LOVE IN SWEDEN Background and reality

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About project

This website is a result of the assignment part of 'Digitising Cultural Heritage Material' - an interdisciplinary course taken as part of The Master’s programme in Digital Humanities, at University of Gothenburg and the Centre for Digital Humanities

Contact

My name is Karin Bengtsson, and if you have any queries regarding this project, send me an e-mail

Copyright

Also, this site and its content is limited to personal, non-commercial and/or educational use only. Copyright to Love in Sweden belongs to the authors - Bertil Torekull and Lennart Franzén.

Credits

Invaluable resource for tips, tools, and training: W3Schools

Background from SVG Bakgrounds

Icon pack by Icons8

Files for download

'Love in Sweden'

- machine readable pdf

SWEDEN IN A NUTSHELL

- pdf of original 1970 factsheet distributed together with the pamphlet (pinned to the centerfold)

High resolution images

- download all TIF-images in a zip-file

TEI / XML

TEI-coded version of 'Love in Sweden'

About 'Love in Sweden'

Love in Sweden was published by The Swedish Institute in 1970, coinciding with the World Expo in Osaka the same year, as a part of the Institute’s (still ongoing) work of building up lasting relations between Sweden and other countries.

They had hired journalist Bertil Torekull for writing the text, and he brought along his friend and artist Lennart Frantzén to do the illustrations. They got a free hand with the project, and inspired by James Thurbers The Last Flower, together they created an imaginative and ironic picture book, which mocked the notions of Swedish sin, neutrality, alcohol consumption and economic prosperity.

The pamphlet (with the fact sheet Sweden in a Nutshell stapled to the centerfold) was then distributed to the Swedish embassies, public relation departments and similar offices. The reactions to the voluptuous blonde, her muscular Viking, and their love adventure, were either very positive or very negative – ranging from “the cleverest brochure I have seen in a long time” to the Ambassador of Beirut’s wish to incarcerate the whole lot.

Nearly 50 years later, this digitized version might not be perceived quite as provocative as back then, but even now it holds a clear punch. The text remains as clever and ironic as the first time published, and the illustrations are still just as bright, bold and suggestive.

Details

Record in Libris - joint catalogue of the Swedish academic and research libraries

Dimensions of original print: approx. 18 cm x 26 cm

Number of copies: 50.000, distributed worldwide, + 870.000 copies printed in the newspaper Expressen - 7th of May, 1970

References

Glover, N. (2011). National relations: public diplomacy, national identity and the Swedish Institute 1945-1970. Lund: Nordic Academic Press.

Lindström, J. (1970, May 7). Äntligen! - en rolig broschyr om Sverige. Expressen.

Reklamnyheterna (Ed.). (1970). Den svenska kärleken - tema i Sverigebroschyr. Reklamnyheterna, (12).

Love in SwedenRead here - flipbook

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