EARLY RARE c1905 TOUR DE FRANCE MEN'S BICYCLE RACE NAPKIN RING W/ BAS RELIEF SHOWING RACE SCENE AND SPECTATOR STAND - MADE OF NICKEL PLATED BRASS

A wonderfully rare napkin ring in bas relief commemorating the TOUR DE FRANCE men's bicycle race.   Found in France and brought to this country by a person who was visiting France about 25 years ago.

The Tour de France is an annual men's multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists of 21 day-long stages over the course of 23 days. It has been described as "the world’s most prestigious and most difficult bicycle race."

The race was first organized in 1903 to increase sales for the newspaper L'Auto and is currently run by the Amaury Sport Organisation.  The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1903 except when it was stopped for the two World Wars.  As the Tour gained prominence and popularity, the race was lengthened and its reach began to extend around the globe.  Participation expanded from a primarily French field, as riders from all over the world began to participate in the race each year. The Tour is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams, with the exception of the teams that the organizers invite.  It has become "the world's biggest annual sporting event."  A women's Tour de France was held under different names between 1984 and 2009. Since 2014, the La Course by Le Tour de France is held for women in a one- or two-day format during the men's race!!

THIS IS ONE of THE EARLIEST AND FEW REMAINING ARTIFACTS CELEBRATING THE DAWN OF THIS IMPORTANT EVENT!

We think that this is from the TOUR DE FRANCE BICYCLE RACE, AS THE STYLE IS CERTAINLY PRE-1910, and the bleachers clearly indicate a BIG EVENT and basically since NO OTHER EUROPEAN BIKE races of any huge size were running at the time, and nobody would bother to make a NAPKIN ring in FRANCE where this came from for other races of any size, because there were NONE, this is what we think it is; i.e. TOUR DE FRANCE.   

If you think this is not TOUR DE FRANCE - please go elsewhere to buy or find a napkin ring like this.  

 

 

Wear, scratches is consistent with age and use.  Please see all photos as they are part of the description.  No chips or nicks or cracks are evident.

AS SHOWN ABOVE - NO RETURNS - SOLD "AS-IS."

SHIPPING is $12.00 to US BUYER VIA PRIORITY POST SHIPPING  w/ DELIVERY CONF. &  

INSURANCE INCLUDED.

Includes 15% EBAY SELLER'S SHIPPING SURCHARGE. 

  

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