skelleftea_torget-720325

skelleftea_torget-720325

malmo_lorensborg-703326

malmo_lorensborg-703326

metro_brommaplan-789884

metro_brommaplan-789884

More Swedish postcards

Roadtrip September 30th 2008 by Christopher

More retro Swedish postcard goodness for all of you to enjoy. There were a large number of postcards produced from the late 1940s to early 1980s here in Sweden.

The future looked optimistic, new buildings were popping all around the country and of course it had to be depicted on a postcard to that you could send it to your near and loved ones – even though many of the buildings were horribly boring and unattractive. Below are some examples of better cards.

About the author

Christopher founded Ultra Swank in 2005. Has a crush on mid-century graphic design, defunct airlines, Disneyland and the Century 21 Exposition. Is a collector of easy listening music from the 60s and 70s and a Swedish expat living in Barcelona, Spain. Read more articles by me

Comments for this article

  • David

    I love that sleek, Jacobsen inspired building in Skellefteå, very elegant and a nice contrast with the older buildings about the Torg.

    Is Lorensborg by Jaenecke & Samuelson? It looks to be of the Malmö School, if you will.

  • Chris

    You are right about the Jacobsen inspired design on the left building in Skellefteå, it does have a very international feel to it. Kind of a big contrast from the old buildings next to it and it probably looked out of this world when it was built, especially in a small place like that.

    I am not sure about Lorensborg in Malmö, I know it was a housing project probably initated in the 50s. Maybe Mr. Dante Fontana who is a resident of Malmö knows more about it if he still reads this blog. If you do, enlighten us :)

  • mblawi

    About the Lorensborg/Malmö postcard, several buildings in that area are indeed by the architects Sten Samuelson and Fritz Jaenecke: the tall (16 storey) building in the middle (where they had their office at the top floor), the one to the right of it and several behind it, including the the football stadium which was built in 1958.

    Here’s a fairly recent picture taken at almost exactly the same angle:

    http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Lorensborg,_Malmö.jpg

    Note how the nearest building has been completely ruined by the addition of new balconies.

  • Chris

    Hey mblawi, nice to hear from you again – guess you are still reading my blog huh? Thank you for updating us with some background info, I guess you know more about that area seeing you don’t live that far from Malmö if I recall correctly?

    That recent photo sure proves that the area has changed a lot over the years, looks amazingly boring and uninspiring now, awww.

  • David

    The new balconies ARE horrible, you’re right.

    I was taking a closer look at the grocery store; I love the “luxury” materials used in the build-out, marble, stone, etc…

  • Verdoie

    Are any of these for sale, by chance?

  • http://www.ultraswank.net Chris

    Not from me, but you can find them in the book “Tråkiga vykort” (Boring postcards) available in Swedish bookstores.