Schönheit im Olympischen Kampf [PRIVATELY BOUND VELLUM-COVERED BOARDS IN CLOTH CLAMSHELL BOX]

Berlin: Im Deutschen Verlag, 1937. First edition. Hardcover. Very good to fine condition. Folio. 280, (4)pp. Privately bound vellum-covered boards of the time with Olympic Rings and calligraphed black lettering in ink on cover, housed in tan cloth-covered clamshell box with vellum slip flap.

Illustrated with 273 spectacular captioned photogravures, this seminal work in the history of sports begins with the pillars of the Parthenon and ends with the stacks of film reels on Leni Riefenstahl's shelves. The photographs were taken from the author's groundbreaking film "Olympia," the first documentary feature film of the Olympic Games ever made and widely noted for its technical and aesthetic achievements.

Although Josef Goebbels told Riefenstahl to ignore non-Aryan athletes, she filmed and photographed (as seen in this work) competitors of all races, including African-American Jesse Owens. Includes two photos of Hitler, one as the German team enters the stadium, the other with Reichssportführer Hans von Tschammer und Osten.

The last section of the book documents the preparation of the Olympic film, showing cameras on dollies, and tracks, cranes, and swivels submerged in pits and suspended from balloons. There are underwater cameras, miniature and giant cameras, cameras on towers and boats. Foreword in German, captions in German, French, English, Spanish and Italian. Some very light stains on cover and spine, and lightly rubbed on inside front cover of box. Vellum slip flap lightly darkened. Covers lightly rubbed. Clamshell box and binding in very good, interior in near fine to fine condition.