More Stunners from the 1930s

A few months ago, I shared some cards from the early 1930s that were more like little pieces of art. They were originally issued by a German margarine company called Sanella—one card in each package. Impressively, the Sanella company published an accompanying "Handbook of Sports" that you could order separately. Inside, you'd find a space reserved for each card, along with detailed information about each sport or activity.

 

There are 112 cards in the set, and many are quite affordable considering their age and delicate nature (they're paper thin). The first four I purchased were "absolute had to have 'em", but I knew I'd eventually go back to look over the checklist and find a few more that I really enjoyed, either for the artistry or the sport featured.

Have a look at these beauties:

  

 

 

Last time, I mentioned how a successful piece of art should draw you in and force you to look at it. It freezes that moment of action. And this card certainly does it! What a great angle, too. You can almost hear the creaking of the oars and the swishing of the water as the rowers do their thing. 

 

 

 

 

I haven't followed women's professional tennis since the days of Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis, and the Williams sisters. I only have a few tennis cards of any kind in my collection. However, I couldn't pass this one up. The image is cropped in such a way that makes this woman seem like she's playing in an opera house instead of on a tennis court. Her name is Cilly Aussem, and in 1931 she became the first German (man or woman) to win the singles title at Wimbledon. Considering the Sanella set was issued in 1932, it's no surprise that Aussem was included!

   

 

 

 

As a hockey player and fan, I knew I wanted this card from the start. However, it was a bit more pricey than many of the others in the set, so I took my time and did some searching. When I saw the color and centering on this particular copy, I went for it. Unfortunately there's not a whole lot of descriptive text on the back of the card—only that this particular game is between Brandenburg and S.C.C. (Sport-Club Charlottenburg).

 

Based on some quick research, it looks like a Brandenburg player (red and white) is about to score a goal. 

 

  

 

 

 

Finally, we've got this gem. You're looking at Clas Thunberg, a speed skater from Finland who took home five Olympic Gold Medals in the discipline—three in 1924, and two in 1928. 

 

This image must be from a speed skating competition, but I like to think that Clas is back home in Finland, and this is just the way he commuted to the office in the morning.

  

 

Here's the back of his card, for reference:

 

 

Most of that text consists of advertising, plus instructions on how to order your handbook. (It will be delivered postage-free upon receipt of a 70 Pfennig stamp addressed to "Sanella," P.O. Box No. 125, Berlin C2. Please clearly indicate your address.)

 

So, I've got eight cards from this set now. And there's a reason why I went for that many. 

 

 

 

In no world was I going to just tuck these cards into a box and forget about them. I had to display them in a binder. 

 

Eight-pocket pages do exist, and that was my initial intent. However, after taking some measurements, I discovered that these Sanella cards are just a tiny bit too big for those pockets. The next-best thing was the 5-pocket page that you see above. There's a noticeable amount of empty space around each card, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do.

 

Besides, the Sanella cards are pretty happy in this particular binder, which houses a small-but-growing collection of vintage sport and non-sport cards from sets like Gum Inc. Adventure and World on Wheels (which you see peeking out from underneath).

 

Ultimately, these kinds of cards have been fueling a good portion of my collecting energy these days, and I might keep searching for more examples. There's certainly a lot out there, and the artwork is often fantastic. 

 

Thanks for reading along, and here's to the continued search!