As London 2012 finally settles into the blocks for its two-week dash after seven years of preparation, the British Library has cast a nostalgic look back to the two previous Olympiads hosted by the city, in 1908 and 1948. The story the images tell is of the changing face of the Olympics.
The collection, featuring 2,500 stamps, postal items and other pieces of Olympic memorabilia from private collections, also tracks the history of London's progress across the century. In 1908 the city was still at its imperial zenith. In 1948 it was a bankrupt, clapped-out soon-to-be has-been. Where we are now will be determined by the next fortnight. This gallery concentrates on the images from the 1908 Olympiad. Compare and contrast with the coming attractions.
Click on the images to enlarge
Links
[1] https://theartsdesk.com/users/theartsdesk
[2] https://www.addtoany.com/share_save
[3] http://www.bl.uk/olympex2012
[4] https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/O.jpg
[5] https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/Crowther1908_Frame_1_Sheet_01.jpg
[6] https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/London1908_Frame_1_Sheet_09 crop.jpg
[7] https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/London1908_Frame_4_Sheet_3_detail.jpg
[8] https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/London1908_Frame_2_Sheet_05 crop.jpg
[9] https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/London1908_Frame_2_Sheet_03 crop.jpg
[10] https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/Olympic2012-019 crop.jpg
[11] https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/London1908_Frame_1_Sheet_16 crop.jpg
[12] https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/London1908_Frame_3_Sheet_14 crop.jpg
[13] https://theartsdesk.com/node/36999/view
[14] https://theartsdesk.com/node/44251/view
[15] https://theartsdesk.com/node/35600/view
[16] https://theartsdesk.com/node/46164/view
[17] https://theartsdesk.com/visual-arts
[18] https://theartsdesk.com/topics/sport
[19] https://theartsdesk.com/topics/olympics
[20] https://theartsdesk.com/topics/london-2012
[21] https://theartsdesk.com/topics/galleries