Up Where Winter Calls To Play
Our 1932 Winter Olympics poster is a reproduction of one of the original lithographic prints used to advertise the third-ever Winter Olympic Games event. The first Olympic Winter Games were held at Chamonix in France in 1924 and the second at St Moritz in Swizterland four years later in 1928. Given that only two Winter Olympic events had been held up to this point, it was probably a surprise that the Games were awarded to Lake Placid. However, it was also a sign of the significant strides American skiing had made in catching up with the European ski resorts. The 1932 Winter Games were held at Lake Placid, “Up where winter calls to play”, in the Adirondack Mountains in New York.
The 1932 Winter Olympics Poster
There were at least three posters created to promote and raise awareness for the event. Both featured the bobsled or bobsleigh as the focus of the tournament. In fairness, only five sports were contested at Lake Placid 1932, and bobsleighing was by far the most dynamic to feature on a poster. This one was created by the artist Jack Rivolta as part of the Federal Art Project NYC, a scheme by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The poster depicts a four-man bobsleigh team dramatically speeding down the bob run or chute at speed. The wording on the poster reads; Up where winter calls to play. Olympic Bobsled Run. Operated by NY State Conservation Dept. Lake Placid.
The Lake Placid 1932 Winter Games
The Opening Ceremony welcomed 252 athletes from 17 countries in these Games. Against a backdrop of the Great Depression in America and Worldwide economic hardships. the number was down from 25 nations at the previous Games in 1928. Argentina, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Yugoslavia did not send athletes to Lake Placid.
The 252 athletes competed in just five sports over 14 events. The five sports contested for medals were Bobsleigh, Ice Hockey, Skating consisting of figure skating and Speed Skating and Nordic Skiing which was split into three sports, Cross-country skiing, Ski Jumping and Nordic combined (a mixture of the first two). Three other sports were demonstrated at the III Olympic Winter Games, Curling, Women’s Speed Skating and Sled Dog Racing. At this point in time, Alpine or Downhill and Slalom skiing was in its infancy and wasn’t included in the games. Considering the economic climate attendance levels were reasonable with almost ten thousand spectators watching the Nordic combined and the Ski Jumping and almost 14,000 attending the Bobsleigh events.
What happened at the Winter Olympics in 1932?
The 1932 Olympic Games in Lake Placid were a historic event, marking the first time that the winter games had been held in North America. As such, these games attracted a diverse group of some 252athletes from 17 different countries. The athletes competed in five different sports over 14 events.
Skiing
The 18km cross-country skiing race at the Games in Lake Placid was an international success. In total, 42 entrants from eleven different countries were represented in the race, demonstrating the global appeal of the sport. Sven Utterström, from Sweden, kept his excellent form and crossed the finish line two minutes ahead of the next competitor, securing the gold medal. The 18km cross-country race turned out to be a warm-up for Veli Saainen from Finland. After taking a Bronze medal in the 18km race, and despite a difficult, challenging course with little snow coverage, Saainen also won Gold in the 50km.
For the ski jumping, victory of the competition was almost guaranteed the minute Norway’s Birger Rudd name was entered. Ruud along with his two brothers Sigmund and Asbørn dominated international ski jumping in the 1930s. In front of around 12,500 spectators, on the Intervales Ski-Hill, Norway’s Birger Rudd threw caution and himself headlong in to the wind. And, with a seemingly reckless but remarkable second jump took the Gold medal. Another expected victory was taken in the Nordic combined event when Johan Grøttumsbråten, one of the first great Nordic combined athletes, beat the rest of the field to add a sixth gold medal to the five he’d won in previous Games.
Skating
At Lake Placid 1932, women’s figure skating and mixed pairs skating were the only two competitive sports open to women. In fact, this remained the case until 1948, when skiing was opened as a competitive sport for women.
Doing it for the girls in 1932 was a young woman named Sonja Henie. Henie entered her first Olympics in 1924, aged just 11. She came last! She returned to the Winter Olympics in 1928, 1932 and 1936 taking the Gold medal in each. In addition to being a three-time Olympic champion, Henie went on to become a six times European champion and a ten times world champion. Henie has won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater.
Doing it for the boys was an Austrian skater, Karl Schäfer and he first became the world figure skating champion in 1930. In a career that rivals that of Henie, Schäfer became the Men’s European figure skating champion for eight consecutive years and the Men’s World figure skating champion for seven consecutive years. At the 1932 Winter Olympics, he took the Gold medal after wowing the spectators with his elegant style and dance steps. He achieved Gold again at the 1936 Games.
The French pairs figure skaters, husband and wife team, Andrée and Pierre Brunet had taken a Bronze medal home with them from the 1924 Olympics at Chamonix. At Lake Placid, they stepped up their performance, thrilling the spectators and the judges to be awarded Gold. Together the pair reigned supreme in pairs figure skating and acheived Gold again in 1932.
Speed skater and local hero Jack Shea, a Lake Placid native, became a national hero when he won gold medals in both the 500 and 1500 meter speed skating events. His gold medals were two of the total of six America won at the 1932 Games.
Ice Hockey
Just four teams competed in the ice hockey tournament: Canada, Germany, Poland, and the United States. The games were all very close, but in the end it was Canada who were victorious. All four teams played each other twice during the tournament. Canada had a great team and they were just too tough for the other teams to beat.
The Olympic bobsled run Lake Placid
14,000 people turned out to watch the Lake Placid 2-Man and 4-Man bobsleigh races. A total of 41 bobsledders from eight nations including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Switzerland and the United States competed at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run. In 1928, as driver of the first five-man US Bobsled team to win the Olympics, Billy Fiske became the youngest gold medalist in any winter sport. It was a record that lasted until 1992.
At the 1932 event, the United States team once again, sped their way to victory in the 4-man bobsleigh competition, with Billy Fiske piloting the sled and his teammates Clifford Gray, Eddie Egan, and Jay O’Brien to Gold. A second American sled team took Silver and Germany came in third for Bronze.
Favorites to win the 2-Man Bob were Lake Placid locals, brothers Hubert and Curtis Stevens. They had won the North American and AAU championships at the same track in 1931. The main challenge was expected to come from the reigning World Champions, the German pairing of Hanns Kilian and Sebastian Huber. However, it was the Swiss team consisting of Capadrutt and Geier that pushed the Americans hardest. The brothers beat the Swiss crew by less than two seconds to take Gold. The second U.S. bob, steered by 1928 skeleton silver medallist Jack Heaton placed third.
Buy our reproduction 1932 Winter Olympics poster
The Bobsled events drew the largest crowds at Lake Placid 1932 and were the most popular event. The artist of the promotional poster, Jack Rivolta, made the right choice to feature the bobsled on his poster. Whether you enjoy speeding down a bobsled run in a tin can, or just enjoy watching it live or on tv, our high-quality reproduction print will show you’re love for the dramatic sport. The poster has significant historical interest and makes a great conversation piece. If you’re looking for a unique and eye-catching piece to add to hang on your wall or to give as a gift, you’ve found it! This poster is ideal for adding a touch of nostalgia and style to any room. Best thing is you don’t have to race down anywhere to get it. Order a copy today and we’ll get it to you in Gold medal winning time!
So why not get your reproduction vintage bobsleigh poster now! You won’t regret it.
Our posters are carefully and professionally created from vintage originals. Whilst great care is taken in the production of these posters, we also try to maintain a vintage feel, so there may be small imperfections, fold marks, scuffs, tears, or marks that were part of the original poster master. If these do appear they should be visible on the larger views of the item on this listing. The originals of many of the posters we offer can cost many thousands of pounds, so whilst these posters look great, especially framed and mounted on a wall, they are intended as fun, affordable reproductions and not intended fine art prints.
The 50x70cm version has been specially produced to be used in conjunction with Ikea’s 50x70cm Ribba picture frame which currently retails for around £15. So you can bag a bargain of print and frame for a great price.
