This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/29/2020
Featured here is a lovely torch from the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal. These were the first Games, Summer or Winter, to take place in Canada. Designed by George Huel and Michael Daillaire, the torch was innovative in several respects as it was developed in a laboratory to withstand heat up to 850° F. The choice of olive oil as a fuel to honor the Olympics' Greek roots allowed for an orange-colored flame, making it much more photogenic than the blue flame from the butane gas used in Munich four years earlier. However, olive oil was not strong enough for one torch to ignite another during the relay, so nitropropane and heptane were added to yield a more potent fuel that produced the desired effect.
The torch relay began in Olympia, Greece, taking the flame to Athens where it was transmitted via Satellite to Ottawa, Canada. From there, the runners transported it to Montreal for the opening ceremonies. 1,250 torches were made by Queensway Machine Products, a relatively low number compared with other Games. The red aluminum handle/shaft has a perforated burner in machined aluminum on top painted in black. The red shaft is stamped with the '76 Montreal Olympic logo in white. The torch measures 26 inches (66 cm) in length. This particular specimen was presented to us as unused (which can be even more hard to find) by a Canadian consignor and comes attached to a wooden wall mount (32" by 5" by 1" deep) backed with red velvet lining. It can be unscrewed and removed from the wooden mounting quite easily. The torch remains in NM/MT condition wiht hardly a scratch. Exceptional Olympic piece ready to go on your wall.