If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 505

 

 

 

 

 

National folk costumes from Bohuslän, Sweden 

 

This is an Åredal Fotoproduktion unused postcard with a photograph by Stig Årendal showing two different costumes, the one on the left from Fräkne and the one on the right from Bohus.  The identifying code, D27, is found on the center line on the reverse of the card.  At the bottom left on the reverse is a flag outline with “Svenska folkdräkter” printed across the center line.  The card is undated.

 

Like Norway, each different area in Sweden has its own folk costume.  The costumes are similar in the two countries but have some differences.  The Swedish aprons appear to be a little longer, here one is made of patterned material, the other is plain.  While there is trim on the blouses and the bodices, there does not seem to be as much embroidery work as is found on the Norwegian costumes.  The two costumes represented on the card come from Bohuslän a province on the northern part of the west coast of Sweden.  It is located across the border from the Norwegian county of Østfold.  Bohuslän, formerly Baahuslen, when it was a Norwegian county, is named after the castle of Bohus.  This area was part of Norway from the 870s until the Treaty of Roskilde in 1648 when the union of Denmark-Norway was forced to cede it to Sweden.  Bohus and Gothenburg were merged in 1998 and have become the larger Västra Götaland County.

 

Geographically Bohuslän has a rocky coast and includes about 3,000 islands.  In the past there were many shipwrecks on the reefs and sunken rocks along this coast.  Most of the coast is made up of Bohus granite.  Unlike other parts of Sweden there are few streams and lakes in Bohuslän. 

 

This area of Sweden is also known for Nordic Bronze Age, 1700 -500 BCE, rock art.  Near Tanum, in Bohuslän, there is a museum, a visitor center, and a site where there is an incredible example of the Vitlycke rock art.  There are scenes from daily life of that time period, also religious rituals, and animals that were hunted.  When we were in there in 1982, I picked up a little booklet about the Vitlycke rock carvings but no postcards!  I have postcards from other places we visited on that trip, so perhaps the booklet was the only thing I could find at the time.  The main carving is a group that measures 22 ft by 68 ft. and contains at least 400 figures.  All the carvings at Tanum are found on slabs of rock on hillsides near running water. 

 

 

Near Tanum, Sweden, 1982 

 

A picnic lunch in the foreground, the visitor center at the mid-left, and the rock art slab on the hillside.  There is a small stream of water that crosses the slab as well as a larger brook or stream with a small bridge.  Of course, the adventure would not be complete without one of these three children falling into the water while trying to catch a frog.

 

A section of the main grouping of the rock art, 1982

This is now a UNESCO heritage site.  The museum has been enlarged and the grounds include examples of how the people lived and what the houses looked like.  

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohuslän

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohus_Fortress

https://www.vastsverige.com/en/tanum/produkter/vitlycke-museum/

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 479

 

 

 

Rosendal Palace, Stockholm, Sweden, ca early 1900s

 

This black and white used postcard has a picture of Rosendal Palace, Stockholm, Sweden and has the date 19 September 19?4 or ?7 (not legible).  Because the back of the card is divided and the message is written on the same side as the address, the date is probably at least 1904/07 and possibly 1914/1917.  The stamp was removed and along with it the cancellation place and date so it is not possible to be sure of the date.

 

Built between 1823 and 1827 for King Karl XIV Johan, the first Bernadotte King of Sweden, it is located on an island in central Stockholm.  It was intended as a retreat from the formalities of court life at the Royal Palace. 

 

The original Rosendal Palace, designed by Fredrik August Lidströmer, burned down in 1819.  Lidströmer created drawings for the replacement palace but Fredrik Blom, another leading architect of the time, was commissioned to build the replacement.  It is known as the Karl XIV style in Sweden.  With the creation of the replacement palace in the 1820s the area developed into a stately residential area.  In addition to the main palace there is the Queen’s Pavilion and the Guard’s Cottage. 

 

When King Oscar II died in 1907, his heirs made the Rosendal Palace a museum to the life of Karl XIV Johan.  Today the palace is open to the public during the summer months. 

 

For more information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosendal_Palace

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredrik_Blom

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 467

Rättvik Church, Dalarna, Sweden, ca 1950s

The message printed on the reverse, left corner, “581-10 Välkommen till Rättvik, semesterplatsen året runt” (or approximately in English:  Welcome to Rättvik vacation year round).  This is an unused card I found in a shoebox of jumbled cards in an antique mall.  The card has the edging common in the 1930s through about 1950.  Because it is a color photograph and not a tinted picture it probably dates from the 1950s.  The card was produced and distributed by Sörlins AB, Rättvik.

Darlana County is located in central Sweden and the town of Rättvik is found on the eastern shore of the lake Siljan.  Darlana means the dales or valleys and is a popular vacation destination for Swedes.  The town of Rättvik is small, population 4,686 in 2010, but offers tourists good fishing, campgrounds, and forests.  Many Swedes have a second home or summer cabin in Dalarna.  Vegetables and apples grow here in the summer. 

The Rättvik Church shown in the background of the photograph dates from around 1300.  As might be expected there have been alterations, renovations, and enlargements made to the original building.  The present shape dates from 1793.  Inside there are medieval frescoes of St. Olav and St. Stephen; the pulpit and an altar piece made that features the Resurrection of Christ both date from the 17th century; and, a triumphal crucifix said to have been made in Germany in the 14th century.  Outside are 87 wooden church stables, some dating from the 15th century.  The stables were used for the horses of the people when they attended services at the church.

The picture on the postcard shared this week also shows a young woman in the Dalarna folk costume sitting in a boat.  That solved a small mystery.  The Axel Eliassons postcard below, dated around 1900, and shared in 2011, shows three Swedish girls playing a game.  Their folk costumes match the one worn by the woman in the boat on today’s card; therefore, it is now possible to say that the three girls represent Dalarna, Sweden.

Three Swedish girls in the Dalarna folk costume, ca 1900

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalarna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rättvik
https://www.spottinghistory.com/view/2252/rattvik-church/

If this Thursday it must be postcards, 435

Stens Masugn, Grafversfors, Sweden, ca early 1900s

This vintage postcard with a photograph of Stens Grafversfors [Graversfors], Sweden has an undivided back and no postage stamp.  A note on the address side of the card states that only the address is to be written on that side.  Divided backs replaced undivided backs around 1900-1910 in most countries making it possible to guess at the year the card was sent.  Without a stamp or postmark it suggests that the card may have been sent in an outer envelope with a letter or in a package instead of being mailed separately.

Reverse

Addressed to Carl Sköld, the message under the picture says:  “A greeting from mother.”   I think it is possible that this scene was a familiar one to Carl who may have lived near here before he left Sweden for America.  Carl was born in 1886 in Kvillinge, Östergötland, Sweden.  He immigrated to the United States at the age of 17 in 1903 and first lived in McKeesport, Pennsylvania where he was living in 1908 and filed the Declaration of Intention papers to become a naturalized citizen.  He received his citizenship in 1914 when living in Seattle, Washington.  That puts the date of the card to between 1903 when he arrived and 1907/1908 when divided backs were introduced.

The scene shown on the card is of Graversfors mill or stone mill named after Jacob Gravers who started the mill around 1736.  Carl Ekman, another mill owner, bought Graversfors in 1857 because the furnaces at his original mill were not sufficient for the manufacture of iron.  Ekman built a new furnace in Graversfors in 1860.  In 1861 the railway line between Katrineholm and Norrköppnat opened for travel.  Then in 1869 the Graversfors post office was established.  From that time until the 1920s Graversfors thrived with trade and had a school.  Times turned bad and the mill was closed in 1936.  The post office closed in 1964 and rail traffic ceased in 1969.  The station house was demolished.  Today Graversfors consists mostly of recreational buildings.

For more information see:

https://sv.wikiopedia.org/wiki/Graversfors
https://www.ancestry.com/

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 298

Sinclairsholm, Skåne, Sweden, ca 1908

A side trip to a local antique mall netted this Axel Eliasson vintage postcard showing the front of Sinclairsholm Castle in southern Sweden.   The card is unused and has the number 4142 on the reverse in the lower left corner.  It was printed in Germany and distributed in the United States by the Swedish Importing Company of Worcester, Massachusetts.  All early color postcards were hand tinted or painted before mass printing.  

The original castle was constructed mainly of wood and completed in 1626.  There are been at least two major fires that resulted in changes to the outward appearance of the castle.  Today the main portion of the building dates from 1788.  One of the things that makes this particular card historically interesting is that the building has the French Chateau style mansard roof, designed by Mauritzberg From, that was the result of a major renovation completed in 1880.  There was another fire in 1904.  In 1956 a second major renovation and restoration project replaced the French Chateau style and restored the building to its original 1788 design, seen below in a Google Image.  It has a completely different look making the Chateau style a sort of historical oddity of less than 100 years.

Sinclairsholm, Skåne, Sweden, as it appears today

[photo:  Google Images and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclairsholm_Castle ]

]

Anders Sinclair or Sincklar (1555-1625), A Scottish nobleman, was a Danish privy counselor in the late 1500s to the early 1600s under the Danish king Christian IV.  He was also an envoy to England, a military colonel and the governor of Kalmar, Sweden following the Danish capture the city.  He  was also the holder of extensive fiefs in Denmark.  After he married Kirsten Kaas in 1600 he left the court and established this estate named for him.  Construction appears to have been begun around 1620 but not completed until 1626 a year following Sinclair’s death.   His son, Christian Sinclair (1607-1645) took over the ownership.  It was later purchased first by Jochum Beck with ownership changing hands a couple of times until 1808 when it was acquired by the family Gyllenkrook who have passed it forward in the family.  Through marriage it is now the estate of the family Barnekow and owned by Johan Barnekow. 

My family members may find it fun and interesting to note that among all the properties that he held, Anders Sinclair at one time exchanged one of his fiefdoms for Hammerhus on the Danish island of Bornholm since that island is where my paternal grandfather was born and lived until he came to America in the 1890s.  In 1982 we visited Bornholm and walked around the ruins of Hammerhus.  

Part of the Hammerhus, Bornholm ruins, Denmark, 1982

It is always fun to find some connection to places, events and people.   Postcards offer peeks into the past that often result in unexpected surprises. 

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sk%C3%A5ne_County
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclairsholm_Castle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A4ssleholm_Municipality
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Sinclair_(privy_counsellor)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scania
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=sv&u=https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclairsholms_slott&prev=search

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 278

Swedish Christmas greeting postcard, 1964

As we rapidly approach the holidays here is a Swedish postcard that was sent by a friend in 1964.  The card was printed in Stockholm by Nordisk Konst and has the number 7800 on the reverse in the lower left corner.  The artist's signature at the lower right corner is hard to decipher.  It looks like it might be Kägfoler or Mägfoler.

The Swedish tomte is similar to the Norwegian nisse and stems from Scandinavian folklore.  They are usually no taller than 3 feet and can be as small as a few inches, have a long white beard, wear a cap, and dress in bright colors, most often red.  The December 2012 postcard Thursday #70 shared a card with Norweigan nisser on it.

The card above shows three children and a jolly tomte swooping down hill on a sled with the Christmas dinner pig in a wicker basket.   The tomte is said to resemble present day garden gnome statues.  Sometimes in stories he is said to be an ancient farmer who was buried on the farm in a mound.  Also thought to be the representation of spirits of previous generations who lived on a family farm some legends suggest that the tomte can follow the family if that family moves to another place.  The tomte also can act as a secret guardian of houses, barns and the entire farmstead.  However, since he is also known to have a quick temper and become easily offended he will play tricks and may even steal things or maim livestock.  He is said to have immense strength, especially given his small size.  Following the establishment of Christianity in Scandinavia the tomte was seen to be heathen and fell out of favor for a time.   The modern tomte; however, is more benign and associated with gifts much like Father Christmas or Santa Claus.

 He is often seen with a pig, another popular holiday symbol thought originally to be associated with fertility.  Today the traditional Scandinavian Christmas dinner includes a ham.  As a sign of gratitude for the secret protective services of the tomte a bowl of porridge topped with butter is put out for the tomte.  And that is not unlike the plate of cookies often left for Santa.  Pictures of tomtar and nisser are frequently found on Christmas cards, calendars, and appear in children’s books.  They hide from humans and are often able to use magic.  

The stamps on the card are rather plain but since no other Swedish stamps have been shared so far, they are included below.  The blue stamp shows the profile of King Gustav VI Adolf (1882-1973).  The red stamp with the postage amount.

For more information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomte
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustaf_VI_Adolf_of_Sweden

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 169

From Uncle Blue's New Boat, published 1942

When Dick Thompson went to Norway in the 1950s he brought back little souvenirs for his grandchildren.  One of the things he brought back was this postcard with a picture from the book Uncle Blue’s New Boat by Swedish author and illustrator Elsa Beskow.  She is sometimes called the Beatrix Potter of Scandinavia.  N. W. Damm & Sons of Oslo published the postcard in Norway.  It has the number 1086 and the notation “Fra “Onkel Blås nye båt.”  Dick had written on the card “Children having a good time in Norway.”  Now we know it was having a good time in Sweden but a Grandpa can be forgiven such a mistake.

Elsa was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1874 the daughter of businessman Bernt Maartman, whose family came from Bergen, Norway, and Augusta Fahlstedt.  She was the second of six children with one older brother and four younger sisters.  As a child she loved fairy tales and began making up her own stories to tell her siblings.  She also spent hours drawing trees and flowers acquiring knowledge about plants at the same time.  After her father died when she was 15 years old, the family moved in with her mother’s unmarried sisters and brother.   The aunts and uncle began a school with progressive views and focused learning through games and enjoyment.  It sounds a little like some forms of homeschooling used today. 

Bestow’s books reflect her life with extended family in her series of Aunt and Uncle books.  Her first book published in 1897, Tale of the Little, Little Old Woman, was inspired by nursery rhymes taught to her by her grandmother.  Before books she had drawings and writings published in the children’s magazine Jultomten (Father Christmas) in 1894.  She married Nathaniel Beskow in 1897.  They had six sons.  She began writing and illustrating books to help support the growing family and would comment “Every year another book, every other year a boy.”  In 1901 she published Peter in Blueberry Land and thereafter her books became hugely popular and were translated into several different languages including English. 

She wrote children’s picture books for over 50 years.  She died of cancer in 1953 at the age of 79. 

As I looked at selections of her illustrations I found them charming and delightful.  For more information about her life, books and illustrations, see these sites –

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsa_Beskow
http://www.florisbooks.co.uk/authors/elsa-beskow.html

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 111

 "A Reindeer outfit, Lapland"

 Reverse

We often think of reindeer as only living in northern Eurasia but we have these animals in North America too.  Here we call them caribou.  Both male and female reindeer can have antlers, however, the males usually have larger ones.   Even though they really can’t fly, traditionally reindeer are shown as the flying animals that pull the sleigh for Santa Claus at Christmas.  The average height for reindeer is approximately 5 feet tall for females and 7 feet for males with the weight about 200 lbs for females and up to 400 lbs for males.  There are still wild herds in Norway, Finland, Siberia, Greenland, Alaska, and Canada.  Some reindeer have been domesticated as shown on the postcard.  I liked this early 1900s postcard because it does show them pulling a sled even though there is no bag of toys in the back or a jolly old elf. 

The people in the photo are described as Lapps or Laplanders although today the preferred name is Sami.  The area where they live is called Sápmi and includes parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.  It is not a separate country but does have Sami Parliaments in Norway, Finland and Sweden.  They do have their own football (soccer) team and won the 2006 Viva World Cup.  The largest part of Sápmi is north of the Arctic Circle where there are valuable natural resources in the form of oil, gas, iron ore, nickel as well as reindeer, wolves, bears, sea and land birds.  The estimated population is between 80,000 and 100,000 people.  Some of those who have migrated to places away from Sápmi have ended up in Canada and the United States especially in the northern parts of Minnesota. 

The two people in the picture are shown wearing the traditional clothing of that time period, outer clothing, boots, and hats made from reindeer hides with the fur side out.  Also the padding or blanket that they are sitting on is reindeer hide.

The postcard is a divided card with one-cent postage for the United States and 2-cents for foreign mailing.  There is a short description of what is on the face of the card and a space for the address and message.  This description would not be used today but does illustrate what was done in the early 1900s.

For more information see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A1pmi_%28area%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reindeer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_people

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 47

Djurgårdsslätten and Alhambra, ca early 1900s

Djurgårdsslätten is a street in Stockholm that ended in a large open space like a meadow or garden somewhat similar to an amusement park perhaps.  The meadow is mentioned on maps as early as 1690 with the various types of trees in the area identified.  At that time the meadow was undeveloped but it now has hotels and restaurants.  Described as a place that lent itself to “Cupid’s unabashed games,” it was a popular area frequented by a colorful group of individuals and where well-known people went in disguise (masks and costumes) to meet one another.  One such individual was said to have been the king of Sweden Gustav III (born 1746, king from 1771 until his death in 1792). 

Axel Eliasson published the card in Stockholm, Sweden in the early 1900s and the original does show the number #3673 at the lower left even though it may be a little difficult to see on the scan.  It does not look as if any of the people pictured here are in costume or masks but I liked seeing the hat and clothing styles, the bicycles and the two sailors shown on the right side of the card.  The building in the center is the Alhambra a restaurant that was probably fairly new when the card was printed.  Another source described the meadow or plain as a “lively” or a racy area and said there was a circus located there too.  That conjured up visions of penny arcades and rides more than sideshows and daring acts under a big top—more like Tivoli than Ringling Bros.  

This card is unused so no messages on the reverse side, however, it is interesting to note all the different languages at the top indicating that these cards were popular all over the globe and not restricted to one or two countries.

There is a little more information and additional pictures on the Swedish Wikipedia site: http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djurg%C3%A5rdssl%C3%A4tten

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 44

Göta Canal, Sweden, ca 1900

This is an Axel Eliasson postcard #3309 published in Stockholm, Sweden early 1900s.  Like some of the other cards of this vintage it is another that was tinted and then reproduced in color. 

The Swedish Göta Canal links rivers and lakes across Sweden from Göteborg on the west to Söderköping on the Baltic Sea to the east making a continuous waterway of about 382 miles in total.  The canal itself is 118 miles long about half that length had to be dug or blasted with widths varying from 23 to 46 feet and a maximum depth of 9 feet.  There are 58 locks that can accommodate vessels up to 105 feet long, 21 feet wide having slightly less than a 9-foot draft.  The canal is sometimes called the “divorce ditch” because of all the trouble couples endure while trying to navigate the locks by themselves. 

The idea for a canal was suggested as early as the 1500s but it was not until 1810 that the project was actually financed and undertaken.  It took 22 years of effort by more than 58,000 workers to complete.  It opened in 1832 but with the railways arriving in 1855 the canal did not prove to be the hoped for economic success.  Trains were able to transport both goods and passengers more rapidly all year round while the canal was shut down in the winter months.  Bulk goods such as forest products, ore and coal that did not require rapid transportation were about the only items sent via the canal.  The canal is still used to transport some cargo but today it is primarily used for recreation and tourist pleasure cruises.  It is called Sveriges blå band or Sweden’s Blue Ribbon.  About two million people visit the canal each year.

For more information see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6ta_Canal

Yulefest!

Wooden Christmas ornaments handmade by Wood’N It of Camano Island, Washington

Each year, usually the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the Nordic Heritage Museum holds Yulefest as part of their fundraising. I am a member of the museum so this is a much anticipated and awaited event each year. The museum is currently located in the old Webster grade school building at 30th and NW 67th Street in Ballard (Seattle) but there are plans to build a new museum and much of the income derived from the fundraisers goes to that fund. Curly, Mrs. Gimlet and Thing Two went with me again this year. We enjoyed it and the lefsa, almond paste cookies, and brownies in the kaffestue and did buy a few handcrafted items which is one of the reasons for Yulefest in the first place . Curly got presents for one of her sisters and some very cute handmade wooden ornaments for her own Christmas tree. Mrs. Gimlet and Thing Two got a small wooden julenisse ornament. Already in grandma mode I got Curly & Bee's baby-to-be a little hand knit cap with tassels on it (in gender neutral light green) plus a couple of things for myself, a wooden tree with red balls and a tiny little Norwegian Gnomie doll to put on the tree. We had a good time.

A few of the lovely, but expensive, rosemaling items

More lovely rosemaling

There was an entire alcove devoted to beautiful rosemaling, boxes, plates, spoons, little pails and even painted handles on the cones to roll Krumkake.

A lady we met on the stairs wearing the national costume she made herself.

Many of the shoppers and helpers were wearing national costumes and we ran into this very kind lady and her grandson on the stairs as we were all going up to the second floor. She had made her own costume including the Hardanger lace on the cuffs and apron so we had to stop and visit with her for a few minutes. Mrs. Gimlet was very interested in thread counts and materials since she does this type of embroidery too. See her blog http://sinister-craftiness.com/ for examples of her handwork.

Small doll in Norwegian costume, 6” tall.

This small wooden headed doll has bendable arms and legs with curly toed shoes. She can be fastened onto a branch of a tree as an ornament.

Handmade wooden tree with little red ball ornaments.

A charming little tree that is about 16” tall including the stand and about 8” wide. Made by Wood’N It of Camano Island, Washington.

Musician in Swedish costume with a Nyckelharpa.

While we were eating our cookies we heard music from a little way down the hall. It was very crowded in the kaffestue (everybody loves Scandinavian cookies!) and we had to muscle our way through the people to get to the musicians. Mrs. Gimlet had heard that an eleven year old girl would be playing a Hardanger fiddle and so I wanted to see if that was what was what we were hearing. Instead I found two men playing instruments I had never seen before. When they finished their tune I asked one of them what it was and if I could take a picture. Someone behind me asked if it was a Hardanger fiddle. He laughed, “Oh, you must be Norwegian,” he said, “this is a Nyckelharpa and it is Swedish.” I think he was inferring that even though all five Nordic countries are represented at the museum, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden the Norwegians just think it is all about Norway! It was said in good fun and we all laughed. The Nyckelharpa is a most unusual looking keyed fiddle or cordaphone and is a traditional Swedish instrument. The sound it produces is rather like a fiddle but not quite. For more information see, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyckelharpa

Three girls in national costumes

Three girls in national costumes, ca 1880s

I love the national costumes and every time I find an old photo with someone wearing one it just begs to be shared. The three women shown in this old picture are wearing costumes from about the 1880s . At first I thought these were all Norwegian costumes and I busily set about trying to identify the regions but when I compared the one on the right with the Jølster bunad from Sogn og Fjordane (see below) I realized that the stripes on the apron were going the wrong direction. The Jølster stripes are vertical and these are horizontal. One of the Swedish costumes has horizontal stripes! Then I could not find anything that resembled the one on the left, with the white work on the apron and the floral pattern on the underskirt, amongst the Norwegian costumes leading me to believe that these three girls are more than likely supposed to be representing Denmark, Norway and Sweden. You can see the subtle differences in the colors and stripes in other pictures of the Jølster bunad.

Modern day postcard showing young girl in national costume on a Fjord horse with view of Jølster, Norway in the background.

Jølster girls with a man in a small boat, ca 1900

This is an Axel Eliassen postcard showing two girls from Jølster with a man in a small boat. The caption says “Sandfjord” and "Piger fra Jølster" (girls from Jølster). The hats remind me a little of the pointed caps a princess always wears in fairy tales.

Three Swedish girls, ca 1900

This is another Axel Eliassen postcard from circa 1900. The costumes look amazingly similar to the Jølster bunad but the card says it is Swedish. Notice the horizontal stripes and the colors are slightly different as well on the Swedish costume. The caps are very close to the same in appearance but I think the Swedish cap is a bit more pointed and the Jølster cap a little more rounded on the top. Also the Swedish girls are wearing scarves around their necks while the Norwegian girls are not.

In a future post I’ll share some pictures of antique Hardanger lace and another picture of girls wearing the Hardanger costume as well as photos of a child’s bunad from Telemark.

......................................................................................................
Note:

If any of our Norwegian cousins can more positively identify the costumes, I would happy to learn more.