1948 World Figure Skating Pins: More Alpine Glory.

Last Updated on November 11, 2024 by Netropolitan Museum

Davos International Ice Skating Club pins were the flavor of the day at the competition

Held in the winter sports haven of Davos, Switzerland, from February 11 to 15, the 1948 World Figure Skating Championships were only the second to be contested following a seven-year interruption of the event (1940–1946) by World War II. The event was the third leg of the Europeans–Olympics–Worlds trifecta, with the 1948 European Championships contested January 13–15 in Prague and the Olympic Winter Games contested January 30–February 8 in nearby St. Moritz. In the gallery below are four items culled from the archives of The Netropolitan that were given in connection with the 1948 World Figure Skating Championships: three different pins and a medal issued to the then-president of the International Skating Union (ISU).

Pins Gallery: 1948 World Figure Skating Championships

Competitors and selected others at the 1948 World Championships received the well-made pin of the Internationaler Schlittschuhclub Davos as a keepsake of their participation.¹ The 1948 pin is one of only a few issued for a World Championship to feature a flower, in this case the Edelweiss, which is much beloved in Switzerland and neighboring Austria.

An old-style skate blade, inscribed with “I.S.C. DAVOS,” is suspended gracefully from a chain attached at the back of the pin. Fashioned of a silver-colored metal, the pin is clean and bright, much like the flower it was made to imitate. At the center of the blossom are florets, replicated using an off-white, pearlized decoration; and although the petals of an actual Edelweiss blossom are covered in a white, woolly fuzz, the overall effect achieved on the pin is quite nice. It may not be entirely coincidental that the club pin was given as a keepsake, rather than a new pin being produced for the event, since supplies and suppliers likely still would have been short following the war.

Also distributed at the event were two other club-inscribed pins, one for officials and one for members of the press, that are on a gold-color base metal. A snowflake, sometimes seen as a symbol of winter on figure skating pins, is the central design element and stands off well in gold against the background on each pin, with the words “Official” and “Presse” superimposed in red over the snowflake. Around the circumference of each pin, in all capital letters on a red background, is the club name: “Internationaler Schlittschuhclub Davos.” The Official pin would have been given to event dignitaries (presumably judges, referees, delegation members, and others) while the Presse pin would have been given to members of the news media covering the event, such as writers and radio correspondents.

Last in the gallery is a one-of-a-kind commemorative medal inscribed to H. J. Clarke, a 1924 Olympian for Great Britain and who served as ISU president from 1945 until 1953. The medal appears to be another standard-issue club piece but was made specific to the event with a special engraving. In gold, the face of the medal features a female figure skater in forward motion. The reverse carries the inscription at the center, in elegant script lettering: “1948 World Championships in Figure Skating, H. J. Clarke, President, ISU.” Around the circumference of the medal is the club name: “Internationaler Schlittschuhclub Davos.” This piece likely was a thank-you gift presented to Mr. Clarke by the club in connection with the event being held under the auspices of the ISU.

In a prior blog titled Alpine Glory, The Netropolitan highlighted the pin from the 1947 European Figure Skating Championships, also held in Davos. The story for the pin issued for that event is similar to the 1948 World Championships, with the Edelweiss club pin also having been given as a memento.¹

¹Source: Quinn, Robert J. and Nancy D. Figure Skating Pins. Larchmont, N.Y. Quin-Tel Productions, Inc. 1987.

This blog was originally published at The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins on February 13, 2021, and has been updated with new and expanded information and features an additional pin.

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