Sokol Sport Festival in Prague, VI Slet, 1912. Postcard by Minerva. Marathon Series by Kamil Vladislav Muttich. No 2.
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Sokol, an all-age athletic organization first founded in Prague in 1862. It was based upon the principle of “a strong mind in a sound body." and traced its roots in physical education to the athletes and warriors of Ancient Greece. The movement soon spread across all the regions populated by Slavic cultures. The word “Sokol” means falcon, a symbol of freedom among Slavs at the time. There were local and regional Sokol events yearly, called Slets, with huge “All-Sokol” national and even international Slets at longer intervals.
Sokol developed and thrived during the heyday of postcards, the late 19th and early 20th century. In Prague, Sokol cards were a high art. Hundreds of postcards, many designed by famous artists of the era, were produced as advertising and souvenirs for Sokol events. Gymnastics and calisthenics are central to the Sokol physical culture system, and Slets incorporate demonstrations and competitions of those activities, which are featured prominently on many of the postcards.
[Source: alphabetilately.org/Sokol/1912.html]
Sokol Sport Festival in Prague, VI Slet, 1912. Postcard by Minerva. Marathon Series by Kamil Vladislav Muttich. No 2.
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Sokol, an all-age athletic organization first founded in Prague in 1862. It was based upon the principle of “a strong mind in a sound body." and traced its roots in physical education to the athletes and warriors of Ancient Greece. The movement soon spread across all the regions populated by Slavic cultures. The word “Sokol” means falcon, a symbol of freedom among Slavs at the time. There were local and regional Sokol events yearly, called Slets, with huge “All-Sokol” national and even international Slets at longer intervals.
Sokol developed and thrived during the heyday of postcards, the late 19th and early 20th century. In Prague, Sokol cards were a high art. Hundreds of postcards, many designed by famous artists of the era, were produced as advertising and souvenirs for Sokol events. Gymnastics and calisthenics are central to the Sokol physical culture system, and Slets incorporate demonstrations and competitions of those activities, which are featured prominently on many of the postcards.
[Source: alphabetilately.org/Sokol/1912.html]