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Olympic Resources

SPI Monographs

The Huygens Bookshop in The Hague has long been known by Olympic philatelists for the postal stationery cards it produced and sold to benefit the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games. Finally, these elusive and little understood cards have been assembled in a single reference by noted 1928 Olympic Games philatelist and exhibitor, Laurentz Jonker. In this 20-page, full-color monograph, Jonker discusses the origin of the cards, organizes them into three distinct types, and illustrates all 28 varieties (along with some of the proof models). A magnificent series of 8 cards sent via registered mail to Java in the Dutch East Indies complete with Olympic stamps and Olympic Stadion cancels is the highlight of this study.

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Special Olympic registration labels are among the most fascinating of philatelic elements being both admired and highly sought after. Introduced in 1912 for the Stockholm Olympic Games, they were repeated in both 1920 in Antwerp and again in 1924 in Paris. Very few are known making them extremely rare and certainly the jewels in anyone’s collection.

Registered Mail of the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games by Laurentz Jonker examines the creation and use of registered mail labels on pre-Olympic and Olympic mail from Amsterdam post offices.

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Covers mailed from 1936 Olympic post offices with a red “V” or “value” label are unusual and rare. This monograph, by noted Olympic philatelist, Laurentz Jonker, surveys and records every known instance. As of 2011, when this publication was updated, there were only 24 known V covers: 1 from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 15 from Berlin and 8 from Kiel. Each cover has been listed including a breakdown of the postage rate. Where possible, a photographic scan has been included.

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Other Philatelic Publications

Published between 1956 and 1970, A Philatelic History of the Olympic Games is one of the earliest catalogs of Olympic philately.

The catalog is arranged in 6 parts, each part consisting of one or more Olympiads. In addition to stamps, the author has included postmarks and even vignettes of the host country. Olympics covered include the Games of 1896 Athens through 1936 Berlin, and the Olympic Winter Games of 1924 Chamonix through Garmisch 1936.

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Gunter Schneider’s softcover monograph was one of the earliest attempts to catalog all the worldwide Olympic cancellations and postmarks for the summer and winter Olympic Games. The period he covers begins with the 1906 Athens (Intercalated) Olympic Games and concludes with the 1960 Rome Olympic Games. Additional postmarks are included for 1961 (Squaw Valley and Olympia) as well as a preliminary list of handcancels for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. While not an exhaustive study of the early Olympic Games, it provides an excellent overview with clear illustrations of handcancels, roller cancels, and machine cancels. Published in July 1962, the publication is 48 pages in length.

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Presentations (Static & Recorded)

“Unauthorized Australian Olympic Stamps, Sydney 2000" tells the behind-the-scene story of Australia Post's extensive 2000 Olympic philatelic program. David Maiden, Australia Post philatelic manager, was instrumental in creating the gold medalist stamp program -- something never before attempted. Mr. Maiden reveals some the numerous challenges and a few surprises! Presented at the SPI Convention in Chicago, August 2021.

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“On a Wing and a Prayer” tells the story of retired Australia Post philatelic manager, David Maiden's 18-month stint as a special advisor to ELTA, the Greek postal administration, helping them set up their 2004 Olympic Games postal program. The biggest challenge for him was adapting to the “Greek way of doing things.” With a little prayer, as well as some luck, they managed to pull it off! This recorded zoom presentation was first shown at the SPI Convention in Sacramento, California in August 2022.

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