“THE ONLY JEWISH WRESTLING CHAMPION IN THE WORLD”: WONDERFUL RUSSIAN WRESTLING POSTER
TSIRK KOLLEKTIV. Krasnaia Maska. [Russia: Tipografiia Sporta, circa 1920]. Large poster (28 by 21 inches), tissue-backed. Handsomely matted and framed, entire piece measures 34 by 27 inches. $2800.
Large original poster announcing a program of competitive wrestling matches conducted under the auspices of the “Tsirk Kollektiv” (Circus Collective), typeset in a wide selection of Cyrillic wooden fonts, with bold woodcut of a pair of wrestlers.
The “stellar program” described on this original sporting poster from the early years of the Soviet Union features three wrestling matches: the “Red Mask against Gersh Brodskii, the only Jewish wrestling champion in the world,” “Sali-Sulieman, the strongest Muslim wrestler, a fovorite of the Russian public, undefeated champion of the world, against the champion of the Volga region, Smirnov,” and finally the main event, “Kolya Kraviani vs. Borelli of Tiflis [Tiblisi].”
Two faint fold lines, small paper repair to intersection. A striking piece.