Introduction 1882 - I 1887 1891 - II 1895 - III 1898 1899 1900 1901 - IV 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 - V 1908 1910 1911 1912 - VI 1913 1914 1915 1916 1918 1919 1920 - Local Events 1920 - VII 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 - VIII 1927 1928

SOKOL POSTCARDS and Poster Stamps Undated cards and labels (Click on any image to view an enlarged version) These are apparently generic cards and labels, produced not for a specific Slet or fund-raising project, but for general use. Many have no text, or at least no specific mention of Sokol, but we know they are Sokol by the uniforms and symbols such as falcons and the Sokol flag. IF YOU CAN DATE ANY OF THESE, please email me - address at the bottom of this page. Some of them do have postmarks with dates, but that's not what I'm looking for. I want to know if they were issued for a specific event. ---------- POSTCARDS Undated card with photograph from 1880 of Sokol II house and gym in Ceske Budejovice. Rare 5h. charity label sold for the benefit of the group. This was a Fund-raising stamp for Sokol club-house/gymnasium that was built over the period from 1928-1939, so this card must date from that period. Can anyone date it more exactly?     November 2, 2020 - Sokol historian Pavel Michalec sent the following information about the postcard above: From the late 1880's Sokol Tyrs was located in a Linz suburb, south part of Ceske Budejovice. Sokol Tyrs was the Sokol unit created by former members of Telocvicná Jednota Sokol Ceské Budejovice, established in August 28, 1869. They had split off from the original Sokol organization due to internal arguing in the late 1880´s. In the beginning of the 20th century its name was changed onto Sokol II. At first they practised in the gym of a local school, but eventually were able to purchase the house shown on your postcard, which with included the restaurant "U Kotvy". In 1968 (years after communist repression in Czechoslovakia, which resulted in the effective end of the Sokol movement) local government decided to demolish several houses in this area, including Sokol Gym U Kotvy. Between years 1968 and 1978 the house was used as Aquarist shop. Demolition was executed in 1978. This is the sad history of Sokol Tyr in Ceske Budejovice. Thanks, Pavel. =============================== M. Tyrš, founder of the Sokol movement     Artist for the card on the left = Viktor Oliva (1861-1928) -------- Jindřich Fügner, co-founder of the Sokol movement   -------- Below, "undivided back" cards - these are cards produced prior to 1906 or 1907, when Austria authorized the modern form of card, with space for message on the address side. Postcards did not really become a fad until after that change, so these are scarce. The card on the left above announces a Sokol performance in L'viv, Ukraine, which was part of Austria-Hungary at the time (ca. 1900?). My ancestors are from that area, so this card has special interest for me. 6/17/2020 - our co-conspirator Stefan wrote to inform me that the card on the left above is actually a Sokol lottery ticket! The gray area on the third line of text is for a ticket number. The text on the back tells us it was printed by V. Neubert, Praha-Smichov, Chechy. The text is Russian Cyrillic. That suggests to me that it was issued after the Russian occupation of the area in 1948. -------- "Divided back" cards post-1907 ------------------   Artist: Otakar Štáfl (1884-1945) The card above shows the "New Sokol House at Vinohrady" (since 1922 a district of Prague). This "Sokolovna" was completed in 1938, so that is probably the date this card was published. The chapter is still very active at that location. ------------------ Note the Statue of Liberty in background at lower right of the card below.     The artist is Mikuláš Antonín Číla; (1883-1983), who was a famous army general as well as a talented painter! Based on the stamp fragment - it looks like Austria Sc.113 - this card must date from 1908-1916. ------ Karel Šimůnek 1869-1942 The artist who provided more designs for Sokol postcards than any other is Karel Šimůnek, with nineteen designs I am sure of, and another six probables. Many of them are undated designs, shown below. You can see he used several themes and design elements repeatedly, making his cards easy to spot. The first twelve below are all signed, and definitely his.   The ones below are not signed, but resemble ones above, so I consider them likely to be Šimůnek's. УСТАЈ ЖИВИ --- --- БОРИ СЕ НЕ КЛОНИ GET UP, LIVE - - FIGHT, DON'T GIVE UP That last one, with Serbian text, has what I assume is a signature, in Serbian, and it does not say Simunek. So perhaps he had imitators, because that sure looks like several of his other designs, especially the ones he did for slets in 1907, 1908, and 1920. ------ Věnceslav Černý 1865-1936 Another prolific painter of images for Sokol postcards was Věnceslav Černý. Below are eleven of his designs, all of the cards by him that I have seen, and more than by any other artist except Karel Šimůnek (see above), yet NONE of them was created for a specific event! Three of them are shown on other pages of this exhibit, but only because they had something added to connect them to that date. Two of the designs occur twice below, once with different text on the face, the other with a different back.                                         ------ Josef Kočí 1880-1961 Another Czech artist who did many cards - again, none specific to an event - was Josef Kočí. Below are seven of his designs, one used twice. Two of these are shown on the 1920 page, since they have added text to connect them to that date.                         ------ Photo cards It might be possible to date the middle card above from the flags and the crowd - Care to try? Cyrillic text of the card on the right: ГИМНАСТИЧКО ΔPYШTИBO "ДУШАН СИЛНИ" БАЊА ЛУКА Translation: GYMNASTIC DEPARTMENT/Club "DUSHAN SILNI" BANJA LUKA Dushan Silni = Stefan Dušan = Dušan the Mighty(King of Serbia, 1331-1346, and a great conqueror) Banja Luka = second largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina Is it a Sokol card? There's no mention of Sokol, but the outfits look like Sokol. Could be DTJ, or Orel, though. ------ FRONTS ONLY                                             ------------       ------------ POSTER STAMPS Zdravé pohraniči - pevná vlasti hráz Healthy borderlands make a solid homeland - Sokol Frýdlant A theme that appears on other labels in this pages - and apparently a significant issue for Sokol between the two Word Wars, when newly independent Czechoslovakia was beset from all sides. DSO SOKOL Created in 1953, and lasting until 1957 (when all athletic groups were combined under a single, highly regimented control), DSO Sokol was a primarily rural continuation of voluntary Sokol groups under the Communist regime that had taken over in 1948. So these must date from 1953-1957, and look like the sort of generic labels one might stick on a postcard or letter. Size: diam 40mm = 1.6" Národové Čím Menší Jsou, Tím Větší Činnost Vyvinouti Musí... Tělocvičná Jednota Sokol Praha Nové Město II -- Tyr&scaron "The smaller nations are, the harder they must try" - Tyrš Sokol Prague New City II (a district of Prague) A generic label with an inspirational message from the founder. VLAST OSVOBOZENA "A Liberated Homeland!" I assume this is celebrating Czech independence after WWI, so dates from 1918 or so. СОКОЛСКИ ДОМ - ЛЕСКОВАЧ SOKOLSKI DOM - LESKOVAC Fund-raiser for Sokol gym (Sokolovna) in Leskovac СОКОЛСКО ДРУШТВО РАДОВИШТЕ - ЗА СОКОЛАНУ - 2 ДИНАРА Fund-raising stamp for Sokol in Radoviš (Radovište) СОКОЛСКО ДРУШТВО ВЕЛ. БЕЧКЕРЕК Sokol in Zrenjanin (Velký Bečkerek) ZA SOKOLSKI DOM BRASLOV&cCZRON;E Fund-raising stamp for Sokolovna in Braslovče Скопје Соколска жупа Кралевича Марко Skopje Sokol organization "Kraljevic Marco" Fund-raising stamp for Skopje Sokol My guess as to the date is the 1930's. 12/31/18 - according to this page, this was issued in 1928, for the VI Regional Provincial Assembly of the Yugoslav Sokol Association, in Skopje. СОКОЛСКИ ДОМ у ДЕБРУ ПЛАНЕТА БЕОГРАД Donation stamps for Sokolovna in Debr Serbian, printed in Beograd Generic poster stamp - Image of M. Fügner in center, surrounded by Sokol slogans: Lví silou - Vzletem sokolím / Tužme se / Rovnost - Volnost - Bratrství / Ni zisk - Ni slávu

1929 1930 1931 1932 - IX 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 - X 1939 1943 - London 1946 1947 1948 - XI 1948 - Rudé Právo labels 1951 1989 1990 1994 - XII 1996 UNDATED Chile USA Slovak Catholic Sokol DTJ Orel YUNAK Links References Acknowledgments UPDATES