The elusive diaries at Stockholm City Archives He had found them! He had actually found Erik W. af Edholm’s original diaries from 1843-1848! Half an hour earlier, the archivist at Stockholm City Archives had told me that the family Edholm’s archive took up several yards of shelf-space and with the diaries not specifically cataloged, I could look forward to spending weeks looking through boxes of […]
“They are not long, the days of wine and roses: Out of a misty dream Our path emerges for a while, then closes Within a dream.” (Ernest Dowson, Vitae Summa Brevis) The Summer Sejour to Gustafsberg, 1845 In the summer of 1845, Augusta turned 18. She had just finished her schooling in Stockholm and maybe her mother Anna thought it was time for her to […]
I am back to reading Lotten’s letters. Lotten, Augusta’s friend from school, wrote long letters to Augusta, updating her on the latest gossip from Stockholm. “You have to tell me if you once in a while get letters from Mrs. Edgren. Let me know how she and her husband and children are doing. Emma Almroth has had 4 letters from Mlle. Dethmar and also answered […]
Kerstin and I are planning a trip to the Swedish west coast this summer. In July 1850, Augusta and her family went to Gothenburg where her brother August was to board the brig Mimer for a journey to Cape Town. But first, they decided to make an excursion by boat up along the west coast. An excursion from Marstrand, 1850. Drawing by John Georg Arsenius […]
Today, on the International Women’s Day, I thought about Mrs. Brandt. A sought-after seamstress who didn’t leave many historical threads to follow. All her handiwork is long gone – dresses and shirts all worn out. The only traces of her are a few sentences in Augusta’s diary and in letters between Augusta and her mother Anna. Mrs. Brandt in Augusta’s diary and correspondence Mrs. Brandt […]
Who was Elisabeth Schwan? Last week, I wrote about Augusta’s lieutenants – the ones she met at balls, theatres, and concerts. The image for the blog was a painting of Lieutenant Bergenstråhle dancing with a girl in a yellow ball gown. The painter, Fritz von Dardel, had “tagged” her as E. Schwan. In another painting, von Dardel also included her and tagged her as Elisabeth […]
I was actually going to write about Augusta’s first love. Then I got curious about all the young men who were interested in her. In 1845, Augusta was 18 and her admirers, who had just started their military careers, were in their late 20s. Augusta and her best friend Lotten Westman met them at balls, theatres, and concerts. After Augusta left Stockholm, Lotten wrote letters […]
Last week, I wrote about the time before sidewalks, about winter in Stockholm, and how nice it was when the dirty slush in the streets froze. Augusta’s friend Lotten had described it in a letter to Augusta. Lotten also wrote about taking a walk with the lovely Tante Cordier. Who was she? I don’t remember having seen that name before in any of Lotten’s letters […]
Augusta’s friend, Lotten Westman, was an orphan. She and her younger sister Clara lived with a Mademoiselle Hellberg in Stockholm. The house was located at the intersection of two streets: Klara Norra Kyrkogata and Mäster Samuelsgatan. What did the house look like? Would there be any paintings or drawings of the house? Or a photograph – even if it was taken years later? Stockholm has […]
Stockholm, 22 January 1846. My own beloved Augusta! Thank you, thank you, my good friend for your last letter, even though I had to wait quite some time to get it. But I will not scold you, only thank you so much for your last letter. I should probably start by thanking you for your good wishes for the new year. I thank you for […]