[From the Cavalry to Horse Racing].—An album containing abou - Lot 853

Lot 853
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100 - 150 EUR
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[From the Cavalry to Horse Racing].—An album containing abou - Lot 853
[From the Cavalry to Horse Racing].—An album containing about a hundred photographs, combining scenes of military evacuation and horse racing in Belgium. An oblong jute-covered album with “1940/1941” handwritten in black ink on the front cover, containing a handwritten introduction dated September 1, 1940: “The year isn’t over yet, and yet so many events!! The following photos are ones we salvaged during the war! We were at the CISLC [Cavalry Second Lieutenants’ Training Center] (...). The Étoile has passed!!". The album is divided into three parts: the pre-war period and the military exodus to France (January–July 1940): the author documents the forced retreat to southern France, capturing this detachment in uniform in the Free Zone through a series of tourist snapshots. The second part covers the return to Belgium and the resumption of horse racing (fall 1940). Finally, the last part covers the 1941 horse racing season. This album documents equestrian activity under German occupation, the now-defunct major racetracks on the outskirts of Brussels (Stockel, Boitsfort, Groenendael), as well as the Rouge-Cloître training center on the edge of the Soignes Forest. The photos (ranging from 6 x 9 cm to 18 x 24 cm), which are mounted, are mostly annotated in blue ink, recording the exact dates, distances, weights, and the names of the winning horses. Among the high society figures of the Belgian horse racing world at the time were Marquis R. Visart de Bocarmé, Count A. du Monceau, Count A. de Hemptinne, and others. A rare archival document on the exodus of Belgian troops and the flat and steeplechase racing scene in Belgium during the first two years of World War II. A few damaged photos.
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