1912 - STOCKHOLM

A very colorful set of labels was issued by Sweden to advertise the Stockholm
Olympic Games in sixteen different languages. We are indebted to Christer
Brunstrom, of Halmstad, Sweden, for the following facts he presented in Stamp
Collector, October 7, 1985:

"Quite a lot is known about this particular label, because the Organising Committee
published a complete report after the Olympics. One chapter deals with publicity
materials.

"Several Swedish artists took part in a design contest for the official poster (and
label). On June 27, 1911, the Organizing Committee decided on a design by the well-
known artist, Olle Hjortzberg. The painting shows (symbolically) the opening
ceremonies with all the participating nations marching through the stadium holding
their national flags.

"Posters in 16 different languages were printed and distributed to the participating
countries. However, in many countries the poster was rejected because of the nudity
portrayed on it. In China its use was completely forbidden.

"The poster design was reduced to produce the label. Each sheet was made up of 81
labels. The labels were printed by AB Central-tryckereit in Stockholm. The following
list gives the quantities printed in each language:

English:    2,337,000     Finnish:    43,500
German:       712,800     Italian:    40,900
French:       651,300     Czech:      40,000
Swedish:      554,600     Japanese:   27,500
Spanish:      100,300     Turkish:    27,400
Russian:       89,000     Greek:      25,400
Portuguese:    47,700     Hungarian:  20,300
Netherlandish: 47,200     Chinese:    17,300

"This adds up to a total printing of 4,782,200, with the English labels making up
almost half of that amount.

"The China postal administration prohibited use of the labels on covers in that
country. It was apparently deemed too obscene for Chinese tastes. Canadians were not
allowed to use the labels because of the then-current ban on non-postal seals and
labels in Canada.

"Considering the Chinese opinion of the label, it is not strange that it is now one
of the scarcest of the entire set. Judging from the printing figures the labels must
have been used quite extensively around 1911-1912. Generally they are affixed to the
back of the envelope.

"Assembling the complete set of 16 labels can no  doubt be an interesting and 
probably time-consuming project.  The majority of the labels are not really scarce, 
but it might be difficult to locate them.  

"Finally, it is quite interesting to note that the Swedish post office did not issue
any stamps for this important occasion."

Note: The above-discussed labels are listed & illustrated on three following pages.

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