A 1936 XI Berlin Summer Olympic Games Grounds Boxed Model with Mirror, Brochure & Pamphlet

Model in molded black bakelite, finely detailed, with a topographical view of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Grounds and its surroundings, illustrating the Olympic Stadium in the centre, with four of the six bell towers intact, the stadium surrounded by the various venues, buildings and training facilities associated with the presentation of the XI Olympiade, along with roads, parking lots, railway lines, yards, garages and stations, a directional pointer at the upper left pointing to the North, a raised rim forming a frame around the Olympic grounds, the top part of the frame illustrating the Olympic Rings flanked by the inscription "XI. OLYMPIADE AUGUST 1936" at the left and "REICHSSPORTSFELD BERLIN" at the right, marked on the reverse "Entwurf und Künstlerische Oberleitung des Reichssportfeldes / Reg.Baumeister a.D. Werner March Berlin / Mitarbeiter Walter March / Modell: Oskar Reich Berlin W 35 Kurfürstenstr.143 / Ausführung: Kunststoff-Presswerk d. Siemens-Schuckert A-G Berlin / Alleinvertrieb: Sport-Lüder Berlin-Spandau Postdamerstr.48" (loosely translated from the German: "Design and Artistic Management of Reichssportfeld / Reg. Builder A.D. Werner March Berlin / Employee Walter March / Model: Oskar Reich Berlin W 35 Kurfürstenstr.143 / Finish: Plastics Stamping Plant Siemens-Schuckertwerke A-G Berlin / Exclusive Distribution: Sports Lüder Berlin-Spandau Postdamerstr.48"), 218 mm x 298 mm x 24 mm in depth, near extremely fine. In its cardboard box of issue, inside lid with a detailed line diagram of the Reichssportfeld, the various venues with key numbers from 1 to 19, with a legend at the far right in German, English and French (1. Olympic Stadium, 2. Swimming Stadium, 3. Hockey Stadium, 4. Tennis Stadium, 5. Equestrian Ground, 6. House of the German Sport, 7. Gymnasia Building, 8. Swimming Pool, 9. Students' Home, 10. Women's Home, 11. Assembly Ground, 12. Dietrich-Eckart Open-air Theatre, 13. Restaurant, 14. Olympic Gate, 15. Southern Gate, 16. "Marchhof" Tunnel, 17. Recreation Ground with bathing lake, 18. Equestrian School and annexes, 19. Shooting Range), with latch closure, 230 mm x 307 mm x 35 mm in depth, exhibiting light soiling and wear from handling and storage, box fine. Accompanied by a XI Olympiade Berlin 1936 Commemorative Mirror (black plastic casing, obverse with the image of the bell with eagle over five conjoined rings insignia of the Berlin Summer Games, inscribed "OLYMPIADE" above and "BERLIN" below and dated "1936", with a celluloid face, reverse with a lightly stained piece of metal that acts as a mirror, 60.3 mm); a 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic Games Brochure (twenty pages on an off-white paper stock with a satin-like finish, marked "INTRODUCTION" on the front page with a red type overprint inscribed "Richard Wagner Festival Performances in Beyreuth 19th-30th JULY 1936 18th-31st AUGUST 1936", inside eighteen pages printed in black ink, describing and illustrating the various sports, the facilities and venues, with schedules, along with various things to see and do while in Berlin, aided by the use of photographs, maps and diagrams, the back page illustrating a two-up Olympic Games poster that is printed in four colours and acts as the front cover when it is folded over into a brochure, 205 mm x 225 mm, dual-staple bound); and a Berlin Olympiade Information Pamphlet (text in English, graphic of the Brandenburg Gate, the Olympic rings and the Lufthansa insignia on the front cover, explaining various points under the subheadings "Fare Reductions" and "Accommodation in Berlin", with addresses for the District Accommodation Offices and a Programme of the Olympic Games, printed in black ink on a light brown paper stock, 210 mm x 595 mm, fold up to a pamphlet size of 100 mm x 210 mm).

Footnote: This model was authorized by the management of the Reichssportfeld itself. It is based on the designs of Master Architect Werner March of Berlin, as modeled by Oskar Reich of Berlin. The bakelite models were manufactured by the Presswerk of Siemens-Schuckertwerke in Berlin and sold by Sport-Lüder of Berlin-Spandau. Owing to the fact that those who bought one of these models in Berlin had to carry it home, then wanted to show it to others when he/she got home, the bell towers around the stadium are often broken off and the model itself is almost always found chipped or cracked, and usually without the original box. The 1936 XI Berlin Summer Olympic Games was intended as a showcase for the Nazi organization and its German sporting prowess, but is now better remembered for the sprinting triumphs of the black American athlete Jesse Owens, winner of four gold medals. (C:77)