Original 1892 Olympic manifesto, outlining the revival of the ancient games, sells for record $8.8million at auction – topping Babe Ruth’s $5.6million Yankees jersey
- The original 127-year-old Olympic manifesto, which outlined the revival of the ancient Olympic games, has been auctioned off for a record $8.8 million
- Three international bidders vied for the French-language document over just 12 minutes before the winning offer was made. The buyer has not been identified
- The sale breaks a record for sports memorabilia set in June, when a New York Yankees jersey worn by Babe Ruth was sold at auction for $5.6 million
- Written in 1892 by Pierre de Coubertin, a French aristocrat and educator, the manifesto lays the Olympic mission to bring people together through athletics
- The 14-page document was delivered as as speech in Paris in 1892
- After forming the International Olympic Committee in 1894, Coubertin’s vision came to life in 1896 as the first modern Olympic games took place in Athens
The original 127-year-old Olympic manifesto, which outlined the revival of the ancient Olympic games, has been auctioned off for $8.8 million, setting a new record for sports memorabilia.
On Wednesday in Sotheby’s New York salesroom, three international bidders vied for the French-language document over just 12 minutes before the winning offer was made. The buyer has not been identified.
The sale breaks a record for sports memorabilia set in June, when a New York Yankees jersey worn by Babe Ruth sold for $5.6 million.
Written in 1892 by Pierre de Coubertin, a French aristocrat and educator, the manifesto lays out the concept for the modern games, which he saw as a way of encouraging human progress and sportsmanship.

The original 127-year-old Olympic manifesto, which outlined the revival of the ancient Olympic games, has been auctioned off for $8.8 million, setting a new record for sports memorabilia. Written in 1892 by Pierre de Coubertin, a French aristocrat and educator, the manifesto lays out the concept for the modern games, which he saw as a way of encouraging human progress and sportsmanship

The document, which is 14 pages long and the only known copy of the manifesto, was delivered as a speech at Sorbonne University in Paris in 1892 on the fifth anniversary of the formation of the French Athletics Association
‘Driven by competition from around the world, today’s record result stands as a testament to Pierre de Coubertin’s vision of more than a century ago, and the reverence with which the Olympic games are still held,’ said Selby Kiffer, who heads Sotheby’s books and manuscripts department. ‘It was a personal honor to serve as today’s auctioneer, as this marks my highest price on the rostrum in more than three decades at Sotheby’s.’
The document, which is 14 pages long and the only known copy of the manifesto, was delivered as a speech at Sorbonne University in Paris in 1892 on the fifth anniversary of the formation of the French Athletics Association.
After forming the International Olympic Committee in 1894, Coubertin’s vision came to life in 1896 as the first modern Olympic games took place in Athens.


(Left) Hermann Weingartner of Germany practices on the rings gymnastics apparatus in an empty stadium prior to his second-place finish during the First Olympic Games at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. (Right) Spectators at the first Olympic stadium in Athens

Preparation for the first 100-meter dash at the inaugural modern Olympic games in 1896
Coubertin stressed the connection between athletics, social progress and innovation, as a way to bring different people together.
‘As for athletics in general, I do not know what its fate will be, but I wish to draw your attention to the important fact that it presents two new features, this time in the series of these secular transformations,’ he wrote. ‘It is democratic and international. The first of these characteristics will guarantee its future: anything that is not democratic is no longer viable today.
‘As for the second, it opens unexpected prospects to us. There are people whom you call Utopians when they talk to you about the disappearance of war, and you are not altogether wrong; but there are others who believe in the progressive reduction in the chances of war, and I see no Utopia in this. It is clear that the telegraph, railways, the telephone, the passionate research in science, congresses and exhibitions have done more for peace than any treaty or diplomatic convention. Well, I hope that athletics will do even more.
‘Those who have seen 30,000 people running through the rain to attend a football match will not think that I am exaggerating.’

A staged photograph of a foil fencing match (since neither of the competitors is wearing a mask) in the Zappeion Exhibition Hall during the first Olympic Games in Athens, circa 1896