Olympic Games/ summer, 1908/ London/Marathon/ Dorando/ Irvin - Lot 45

Olympic Games/ summer, 1908/ London/Marathon/ Dorando/ Irving Berlin. Dorando Large format illustrated in color by Ed.Pfeiffer. Framed Size: 34.5 x 26.5 cm; with frame 47 x 39 cm "Dorando" was inspired by the tragedy of Dorando Piétri (1885-1942) at the finish line of the London Olympic marathon. In the final meters of the legendary race, Italian runner Dorando was winning when, exhausted, he fell five times. He was helped across the line, but although first, he was downgraded, and only considered a moral winner. This drama inspired Irving Berlin (1888-1989) to write "Dorando", words and music. The young Irving Berlin was not yet famous, when he discovered our unhappy hero on a tour of the United States in 1909... He dedicated this song to him, whose lithographed illustration plunges us back into the terrible arrival. From Ted Snyder and Co, Music Publishers, NY. Irving Berlin was to become one of the most famous composers in the new world, and Dorando, a cursed sportsman.