fredag 26 november 2010

How I love these..



..old greeting cards from the beginning of last century by Swedish artist Jenny Nyström!
Jenny Eugenia Nyström was born June 13 or June 15, 1854 in Kalmar, Sweden; died January 17, 1946 in Stockholm. Jenny Nyström was a painter and illustrator who is mainly known as the person who created the Swedish image of the jultomte on numerous Christmas cards and magazine covers, thus linking the Swedish version of Santa Claus to the gnomes of Scandinavian folklore.
She -her work -is dearly loved by the Swedes-even the younger generations- in spite of a bit of the doggerel, old fashioned touch of those days. She was enormously popular and still is - and surfaces today mostly in Christmas and Easter times in wallcoverings and greeting cards.
She was extremely productive (and commercial alas!) during her lifetime and her artwork indeed reflects a great deal of the dreams and hopes of her era.
Of being a woman driver..selfsufficient and a bit arrogant.
Could this one possibly have been painted around 1920?
The time of the suffragetts..
when the women in Sweden were able to cast their votes in political elections for the very first time?
Or the old fashioned housewife happily baking not quite appearing to think about politics for the moment..
The beautiful Santa Lucia - a symbol and saint that the Swedes strangely enough worship when she "comes to life" every December the 13th when in traditional celebrations, she appears as a young woman with lights and sweets.She is one of the few saints observed in Scandinavia. In some forms, a procession is headed by one girl wearing a crown of candles (or lights), while others in the procession hold only a single candle each.
Jolly Easter!
Birthday greetings from Mom and Dad!
"Georgie Porgie Pudding and Pie, Kissed the Girls and made them Cry.."
(Where on earth did I get that from..?)

The young shepardess.
A postcard from Karin saying many dear greetings..

This is from Ester wishing little Erik a Merry Christmas.
I think this one is a prize winner! This Easter witch is scratching her head when discovering a sign arriving at the Brocken reading: "Admission fee with cat: 1 Crown. Without cat: 50 öre!"