Sale 2503 - Printed & Manuscript African Americana, March 28, 2019

387 c   (SPORTS—BOXING.) Pair of early wire photographs showing Joe Louis knocking out Max Schmeling. Gelatin silver wire photographs, each 5 x 7 inches with German caption text and inked stamps on verso; minor wear including a short crease in one corner. [New York], 22 June 1938 [800/1,200] In 1936, Max Schmeling knocked out Joe Louis at Yankee Stadium. Adolf Hitler offered his personal congratulations while all of Harlem mourned. Their 1938 rematch took on great significance as the Nazis continued their aggression in Europe. The Brown Bomber came out swinging and landed 41 punches to Schmeling’s 2—a technical knockout was declared after just two minutes. In these two wire photos, Louis appears light on his feet, dancing over a falling Schmeling; a referee intervenes in one image. The technology for sending photographs over the phone lines was still quite new at that point. Associated Press had just trademarked “Wirephoto” in 1935, and this was one of their first images of a major American boxing match. These examples were received and printed in Germany; the original German- language captions are still affixed on verso, along with German-language inked stamps.