, designed in the 1960s, was manufactured by the Albert Gerrer company in Mulhouse, France. It features an original design by Jean Colin.
The advertising slogan "The largest network in the world" promotes the destinations served by this legendary company. Here, it's Europe, with characters representing Portugal and Tyrol. Jean Colin signs this design in the lower left corner.
 
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Albert Gerrer
Founded in 1869 in Mulhouse, France, this mirror and glass processing company first became known in the 1920s and 1930s during the Art Deco era. It continued its operations after 1950 and is well known among collectors for producing mirrors and sandblasted glass for furniture, especially screen-printed glass signs and promotional items.
 
Jean Colin was a French graphic designer born in Paris in 1912. He was one of the founding fathers of AGI (International Graphic Alliance) and became its first general secretary. He made a name for himself as a poster designer. His work had much in common with André François, Raymond Savignac, and Francis Bernard, all of his generation. His posters had a remarkable lyrical quality and often naive and disarming humor, which appealed to a broad audience. Jean Colin made more than 300 posters. He received medals and awards for many of them, among them one from the Académie de l'Affiche, for the best poster of the year in 1943. Jean Colin also won the gold medal for the Most Beautiful Poster in 1959. He worked in his arts and advertising studio for essential clients such as Shell, Omo, Pernod, Cinzano, and other prestigious French companies, as well as the movie industry. Colin taught at the École Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.