Vintage Sporting Photos To Get You in Winter Olympics Mode by Carrie McBride, CommunicationsJanuary 18, 2022

The opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Games is set for February 4 and the Games, despite restricted attendance due to the coronavirus, promise feats of speed, endurance, and derring-do by the athletes. As you await their arrival, let's flash back to a an earlier time in winter sports before high-tech gear, wicking fabrics, and...helmets. 

These photographs below show people taking part in a variety of winter sports—some familiar like skating, skiing, and hockey—and others that are a bit more niche like skate sailing and ice boating. They can all be found in The New York Public Library's vast Digital Collections which we invite you to explore. 

Skating on a lake
Skate sailing on a lake. Photo by Brown Brothers. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 405547
Ski jump. Hanover, New Hampshire. 1936
Ski jump. Hanover, New Hampshire. 1936. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 4000935
Children skiing in Petrovsk- Razumovsk (Moscow)
Children skiing in Petrovsk- Razumovsk (Moscow). NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 52378
United States National Champion, Anders Haugen, Minneapolis, Minn
United States National Champion, Anders Haugen, Minneapolis, Minn. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 101807
Dartmouth-Williams Hockey Game at Lake Placid
 Dartmouth-Williams Hockey Game at Lake Placid. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 101669
Irving Brokaw Skating in Central Park, New York
Irving Brokaw Skating in Central Park, New York. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 101182
Ski Running
Ski Running. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 101805
Ice boating on the Shrewsbury River, New Jersey.
Ice boating on the Shrewsbury River, New Jersey. Photo by Ewing Galloway. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 1166148
Ski jumping at the Dartmouth carnival.
 Ski jumping at the Dartmouth carnival. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 1166149
The Dartmouth winter sports squad.
The Dartmouth winter sports squad. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 405549
Rusty (Marion) Capes
The champion woman skatesailor of America: Rusty (Marion) Capes of Brooklyn won the women's championship at the annual meet of the Skate Sailing Association of America, on Lake Hopatcong, N.J., 1/28/24. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 405548
delivering.
Curling: delivering. Photo by Paul Thompson. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 414657

 

Still thinking about the Summer Olympics? You might enjoy Olympians of the Past: Images from NYPL's Digital Collections

View all posts by Carrie McBride