POSTER STAMPS AND LABELS OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES

      INTRODUCTION

      STATISTICS

      UNSOLVED MYSTERIES

        SUMMER GAMES
1894 - Modern Games Founded
1896 - I Olympiad - Athens
1900 - II Olympiad - Paris
      - Vignettes of the 1900 Paris Expo
1904 - III Olympiad - St. Louis
1906 - Intercalated Games - Athens
1908 - IV Olympiad - London
1912 - V Olympiad - Stockholm
1913 - Berlin prepares for 1916 games
1914 - 20th Anniversary of Rebirth of Games
1916 - VI Olympiad - Berlin
1920 - VII Olympiad - Antwerp
1924 - VIII Olympiad - Paris
      - Post Cards
1928 - IX Olympiad - Amsterdam
1932 - X Olympiad - Los Angeles
1936 - XI Olympiad - Berlin
1940 - XII Olympiad - Tokyo
      - XII Olympiad - Helsinki
      - New Zealand Centennial Games
1944 - XIII Olympiad - London
      - German POW Games
1948 - XIV Olympiad - London
1952 - XV Olympiad - Helsinki
1956 - XVI Olympiad - Melbourne
      - XVI Olympiad - Stockholm
1960 - XVII Olympiad - Rome

1913 - Berlin prepares for 1916 games


Postcards showing dedication of Olympic Stadium in Berlin, 1913.

Berlin had been awarded the 1916 Games, and Imperial Germany wanted to make them a spectacle surpassing all previous Games. A huge stadium was built in Berlin, and its opening in 1913 was celebrated with a great festival - that year was also the 25-year Jubilee of the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who presided over the dedication of the facility.

The following poster stamps were issued for the occasion:

Click on image below to open an enlarged version in a separate window/tab
Click on the DuBois number beneath the image to display technical data about that label.

DuBois listing:

Several labels were issued on the occasion of the stadium consecration at BERLIN - GRUNEWALD on Jun 8, 1913. It had been anticipated that the Olympic Games scheduled for "1916 Berlin" would have been held in that Stadium (located in the Grunewald Forest area of today's West Berlin). Alas, the performance of the 1916 Games became a casualty of WWI.


#1913-1 and 2

1. "Stadion-Weihe durch Se. Maj. Wilhelm II. 8. Juni 1913" in black text, in a panel across bottom of label. (Stadium-Consecration by His Majesty Wilhelm II June 8, 1913) Vignette: runners in a straight section of the stadium's track; spectators are in the stands, on the right, and at the green-grass section, on the left. 54x35.5mm, perf 1l.5, multicolored vignette; a black, decorative border surrounds the vignette and text panel.

2. Same as 1 but different vignette: a parade marching into the stadium via the main entrance; stands around entrance are crowded with spectators.

      SOLVED MYSTERIES!

      STILL MISSING

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      UPDATE HISTORY

       SUMMER GAMES
1964 - XVIII Olympiad - Tokyo
1968 - XIX Olympiad - Mexico City
1972 - XX Olympiad - Munich

       WINTER GAMES
1924 - I Winter Games - Chamonix
1928 - II Winter Games - St Moritz
1932 - III Winter Games - Lake Placid
1936 - IV Winter Games - Garmisch-Partenkirchen
1940 - V Winter Games - Sapporo
      - V Winter Games - St Moritz
      - V Winter Games - Garmisch-Partenkirchen
1944 - V Winter Games - Cortina d'Ampezzo
1948 - V Winter Games - St Moritz
1952 - VI Winter Games - Oslo
1956 - VII Winter Games - Cortina d'Ampezzo
1960 - VIII Winter Games - Squaw Valley
1964 - IX Winter Games - Innsbruck
1968 - X Winter Games - Grenoble
1972 - XI Winter Games - Sapporo

       OTHER TOPICS
      - U.S. OLYMPIC SHIELD DECALS
      - Workers' Olympics

More poster stamps issued in commemoration of the occasion below.



#1913-3 thru 8

DuBois listing:

Various publicity labels in black-white for the consecration of the GERMAN STADIUM in BERLIN - GRUNEWALD on June 8, 1913, by His Majesty Wilhelm II. They have the same format, including the decorative border, as label nos. 1 & 2, except for change in image and text.

Nos. 3,4,5,6,7 & 8. "Deutsches Stadion / Einweihung am 8. Juni 1913" in panel below six different stadium scenes (German Stadium/Consecration on June 8, 1913)

There seem to be several different color schemes in the examples above - this could be just an effect of age. If anyone knows the official colors, please email me.


Intact sheetlets of #1913-3 thru 8. Clearly there are two different color combinations, and I see a third in the image at top.

7/8/2018 - I found images in an auction catalog showing that these stamps were printed with two different text sizes. The difference is not dramatic, one has to look for it, but it is quite clear. An example of each size is shown below, small on the left, large on the right. The type face is different as well - look at the "S" of "Stadion."

 


#1913-9 thru 17

DuBois listing:

Official labels, in several colors, issued on the occasion of the Stadium Consecration in Berlin - Grunewald, June 8, 1913.

Labels 9 thru 17 all have the same format. The texts are below the vignette portion of each label: "Offizielle Marke der Stadion-Weihe 8. Juni 1913".

Vignette(s): a stadium scene with an athlete on each side of the vignette- text area. The athletes are listed below:

9. Hockey player, on left, & football player, on right
10. Female swimmer, on left, and male swimmer, on right
11. Runners, one on left & one on right
12. Gymnasts, one on left & one on right
13. Cyclists, one on left & one on right
14. Female swimmer, on left, and male swimmer, on right
15. Hockey player, on left, & football player, on right
16. Gymnasts, one on left & one on right
17. Runners, one on left & one on right

The stadium scene of nos. 9 & 15 is oval-shaped, the other central pictures are horizontal rectangles.

Color images of 1913-9 thru 17:


Intact sheetlet in blue


Complete set in green


Two more frame colors: Orange and blue-grey(?).



#1913-18

DuBois listing:

18. "DEUTSCHES STADION WEIHE 8. Juni 1913 BERLIN GRUNEWALD" at upper part of label. (German Stadium Consecration on June 8, 1913 Berlin Grunewald) Vignette: an athlete wearing a black robe with a red, black, & white-striped sash down the front; he holds a staff in his left hand; stadium is in lower background. 47x35.5mm, perf 11.5, multicolored .... $15.00


#1913-19

DuBois listing:

19. "DEUTSCHES STADION BERLIN GRUNEWALD" above. (German Stadium Berlin Grunewald) Vignette: very similar to that of No. 18 but appears to be a different artist's rendering of the same picture. 48x31 mm, perf 11.5, lighter coloring than No. 18 ... $15.00

 

 


#1913-20 and four varieties
59x43.5mm

DuBois listing:

20. "Berliner Sport Club" at upper right; "Deutsches Stadion Internationale Olympische Wettkampfe 29 Juni 1913" at lower right. (Berlin Sport Club / German Stadium International Olympic Contests June 29, 1913) Vignette: two running athletes

Note: No. 20 from the collection of Heiko Volk. Physical data not known at this writing; appears to be perforated and multicolored.

Image dimensions courtesy of Philippe Pavard

Steve Greiczek sent images, and commented:
from the varying location of the text relative to the runner it looks like the text block is an imprint over a generic Sport-Club image.

 

Bronze medallion (47mm x 36mm) for "Swedish relay" in "military events" at the Berlin Sports Club. Undated, but same image as 1913-20.

NOT IN DUBOIS


#1913-x1
NORDISKA SPELEN 1913 STOCKHOLM 7-16 FEBR.
NORDISCHE SPIELE - NORTHERN GAMES - JEUX DU NORD

No Olympic connection, and there were no Winter Games
until 1924, but a nice sports stamp.



#1913-x2
GESETZL. GESCHÜTZT - NEUES AUS ALLER WELT
ELEKTRA SCHÖNEBERG
Das Deutsche Stadion in Berlin
besitzt 30000 Zuschauer Plätze, ein Schimmbassin
100m Länge; im Innenraum eine 666.67 m l. Radbahn

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
ELEKTRA SCHOENEBERG
The German stadium in Berlin has 30,000 spectator seats,
a Swimming pool of 100m length; inside a 666.67 m l. Cycle track

"Elektra" was presumably a newspaper in Berlin-Schoeneberg

Thus far I have seen 30 stamps with this format, so it must have been a large set, but I've no idea how many there were. None of the others I have seen has an Olympic connection. The ones I have been able to date are all from the 1912-1914 timeframe.


NOT IN DUBOIS


#1913-x3
ORENDI BERLIN CIGARETTEN
in der Preislage von 2-30 Pfg.
Stadion Berlin - TRUSTFREI
At left, another advertising label with an image of the Deutsches Stadion, also dating from within a year or two of its completion. It promotes Orendi Cigarettes, and we can date it not only by the image, but also by that very odd slogan "TRUSTFREI." It translates "Trust Free," which is baffling until one learns that there were huge American and British cigarette trusts trying to gobble up European companies at that time, and the German companies fought them with a campaign exhorting loyal citizens to buy only "Trust Free," i.e. locally owned, brands.

At right, two more labels from the same company, and two images of the stadium, which was demolished in 1934 to make way for the Olympiastadion constructed by Hitler's regime for the 1936 Games.

 

 


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I am indebted to Robert J DuBois for allowing me to use images and information from his Catalog of Olympic Labels on these web pages.

All text and images are the property of the author. Any errors are his.
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Created -- 07/27/2013
Revised -- 02/12/2023