| John Cobb, Captain Eyston, Malcolm
Campbell, Jesse Owens and 'Bluey' Wilkinson. What they all have in
common is that they were Kings of Speed and feature in
Churchman's series of that name, issued just before war broke out in
1939. This is our set of the month for February. The sepia photos
show the record-holders and champions, great achievers all. John
Cobb was the first man to travel on land at 350mph, a world
record which lasted just 24 hours until Capt. George Eyston clocked
up 357mph. Malcolm Campbell was a previous holder of the
land-speed record having exceeded 300mph three years before either
Cobb or Eyston, and was holder of the world water speed record of
130mph (which later in 1939, after these cards were prepared, he
improved to 141mph). Jesse Owens, "The Black
Panther" was probably the most brilliant sprinter ever - one
afternoon in 1935 he set six world records in the space of 45
minutes, and at the Berlin Olympics of 1936 he captured four golds.
West Ham's Australian rider, Arthur 'Bluey' Wilkinson grabbed
the World Speedway Championship at Wembley despite having this
shoulder in plaster from an earlier spill. Elsewhere in the set we
meet record-breaking aviators, motor-racing heroes, motorcyclists,
power-boat racers, winter-sports champions and athletes. Great
Stuff, and such a reasonably priced set.
This set of 50 Churchman Kings of
Speed in very good condition is catalogued at £30.00.
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