Antique / Vintage Sandow’s Spring Grip Dumbbell (c.1899) Eugen Sandow Strongman ThirdShift

This collectible strongman piece from 1899 is sure to be a conversation starter! 

“The regular use of Sandow’s Grip Dumb-Bells will supply every organ and muscle of the body with that gentle exercise which is so necessary to the human system. This exercise will, in a short time, give permanent relief to all those complaints which are caused by any failure of — or defect in — the muscular system, resulting from a sedentary life.”…… These are the opening lines of the instructions that accompanied the original Sandow’s Spring Grip Dumb-Bells.

Eugen Sandow was famous for his physique and how he flexed his muscles. He created the Spring Grip Dumb-Bells to help others achieve and maintain strength.

This Spring Grip Dumbbell is the Gentlemen’s version – including nickel-plated, leather cloth covered handles with 7 springs. It weighs about 3 pounds.

A similar dumbbell can be found in the York Barbell Museum – but now you can own your own!

Makes a unique gift for a guy!

ITEM CONDITION
This 113 year old dumbbell is in remarkable shape for its age. The metal has an aged patina, as shown. The leather on the hand grip is in good condition, with only a small lifted portion (as shown in the last photo). The springs are tight and secure and work with ease. Please use the ZOOM tool to get a close up view of this item and its condition.

LISTING INCLUDES
– 1 Sandow’s Spring Grip Dumb Bell (as shown)

PRODUCT DETAILS
– Product Material: Metal, Nickel Plated Metal, Silvertone metal, Leather
– Product Dimensions: 7″ long x 3″ wide 

WHY WE LOVE IT

We love this item because of where and how it was discovered. We attended an estate sale of a woman who had been a collector her entire life. Her grandchildren were running the sale and were able to tell us stories about most of the items in their Grandmother’s collections. Her house was filled to the brim with interesting artifacts. My youngest son spotted this dumbbell and was intrigued by it. We learned that the owner received this dumbbell from a friend of hers, another avid collector. She had it proudly displayed on a shelf along with lots of other sports memorabilia. The leather handle and the metal ends caught the eye of my son. He knew this would be an interesting piece to add to our shop, and I agreed with him! This dumbbell has been featured in the Orange County Register newspaper.