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Bobby Pearce Olympic archive sells for $76,260
The archive of Australian rower Bobby Pearce, including two Olympic gold medals, has sold
Paul Fraser Collectibles, Thursday 26 July 2012
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The personal archive of Bobby Pearce, the Olympic gold medal-winning Australian rower, has sold in London.
 Bobby Pearce: Australia’s first Olympic gold medallist in rowing |
Henry Robert "Bobby" Pearce became the first Australian rower to win an Olympic gold medal when he triumphed at Amsterdam in 1928, and the first Olympian to retain a rowing title when he repeated the feat in Los Angeles four years later.
Regarded as one of the finest Australian rowers of all time, he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1986.
The personal archive included both his gold medals alongside letters, photographs and rare posters.
His record breaking success and prominent place in Australian and rowing's Olympic history ensured a strong price of £49,250 - at the very top end of the £30,000-50,000 estimate.
Pearce's son Bobby Jr commented prior to the auction: "This is a remarkable archive of Olympic and Australian memorabilia, paying homage to my father's great sporting achievements."
It is not the first time an Australian Olympic archive has appeared at auction; the personal memorabilia collection of swimmer John Konrads sold for more than £64,000 last year.
The auction also featured a number of torches from various Olympic relays. The standout lot was a torch from the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics, which made £8,750. Torches from the London 1948 Games sold for £4,750 and £4,000, further evidence of the strength of this particular market. Another example sold for £4,500 at an auction on Tuesday.
We have this photograph signed by the current Olympic 100m and 200m champion Usain Bolt in stock.
Recent and related articles
· 1912 World Series trophy to make $300,000 at collectors' convention? | 25 July 2012
· Top Five Olympic memorabilia | 25 July 2012
· Top 5 Wimbledon memorabilia | 27 June 2012
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