A 1930 Inaugural World Cup Poster

A truly rare poster from the officially issued monochrome version of the 1930 World Cup poster bearing the all-important official stamp of the Comite Ejectivo of the governing body of football in Uruguay.

The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship award for men’s national association football teams. The tournament was held in Uruguay from 13th to 30th July, 1930.

Dimensions: 52 × 28 cm 

Condition: Very good for age devoid of tears, creases or excessive age-toning and with a few printer’s roller-marks that provide the poster with its own innate provenance and authenticity

The 1930 Word Cup Poster

Two types of posters were commissioned by the Uruguayan Football Federation, AUF for the tournament. They were the Official Poster in colour (78.5 × 38 cm; 38 × 15 in) and a smaller monochrome version of the Official Poster with the official stamp of the Comite Ejecutivo (52 × 28 cm; 201/2 by 11 in) designed by the Uruguayan graphic artist, Guillermo Laborde who had by that time acquired an international reputation.

The colour posters were to be given to the participating teams and officials connected with the staging of the event and dignitaries, both local and foreign, mostly from the neighbouring Latin American countries. Research indicates that there were only two types of the colour posters, both having the same characteristics except some had the printer’s mark and the others were without this mark.

 

Biographical Details of Guillermo Laborde

Guillermo Laborde studied at the Circulo Estimulo de Bellas de’ Artes with Carlos Maria Herrera in Buenos Aires, before travelling to Europe between 1910 and 1912 visiting Florence, Milan, Rome, Paris and Spain. On his return to South America his work was widely exhibited in Uruguay, Argentina, Peru and Ecuador and was the winner of various art awards. In view of his recognition in the Uruguayan art world,

Laborde was originally selected as a juror on the panel that was formed to select the winner of the competition to design the official poster for the historic first World Cup of 1930. However, he subsequently decided to resign from the jury as he wished to enter the competition himself. 

Laborde in fact entered two designs and finished first and third. In later life he became a teacher at the Circulo Estimulo de Bellas de’ Artes, the Escuela de la Construccion and the Instituto Magisterial. Laborde also forged close links with the theatre, managing stage design at the Casa del Arte.

 

Additional Details Relating to the Monochrome Poster

The monochrome poster as here reads in Spanish: ‘Soccer World Championship /Montevideo, Uruguay / 15 July – 15 August’. The poster also carries the original blue stamp of the Comite Ejecutivo, marked 1930.The poster created in Art Deco style, depicts in its upper half a stylised figure of a faceless goalkeeper lurching upwards in a valiant attempt to stop a ball aimed at the top right-hand corner of the goal posts from entering the goal area, with the position of the ball shown by placing the crossbar and the right-hand goal post at the back of it in an angular fashion. The lower half contains writing in a heavily stylized font: ‘1er Campeonato Mundial de Futbol’ in black, and ‘Uruguay 1930 Montevideo 15 Julio Augusto 15’. The I is shown enlarged and prominent to emphasise the historical fact that it is the First World Football Championship. The vivid imagery enshrined in this most iconic of sports posters strikingly reflects the creative imagination and the consummate skills of a graphic artist at the height of his career. This iconic and historic poster has come to be known as the ‘Laborde Affiche’.  The posters were published by Olivera y Fernandez of Reconquista 624, Montevideo.

 

General Comments on the 1930 WC Poster

Very few of the colour posters are known to have survived, especially as

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