Collectibles 9

Press photo from France

Walter Rutt at the start of an sprinter race at the Buffalo Cycle Track in Paris.

During his exile in France, he lived in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris. The Buffalo Cycle Track was also located there at that time.

Photo: M. Rol & Cie., Paris

Press photo from France

This photograph was taken by a French photographer during training for the 1910 Berlin Six Day Race.

A decade later, during the “Golden Twenties,” the Berlin Six Day Race reached its peak. The cosmopolitan city now had four million inhabitants, 400 cinemas, and 147 newspapers, some of which were published several times a day. There was also an immense demand for sporting entertainment. As a result, two six-day races were held almost every year, and in 1926 there were even three.

Photo: Meurisse

Ansichtskarte Rütt - Aerts

In 1925, Walter Rutt recorded his ninth and final victory in a six-day race alongside Belgian Emile Aerts.

The venue was the exhibition halls on Kaiserdamm.

After riding just over 4,000 kilometers, Rutt-Aerts had a clear lead in the points standings over Tietz-Hahn, who were in second place with the same number of laps.

Photo: A. Unrath, Berlin

Film reel of the fire at the Rutt Arena

When the Rutt Arena went up in flames on May 3, 1931, a cameraman happened to be nearby and reached the scene of the accident before the fire department arrived. He took footage of the fire, which was shown in Berlin cinemas as part of the Emelka newsreel. After that, the material was long considered lost.

In 2011, I was given a film reel with images of the fire and initially handed it over to the company “Berola,” which subjected the badly damaged celluloid to extensive restoration.

The news of the film's existence triggered a chain reaction and went viral.

Postcard view of the sports restaurant and the Rutt Arena

The postcard shows an interior view of the Rutt sports restaurant on the left-hand side, which was decorated with numerous pictures documenting the world champion's career. The almost life-size painting was a particular eye-catcher. The mural depicting a gallery was intended to visually expand the room.

The postcard was probably sold both at the racetrack and in the restaurant; the copy shown here bears pencil signatures by Willy Arend and Walter Rutt on the back.

Photo: Arthur Redecker, Berlin Tempelhof

Private photo of a group of tourists in front of the sports restaurant

The privately taken photo shows a group of tourists in front of the sports restaurant on Potsdamer Straße.

In the center, flanked by three ladies, is the owner himself. In the window of the pub hangs a poster for a stayer race featuring prominent cyclists at the Rutt Arena.