POSTER STAMPS AND LABELS OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES

UNSOLVED MYSTERIES

The items shown here are ones that I could not find in the DuBois catalog, and could not connect with a specific Olympiad, or doubted were labels at all. Some are shown as well on the pages of this site where they seem to belong, others only here. If you can provide information about when and by whom any of these were produced, and in connection with which Olympiad, please email me at Please refer to the image by the ID below it. All contributions will be acknowledged. Thanks. NOTE: Once I indentify an item on this page, I move it to the SOLVED MYSTERIES page - and the appropriate Olympiad page - so this page contains only the items I still have questions about. 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. Most of these are images I found on the www, so I do not know their sizes.

What's the story here? No rings, so not necessarily related to the Games. A Google search led to some pages about sports trading cards. ???

MYST-16
Miniature photo on light card
"Xth OLYMPIAD LOS ANGELES 1932"

I once owned this - it's a miniature photo on light card, the photo is 35mm x 45mm. I'm betting it was a souvenir item from a photo booth somewhere in LA. There must be similar items with other images - can anyone provide an example?

1932-x27

5/28/18 - This showed up on eBay! Seller describes it as "FUNKY FLAPPER MEXICAN WOMAN 1932 LOS ANGELES OLYMPICS PHOTOBOOTH VINTAGE PHOTO." I would not have identified her as Mexican, but maybe. The key thing is its clear connection to the item above. Size = 1.5" x 2" overall.

The source of this image, an Italian web site about Olympic Games held in Italy, says this is a "vignette" of the 1956 Winter Games, but the style of the Olympic rings looks older (1944?), and the texture looks odd. It could be a patch, not a label.
Please email me if you know what the item is - address at bottom of page.

???

MYST-26
D.N.D. - 10 Cts - SIN VALOR POSTAL

#1936-x13
OLYMPISCHES DORF BERLIN 1936
Vignette: Olympic tower with bells
bronze foil

Found on the www. It looks like a foil seal, not an imprint. Has anyone seen it elsewhere?

HERE IT IS
used on a cover.

myst-32
MONACO-SPORTS
Approximate size = 9x17mm (vignette)
Olympic Torch (?) on red background with text MONACO-SPORTS.

I found this in a Feldman auction, on this page with items from the 1932 Games, which suggests it dates from that period. Can anyone confirm, and explain its purpose? No rings, but I assume the torch is meant to refer to the Olympics.

12/2/17 - I found the image below in an old auction catalog:

It was described thus: "ca.1953 Fist Holding Torch, pencil and ink drawing by P. Gandon, design 96x159mm."

myst-33
OLYMPIC NORD HAINAUT

Size: 110 x 90 mm
Triangular label, runner above torch, Olympic rings behind.

I found this in a delcampe auction, seller describes it as a self-adhesive label, which suggests it is relatively recent. Nord Hainaut is a region in Belgium. Seller thinks it dates from the 1980's.

myst-35
UNIC OLYMPIC MAGASIN
NOSTRA OLYMPIC MAGASIN

Matchbox labels
Belgian grocery chain
Date = probably 1950's?

There are many of these available on eBay and delcampe, with twelve or so basic designs differing in the name of the town at bottom (e.g. Erquelinnes or Kapellen). Several have Olympic rings. Without the rings, I would say the name is coincidental, and has nothing to do with the Games, but their presence implies authorization by the IOC, presumably based on a sponsorship. My first thought was that they dated from the 1920 Games in Antwerp, but the clothing styles and hairdos of the women depicted are unmistakably 1950's, so I changed my mind. Can anyone provide more information?

Wikipedia says that UNIC was "rebranded" to SUPER GB in 1958, so they have to be earlier than that.

myst-36
OLYMPIC TAVENÝ SÝR
OLYMPIK MINI

Approximate size = 42mm height
Various Czechoslovak cream cheese labels, most with text only, some with Olympic rings, three with discus thrower (no rings)

I found these in an eBay auction, on scans of pages with other Olympic labels listed in DuBois, and dating from as early as 1932 and as late as 1984.

I have been unable to find these anywhere else. Without the Olympic rings they would be irrelevant, but the rings imply a formal relationship with the IOC, so they might belong somewhere in these pages. Can anyone pin down a date for them?

2/24/17 - Here's another type, no rings, winter theme. The price, 7,50 Kcs, is Czechoslovak currency, so pre-1993.

myst-39
OLYMPIA razor blade wrapper - 0.08mm
text on tab = V/15/26-MgG36
size: 475x260 mm

No rings, but that could be a foot-race track. Can anyone tell me the country of origin and date? Do they still sell razor blades anywhere?

myst-40

Matchbox label, PIZZERIA "Olympia" and Olympic rings with pizza names inside. Also, Ristorante "Santa Lucia". Reutlingen, (West) Germany

Heiko Volk listed this in the 1960 section of a recent auction, but my research suggests it is later - probably the 1970's (the 1972 Games were in Munich). I am basing that on the phone numbers, which I think were not in use until then. Moreover, the label names TWO restaurants, which makes the connection with any actual Olympic Games very tenuous. Neither restaurant exists today.

CAN ANYONE PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION?

myst-43

OLYMPIC Limonade pur sucre R.C.V.9305
on arc-shaped bright yellow label with Olympic rings in blue and white on a red background.

Lemonade bottle label (?)
Size unknown
Date unknown

I found this on a delcampe auction, from a Belgian seller. It looks like a label for the neck of a soft drink bottle.

CAN ANYONE PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION?

myst-44,45,46

Russian "Meshok" auction lots described as "Germany Reich Olympics, Sports vignettes Militaria, War, Propaganda, glue, rarity"
No dimensions stated.

A collector in Russia emailed me to ask for an opinion on the three items above. I told him they look like fakes, partly because I have never seen them, and partly because they are so crudely trimmed. All three of the images were issued as postcards. The seller had about ten more similar items with a sports theme, but no Olympics connection, their images also seen as postcards. The presence of glue on these is mysterious. Is there printing on the backs?

CAN ANYONE PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION?

I asked all the experts I know, none could identify this item!

myst-49

Matchbox label from India

This showed up on eBay recently, and while it does have Olympic rings, and say "OLYMPIC," I doubt very much it was issued in connection with specific Games. I think it is just exploiting the name. I see nothing in the design to date it.

CAN ANYONE PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION?

myst-49 - a black&white label; Solid black bkgrd for most of label, design reversed out; "OLYMPIC" at top, Olympic rings; female Olympic gymnast in silhouette doing a pose on one leg. White background at bottom for text: "50's MATCHES - PRICE 15Ps / THE ANNIE MATCH / FACTORY, NEMOM, / TRIVANDRUM-20"

myst-50

Matchbox label from India

This showed up on eBay recently, and while it does say "OLYMPIC," I doubt very much it was issued in connection with specific Games. I think it is just exploiting the name. I see nothing in the design to date it.

CAN ANYONE PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION?

myst-50 - a matchbox label with dark blue bkgrnd, "OLYMPIC" in yellow at top left, male torch runner in dark red. At lower right - "SAFETY MATCH - PRICE 0.07" At bottom, in yellow box, "K.P. MATCH INDUSTRIES, VETTUVANAM.N.A"

myst-51

Matchbox label from China (?)

This showed up on eBay recently, with the description
"China - older Matchbox Label - Olympic Games."
Those are definitely the Olympic Rings, but does that seller know Chinese? Could this be Japanese? I tried typing the text into Google's translator, and it agrees the text is Chinese, and says that it translates
"Registered trademark of Huangze Temple
Guangyuan Matches"

so that suggests to me that the label is not meant to connect with any specific Games. Can anyone tell me more?

8/19/19 - Akihiko Kanda supplied the following:
注册商标
皇泽寺
广元市火柴厂

Trade Mark
Huangze Temple
Guangyuan City Match Factory

AND he notes that the font was not used before 1960.

myst-52
Matchbox label from Germany

HANSA-GOLD
Olympic rings over generic text.

I won't bother repeating or translating the text, it says nothing about the Olympics, so what's the deal? This looks pre-WWII, so that would suggest it dates from the time of the 1936 Games, but... Can anyone tell me more?

myst-53
Romanian label

Text only -
TIMBRU OLIMPIC
around top of double circle,
C.O.R. at bottom
5 LEI in center
All in red on tan (kraft) paper

This looks like a handstamp, some sort of surcharge, perhaps.
The source is Mats Blückert of romaniastamps.com, who says just a thing I saw on the net, not in the catalogues. Probably a cancellation w value, rather than a stamp. Value is higher than the other "Olympic stamps" so maybe 1960?

Can anyone tell me more?

05/22/2018 - NEW MYSTERY

myst-54
Matchbox labels?

Philippe Pavard acquired these recently. The one with the 1912 poster image is 34x47mm (1.34" x 1.85") - about the size of the average matchbox label, and it is gummed. It has been identified now (6/17/2020) as part of a set issued in 1976 -
FULL STORY ON THE 1936 PAGE OF THIS SITE.

The one with the image from 1920 is 26x36mm (about 1" by 1.4"), which is small for a matchbox label, though I have seen a few. So what is it? The edges are uneven, so it was cut down from something larger. But what?

10/29/2018 - NEW MYSTERY

myst-55
Decal
ALBERGO OLIMPIA
TORINO VIA ANDREA DORIA 4 bis
Olympic rings and steeple of Church of San Lorenzo in Turin

Dimension: 6,5cm x 9cm

An eBay seller offered this today. He describes it as
Olimpia Hotel ~OLYMPICS cancelled due to WORLD WAR II~ TORINO ITALY Label/Decal,
but the cancelled Winter Olympics of 1940 were scheduled for Sapporo, St Moritz, and Garmisch-Partenkirchen - never Turin.

So this is a mystery. Cortina d'Ampezzo has hosted the Winter Olympics twice, in 1944 and 1956, and this is similar in style and design to some decals issued for the 1956 Winter Olympics there. Turin hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics, but this looks far too old to be that new. Or maybe it was issued in connection with the Rome Summer Olympics of 1960?

Does anyone out there know?

And BTW, HERE is a screenshot from Google Street View, of Via Andrea Doria 4 in Turin today. It's the three-story building in the middle, home to Ristorante/Pizzeria Seven Up.

myst-56
Italian vignettes

From a June 22, 2014 eBay UK auction on Worthpoint.

The description was as follows:

Cinderella Italy Olympic Games ? Stamps NHM - 2 pairs of stamps bearing 5 rings - possibly Olympics - 1.50 Lire on pink paper and 6 Lire on buff.

The one on the left says at top (I think) FIGC 1940 = Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio = Italian Football Federation.
The one on the right says at top CONI ???? = Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano = Italian National Olympic Committee

So the rings are definitely the Olympic rings, and these are definitely Olympic labels.

Can anyone tell me more, or send better images?

myst-57
Foil label, red ink on silver foil - BRITISH OLYMPIC ASSOCIATION - WALES

This showed up in an eBay auction today, as part of the image below, labels and tags associated with the Taff Street Dash and Nos Galan (New Year) races in Mountain Ash, Wales. One group of these are dated "1966" and we assume the others all date from the mid-to-late sixties, and therefore this must as well, right?

The seller added:
From the estate of the gentleman who designed and had them printed. they are from the mid 1960's I believe. I have other stickers from same estate and they are all from same time period.

Can anyone provide a better image, or more information about this, such as who created it, when, and where.

 
myst-58
Foil label (?), gold ink on beige? Olympic rings and "WALES"

This showed up in an eBay auction today, as part of the image below, labels and tags associated with the Taff Street Dash and Nos Galan (New Year) races in Mountain Ash, Wales. One group of these are dated "1966" and we assume the others all date from the mid-to-late sixties, and therefore this must as well, right?

The seller added:
From the estate of the gentleman who designed and had them printed. they are from the mid 1960's I believe. I have other stickers from same estate and they are all from same time period.

Can anyone provide a better image, or more information about this, such as who created it, when, and where.

 
myst-60
eBay lot, description:
San Marino National Olympic Committee sticker - RARE
Size: 3.2" = 85mm

The seller says "If I recall it right I got it in 1980."

The San Marino Olympic Committee was formed in 1960. According to their web site:

The symbol of the Olympic Committee in its present configuration was designed and realized by graphic designer Stefano RIGHI at the end of the 70s and it was officially introduced for the first time at the Olympics on Moscow in 1980.

Here is the current coat of arms:

SO I THINK THIS DATES FROM 1980 or later.

Can anyone tell me more?

myst-63

From an eBay auction

The description was as follows:

OLD VINTAGE FEDERAZIONE ITALIANA SPORT GHIACCIO FISG OLYMPIC DECAL STICKER

The seller added this: The backing says OPPI GRAFICA SRL with an address and phone number This repeats itself all over the peel off part. 4 1/4 x 3"

I looked up FEDERAZIONE ITALIANA SPORT GHIACCIO FISG - The Italian Ice Sports Federation, it is the governing body for ice sports in Italy. It was founded in 1926 to promote the practice of winter sports on ice and to coordinate events. I emailed them as well as the printer, and am awaiting further information.

Can anyone tell me more?

myst-64

From an eBay auction

The description was as follows:

STICKER OLYMPIC COMMITTEE YUGOSLAVIA SPORT

I emailed the seller for more info, but no response.

The flag used on this sticker was the Civil Flag of Yugoslavia from 1950 to 1992, but the star should have a yellow border.

Can anyone tell me more?

myst-65

Matchbox label from an eBay auction

OLYMPIC MOTOR OIL, flag with Olynpic rings, red and black, sold for $11.35 on 5/3/19

Could be American, British, Indian?
Looks fairly old - 1950's?

Samples of related items below.