SOUVENIR OLYMPIC HAND FANS
The 1932 Olympics were held during the Depression in Los Angeles, CA, which was considered a remote city at the time. Because of this, half as many athletes took part as had in the prior 1928 Games. Despite this, the competition was high, and 18 world records were either tied or broken. The 1932 Olympics lasted 6 days. This souvenir fan from the Tenth Olympic Games is made of a single paper leaf, hand painted with City Hall surrounded by foliage and the California state flower, the California Poppy. On the left, barely visible, is a gold stamp of the Olympic emblem with the Latin “Citius Altius Fortius”, meaning swifter, higher, stronger. The sticks and guards are stained purple, and the fan has a simple brass loop. The reverse is marked “made in Japan.” Variations of this fan were made. The fan opens to a width of 14˝".
The 1996 Summer Olympics, known as the Centennial Olympics, were celebrated in Atlanta, Georgia. The games had a profound impact on the city of Atlanta. The people of the Atlanta metro area consider the Games to be instrumental in transforming Atlanta into the modernized city it has become. The Centennial Olympic Park is still in use. A company called Zephyr was licensed to produced a wide variety of souvenir fans for the Olympics, all which came in a box with a hologram, to assure buyers of purchasing a licensed product. These colorful fans were made with fabric leafs and had either wood or plastic sticks. Quite a few of them advertised Coca-Cola, as the company headquarters was located in the host city.
The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing are scheduled take place between August 8 and August 24 2008. I was fortunate enough to purchase this fan in China last year, while this fast changing country was constantly preparing for the games. The fan is made of a silk leaf decorated with the Beijing 2008 Olympic logo. The color red represents good luck in China. The sticks are made of alternating colors of pierced bamboo. Their are nine dark sticks and eight sections of light colored sticks. Both numbers eight and nine are considered lucky in China. The fan is 16˝" in width.
Copyright © 2008 Hand Fan Productions
a footbal fan