Official Invitations From 1896 Athens Olympics to Auction
The 1896 Olympic letters
A rare group of surviving documents connected to the first modern Olympic Games are being offered as part of RR Auction’s Olympics Auction closing tomorrow.
The sale includes 340 lots spanning the history of the modern Olympic movement including this set of three handwritten invitation letters issued during the 1896 Athens Olympic Games. Original administrative documents from the inaugural modern Olympiad are regarded as scarce, particularly those associated with senior organizing officials.
The letters, each one page and addressed to the Minister of Maritime Affairs (“Mr. Lavidas”), were written and signed by Timoleon Filimon, General Secretary of the Olympic Committee, and Tryfon Moutzopoulos, Mayor of Piraeus. Period stamps and official committee markings appear on the correspondence.
Two of the invitations, dated March 22 and March 24, 1896, reference ceremonial events surrounding the Games including the unveiling of the statue of benefactor Georgios Averof near the Panathenaic Stadium, and seating arrangements for official attendees.
A third letter, dated March 25, 1896, extends a formal invitation to celebrations attended by members of the Greek royal family and foreign dignitaries.
Complementing the correspondence are medals attributed to the Athens Games, reflecting the distinctive award structure of the inaugural modern Olympics, where first-place finishers received silver medals and second place was recognized with bronze.
