This photograph shows the Pavilion of the French-colonised Algeria along the Avenue of French Colonies during the 1931 Exposition Colonial de Paris, an international exhibition held in Paris over a period of six months. The Pavilion, situated opposite the Eiffel Tower, featured a mosque and minaret, as well as Moorish palaces and cramped bazaars to create elements of Oriental mysticism associated with the East. The Exposition also saw the participation of various colonial powers such as Britain, Portugal and the United States of America. Most exhibition pavilions showcased native architecture and indigenous culture from the various Asian and African colonies, as well as efforts by the colonialists to improve the lives of the colonised peoples in an attempt to justify and glorify colonialism. This photograph is part of an album on the Exposition, and is a presentation copy signed by the official exhibition photographer, Marcel Braun.
