Original German Pre WWII 1936 Summer Olympics Volume 2 Cigarette Card Album in Original Box - All Cards Present

Original Item. Only One Available. This is a great Pre-WWII Olympia 1936 German Summer Olympics hardcover "cigarette card" album collectors book, complete with the original dust cover and packaging box! We see these somewhat regularly on the collector's market but they are usually missing the dust cover, and almost always missing the original packaging. This is the second volume of a two part set published by Cigaretten-Bilderdienst (Cigarette picture service) of Hamburg-Bahrenfeld. These books were originally purchased empty and customers would get a photograph cards with every purchase package of cigarettes. These served the dual purpose of helping to stiffen the packaging, as well as being collectible items. This wonderful example contains EVERY photo, yes, none are missing! With the shipping box and dust cover, this offering would be nearly impossible to improve upon!

Under the slip cover, the book itself has a dark blue cover fabric cover with an embossed gold "bell" bearing a German eagle perched on the 5 Olympic rings, the emblem of the 1936 Olympics in Germany. The bottom of the bell has the script Ich rufe die Jugend der Welt! ("I Call the Youth of the World!"), and surrounding the emblem is the following text:-

Olympia
1936

BAND II
DIE XI. OLYMPISCHEN SPIELE
IN BERLIN

The subscript translates to "Volume 2, The 11th Olympic Games in Berlin 1936". The book is 165 pages long with short a introduction and an "Honor Roll" at the end after the cigarette card page. It measures 9 3/4" x 12 3/8", and is in excellent condition. The pages give a summary of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, the capital of NSDAP Germany. There is some history of the games, but the vast majority of the pages are full of descriptions and pictures of the events, and the athletes themselves. There are numerous pictures of U.S. Athlete Jesse Owens, including the Iconic Picture of him with German long jumper Luz Long on page 23. The two had a famous friendship during the games that stood out in stark contrast to the ideals of the NSDAP. Luz Long would be killed during the war, but in the 1960s Owens went back to Berlin and met with Long's son.

This really is a fantastic offering, one of the most complete examples on the market and more than ready for further research and display!