1952 Tour de France, 78 Record Album Featuring the Major Stars of the Day

A wonderfully unusual piece of Tour history combining period music, cycling’s biggest stars, and the complete route of the 1952 Tour.

One side of this remarkable 1952 Tour de France album is filled with colorful illustrated portraits of seven of the most celebrated riders of the era: Fausto Coppi, Louison Bobet, Hugo Koblet, Abdel-Kader Zaaf, Stan Ockers, Raphaël Géminiani and Wim van Est. Each rider appears within his own circular portrait, identified by name and national flag, arranged around the center of the disc against a brilliant yellow background. Together they form a wonderful snapshot of the international stars of cycling’s postwar era. Above the portraits is the title “La Chanson du Tour de France,” a march performed by Jean Navarre and Fabienne with Simon Helpert’s orchestra.

The reverse is an illustrated map of the 1952 Tour, tracing the race from its June 25 start in Brest through Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, the Alps, the Mediterranean coast, and the Pyrenees before returning to Paris on July 19. Stage towns, dates and distances are incorporated into the route, surrounded by charming period drawings of cyclists, spectators and regional landmarks. This side carries the recording “Vins de France,” a waltz performed by Jean Navarre with Simon Helpert’s orchestra.

The 1952 Tour de France was the race’s 39th edition and became one of Fausto Coppi’s greatest demonstrations of dominance. Coppi won five stages, starting with the 60-kilometer Metz–Nancy time trial, then took control of the race on the historic stage from Lausanne to Alpe d’Huez. It was the Tour’s first-ever summit finish, and Coppi won alone, took the yellow jersey, and never relinquished it. Two days later he delivered an even more devastating performance on the road to Sestriere, attacking on the Galibier and eventually winning by more than seven minutes as his overall advantage approached 20 minutes. He later added victories at Pau and the Puy de Dôme. Coppi arrived in Paris with an extraordinary winning margin of 28 minutes 17 seconds over Belgium’s Stan Ockers, with Spain’s Bernardo Ruiz third at 34:38, Gino Bartali fourth and Jean Robic fifth. The victory gave Coppi his second Tour de France title and, after his Giro d’Italia win earlier that year, his second Giro–Tour double. The remarkable picture disc captures that Tour as it happened, pairing the actual 1952 route with portraits of some of the most celebrated riders of cycling’s postwar era.

Mint Conditon

Size: 9 ¾ inches (25 cm)

This is a one-of-a-kind item; please look carefully at the photos to determine the condition.