VERY RARE MAX ADOLPH OTTO SEIGFRIED SCHMELING (GERMANY, 1905-2005) EARLY 20TH CENTURY VINTAGE STUDIO IMAGE of FORMER 1930-1932 HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING CHAMPION, LARGE FOLIO, SEPIA-TONED BLACK & WHITE GLOSSY PHOTOGRAPH in PERIOD, THIN-PROFILE, DARK-STAINED WOOD FRAME 

[Max Schmeling posing in black tee shirt throwing a straight right] 

(Circa 1930-1936)

Early 20th century vintage black & white boxing studio photography

DIMENSIONS: 

21" Length x 17" Width

 

 DESCRIPTION:

There's some minor foxing/tanning which occurs along the extreme bottom edge of the photographic plate, where the photo meets the bottom of the wood frame. This was no doubt caused by condensation, due to the fact that the original frame presentation has the photograph without matting, framed to the margins of the photo, placing it directly against the glass. As a result of this traditional period frame presentation, the photo is now slightly buckled and has experienced this slight and minor damage along its lower margin. Both conditions are not fatal and the large format photograph remains largely undamaged, with no tears, stains, spotting, corner folds, mildew, scuffs or abrasions to its surface. The photograph appears to be uncut and still enjoys its original margins as it was originally constituted. The photograph was removed from its period frame in order to inspect it and to clean the interior margins of the frame, as well as to clean the glass. The frame was moisturized with organic oil and when dry, the photograph and clean glass were reassembled together in the same period frame. This is an unusual, seldom seen photograph of the great, world-famous German heavyweight boxer Max Schmeling, who fought American and former heavyweight champion Joe Louis twice, in 1936 & 1938, before the onset of World War II, when the entire world was at least looking in peripherally at the racial and political implications of these widely watched early heavyweight bouts between the Black American Joe Louis and the white German Max Schmeling.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

Max Schmeling, full name Maximilian Schmeling, (born September 28, 1905, Klein Luckow, Brandenburg, Germany, died February 2, 2005, Hollenstedt), was a German heavyweight boxer who, from June 12, 1930, when Jack Sharkey lost to him by disqualification, until June 21, 1932, when he was outpointed by Sharkey in 15 rounds, held the world heavyweight boxing title, the first European to do so. Schmeling became interested in boxing in 1921 and turned professional three years later. He won the German light heavyweight title in 1926 and added the heavyweight title in 1928. He pursued more challenging fights in the United States, where victories over top heavyweights Johnny Risko and Paolino Uzcudun in 1929 led to the 1930 fight against Sharkey. Schmeling’s most notable victory, however, was a 12th-round knockout of Joe Louis on June 19, 1936. While studying slow-motion films of Louis’s fights, Schmeling had noticed Louis’s tendency to drop his guard after a series of left jabs. Schmeling took advantage of this weakness to defeat his heavily favoured opponent.The rematch between Schmeling and Louis became a stage for international politics. After his stunning victory, the Nazi Party attempted to capitalize on Schmeling’s propaganda value. The apolitical Schmeling, who was never a member of the party, was promoted as an 'Aryan' representative of Nazi ideology. Both Adolf Hitler and Franklin Roosevelt met with their respective fighters before the second bout on June 22, 1938, and the press corps of both nations invested the fight with nationalist and racial implications. Louis was dominant, knocking out Schmeling two minutes into the first round of their rematch. When it became clear that Schmeling would lose, the radio broadcast of the fight was terminated in Germany. Schmeling was hospitalized after the fight with two broken vertebrae and returned to Germany a week later.The loss did not ingratiate Schmeling with high-ranking Nazi Party members, who had previously expressed concerns about his retention of Jewish American trainer Joe Jacobs as well as his marriage to the Austrian film star Anny Ondra, who worked with a number of Jewish actresses and actors, as well as Jewish film directors. In later years it was revealed that Schmeling had sheltered two Jewish boys in his Berlin apartment during the Kristallnacht pogrom of November 9–10, 1938. Schmeling served as a paratrooper in the German army during World War II and was injured during the invasion of Crete in 1941. He returned to boxing in 1947–48, winning three of five fights in Germany before retiring at age 43. In all, he had 70 bouts, winning 55, 38 of them by knockouts. Later influential friends in the United States helped him to acquire the Coca-Cola franchise for the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), making him a wealthy man. In the 1950s Schmeling visited Louis in the United States, and the two became good friends. 

CONDITION:

Good to Very Good overall vintage condition.