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The artist behind the London 1948 Olympic images

July 12, 2012 10:20
stamp48

By

Jennifer Lipman,

Jennifer Lipman

1 min read

The Jewish graphic artist who created the official stamp for the 1948 London Olympics was nicknamed “Olympic Games” in honour of his contribution.

Abram Games, who also designed the British European Airways poster for the Olympics, entered a competition to come up with the stamp in 1947.

His design was pitted against 25 others and eventually chosen for the 3d value stamp and, by the time of the games, 36 million stamps featuring his work were in circulation.

The Post Office described Mr Games’s stamp as showing “the figure of an athlete combined with the world, symbolising the athletic striving of all the nations taking part… The horizontal drawing of the athlete and the lines running from him express the movement and vitality of the Games.”

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