Massmedium i miniformat : en översikt över den svenska kistebrevsproduktionen

Abstract

SUMMARY
Mass Medium in Mini-format : A Survey of the Production of Hand-coloured Broadsheets in Sweden

The article provides a survey of a now completed project concerning Swedish hand-coloured broadsheets which were chiefly produced in the towns of southern Sweden. These broadsheets have been catalogued by the author in picture and text according to the place of printing, published in separate volumes and annuals, as specified in the bibliography. The map on page 133 shows the places where the broadsheets were printed, with the size of the symbol reflecting the number of motifs. The diagram on page 132 illustrates the time of production in the different towns. The dates on the broadsheets show that this comprises the period 1736–1860. Many of the broadsheets were copies of original motifs from Denmark and Germany. The majority of the motifs are biblical, but there are also general religious motifs as well as royal and folkloristic images. The broadsheets were sold by the printing houses and by peddlers, the main buyers being the rural peasantry. Apart from the compulsory deliveries to copyright libraries, the Royal Library in Stockholm and Uppsala University Library, there are collections of hand-coloured broadsheets chiefly in the Nordiska Museet, Stockholm. In the home these broadsheets were pasted on the inside of chest lids (hence the Swedish name kistebrev or “chest-print”) or hung on the walls. In the latter part of the 19th century they were unable to compete with colour prints, mainly imported from Germany.