POSTER STAMPS AND LABELS OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES

1906 - Intercalated* Games - Athens

Apr. 22-May 2

Modern poster for the 1906 Olympic Games in Athens The 1906 Games were a compromise. Coubertin had promised Greece the Games would be held there every four years, but soon had to break that promise. Instead he told Greece they could hold intermediate games in the interval between the regular ones. 1906 was the only time these "Intercalated Games" were held. Nonetheless, they were a great success, and helped establish the procedures and standards that guaranteed the perpetuation and reputation of the Games. Again in 1906, there was no official poster. The one shown above was created many years later, when collectors demanded one. It was based on a program for the Games. There was one set of official poster stamps created for the 1906 Games. Its design was similar to the 5 drachma Greek postage stamp issued in 1896, picturing the then recently excavated and restored winged victory by Paeonius 5 drachma stamp of 1896

Poster stamps 1906 Olympic Games

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Click on the DuBois number beneath the image to display technical data about that label.

Text from DuBois Catalog: 1906 - ATHENS The following information is freely quoted from Ernest Trory's "A Philatelic History of the Olympic Games." "After the 1896 Games in Athens, a suggestion had been made that all future Games should be held in the Stadium that had been built on the site of the Ancient Games. It was felt, however, that under these circumstances the Games would not achieve the wide international aspect that had been envisioned by their founder. "A happy compromise was arrived at after Baron de Coubertin had met the Crown Prince of Greece on the subject. It was agreed that starting from 1906, there should be a fresh series of Athenian Games taking place at regular intervals between the official series. Although the series did not materialize, the Games of Athens in 1906 were a great success. "A set of postage stamps was issued in commemoration of the event. A set of labels, which we now consider below, was also issued to advertise the Games. Three special labels of official status were printed in red, blue & green. The design was similar to that of the 5 drachmae postage stamp in the 1896 Olympic set which depicted the ancient statue of Nike, Goddess of Victory, by Paeonius. The inscription was in French and was obviously intended to advertise the Games abroad." 1906-1 to 14 "JEUX OLYMPIQUES INTERNATIONAUX ATHENES 1906 / 22 Avril - 2 Mai" in panel at bottom; horizontal lined background. Vignette depicts Winged Goddess of Victory with Acropolis and Parthenon in background. Some examples exist with thin frame lines at or along perforations. 26x53mm. Edition I. perf 13.5 1. Red ..... $5.00 2. Green ... $7.50 3. Blue .... $7.50 4. Brown ... Rare 5. Violet .. Rare 6. Gray .... Rare 7. Gold .... Rare Edition II. perf 11.5 8.  Red ....... $4.00 9.  Green ..... $6.00 10. Blue ...... $6.00 11. Brown ..... Rare 12. Violet .... Rare 13. Gray ...... Rare 14. Gold ...... Rare Note: The above brown, violet, gray & gold varieties were the work of private enterprise. DuBos does not specify the printing format. The largest multiples I have seen are of thirty stamps, six wide by five high, with perforations on all sides, so a likely size for a full sheet would be 50 stamps, with selvage around all four sides, 10 by 5, but that's just a guess. IMAGE HERE

Poster stamps for the 1906 Olympic Games in Athens - 1st edition
#1906-1 to 7
Perf 13-1/2, 20 teeth across the top

The DuBois catalog lists 14 varieties of this design, in two printings of seven colors.. The image above shows stamps from the first printing, perf 13- 1/2. The first three - red, green, and blue - were an official issue prior to the Games, used for publicity. Four more colors - brown, violet, gray, and gold - were issued privately. The private issues are rare.

As you can see in the image above, the perf 13-1/2 stamps separated poorly, so a second edition, perf 11-1/2 was issued at some time, in the same seven colors. These are all scarcer.

Poster stamps for the 1906 Olympic Games in Athens - 2nd edition
#1906-8 to 14
Perf 11-1/2, 17 teeth across the top

Can anyone provide the story of the "private printings?" It looks to me like all the above stamps were produced from the same plates, so did the printer just take liberties for the fun of it?

12/02//2017 - I just found this image on delcampe - these are the first imperforates of this issue that I have seen. The lot sold for $110.

12/03//2017 - Philippe Pavard wrote to tell me the following:

I own a set of these 3 imperforate labels - they were not printed in 1906. I don't remember the year (Perhaps 2006) but by the IOC, the Olympic Museum in Athens or the Hellenic Olympic Committee for a particular event. The paper is lightly creamy with no gum, like others printed in 1966 for the commemoration of the 1896 Olympic games by the Hellenic Olympic Committee.

I asked whether these reprints were marked in any way to distinguish them from the originals - he said "No."
Thanks, Phil - so caveat emptor!

9/9/19 - I found the item below on delcampe - description:
COVER OLYMPICS INTEREST - 1962 - FRANKED + 3 VIGNETTES - REPRINTS OF 2ND OLYMPIC GAMES.
So that dates these reprints to 1962.

Preliminary design