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Wed 23 April
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    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

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Fri 25 April
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Sat 26 April
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Wednesday 23 April 2014 14.00 - 16.00
R-3 ELI01a A Taste for Luxury in Sweden, Finland and Russia, c. 1750–1850 – Luxury and National Taste I
Hörsaal 42 second floor
Networks: Elites and forerunners , Material and Consumer Culture Chair: Johanna Ilmakunnas
Organizers: Ulla Ijäs, Johanna Ilmakunnas Discussant: Jon Stobart
Ulla Ijäs : The Mania of Copying the Luxury of St. Petersburg in the Late 18th and Early 19th Century Vyborg, Russia/Finland
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, the inhabitants of Vyborg desired to copy the luxurious lifestyle of St. Petersburg. The typical luxuries of the eighteenth century, such as waistcoats, equipage, and the new civility and social manners with required goods, such as the sets of china and furniture, ... (Show more)
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, the inhabitants of Vyborg desired to copy the luxurious lifestyle of St. Petersburg. The typical luxuries of the eighteenth century, such as waistcoats, equipage, and the new civility and social manners with required goods, such as the sets of china and furniture, all of which have been at the centre of the historical studies of luxury, were to be found also in Vyborg despite the fact that it was a small provincial town. People, goods, ideas and fashion travelled back and worth to St. Petersburg, which was the leading capital of luxury in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century northern Europe, and only 140 kilometres from Vyborg.
In this paper, I will discuss the nature of luxury; what was considered as luxury in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Vyborg. I will show that luxury was often something that was bought from St. Petersburg or from England, and even if it was bought from St. Petersburg, it was ‘English fashion’. Moreover, luxury products were often smuggled because of the high taxes and custom duties in Russia. I will discuss the social nature of luxury; it was a changing social and cultural construction at the same way as gender, which I also will highlight in this paper. The gender was constructed also by purchasing luxury goods and I am able to show what male and female luxuries were.
I will use as an example two families in Vyborg, the Hackmans and the Nicolays (von Nikolai). Both families had German origin; the Hackmans were a merchant family doing timber trade and Baron Nicolay was the president of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. These two families, parents and children, give a possibility to study both male and female luxury consumption in town and in the countryside, where these two families had their country estates. The archives of these families include letters and private accounts, which I have studied for my PhD thesis, which is about the consumption of Marie Hackman (1776–1865).

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Sofia Murhem, Göran Ulväng : To Buy a Plate. Retail and Shopping for Porcelain and Faience in Stockholm during the 18th Century
During the 18th century, shopping and retail prospered. In large commercial centre, such as Paris and Amsterdam, or growing and urbanizing cities such as London, new structures for retailing was established and shopping became a pleasure in its own. The growing retail structures have been related to economic modernization (Morgan ... (Show more)
During the 18th century, shopping and retail prospered. In large commercial centre, such as Paris and Amsterdam, or growing and urbanizing cities such as London, new structures for retailing was established and shopping became a pleasure in its own. The growing retail structures have been related to economic modernization (Morgan 2006). But not only in growing cities, but also in declining economies such as Antwerp, did the number of retail establishments increase markedly, as did the consumption of modern and non-durable goods (Blondé and van Damme 2010). Increased demand did even here change the commercial structures and did create the growth of the retailing sector. But what happened in a city with a heavily regulated economy, such as Stockholm, where the retailing sector was prevented from growing? The demand for novel goods was there (Ahlberger 1996), and the supply from imports and manufactures was there, but the regulation of the economy was such that the number of retailers could only increase by a very small amount. We argue here that in spite of the relative decline of retailers, from 451 in 1722 to 473 in 1800, or from one retailer per 100 inhabitants to one per 160 inhabitants, the increased demand for novel goods was met by alternatives means. We discuss the sale of china, both imported, mainly via the Swedish East India Company (SOIC), and manufactured in Sweden and discuss how it was distributed to Swedish customers and if a shopping culture could develop in spite of the fact that shops were rare. The reason for choosing china is that it was a novel goods and the supply was vast. Markets with temporary stalls provided the traditional way of selling, as did travelling peddlers, most of them farmers who combined farming with peddling. This could of course be a way of selling the novel goods, but in Stockholm the markets did not grow to that extent that they could provide a means for selling all the novel goods in demand. Most of the archives of the SOIC have been destroyed, but we estimate that during the third charter only, about 1.5 million china objects was imported to Sweden (excluding the majority that was re-exported). One of the main alternative means for distribution, we suggest, was city auctions. The china sold at the Stockholm auctions was both used and unused. The unused, mostly sold by professional sellers, was to the largest extent Chinese. Clearly, wholesalers used the auctions both to gain new stock, and to sell to end customers. About 15 per cent of the buyers were landless, i.e. wage labourers or poorer people. The used china was usually of higher quality than the unused, more often European, and thus more expensive. It was mostly sold and bought by private individuals, the most expensive items found on royal sales, such as the auction of the late queen Lovisa Ulrica. Here, the nobility and the wealthy merchants could buy rare and comparatively affordable exclusive objects, otherwise difficult to find. (Show less)

Marie Steinrud : To Bring Delight to a Nose: The Swedish Ironmasters and their Network of Commissioners
In 1825, the ironmaster Per Reinhold Tersmeden asked his nephew, at the time living in Stockholm, to please send him some hyacinth bulbs, some that would fit in the front garden – not too expensive though – and bring delight to the noses of his elderly aunts, living with Per ... (Show more)
In 1825, the ironmaster Per Reinhold Tersmeden asked his nephew, at the time living in Stockholm, to please send him some hyacinth bulbs, some that would fit in the front garden – not too expensive though – and bring delight to the noses of his elderly aunts, living with Per Reinhold Tersmeden.
This paper focuses on how the ironmasters obtained goods to their homes, the ironmasters’ mansions, in Bergslagen, a district in Sweden where mining and metallurgic industry have been important since the Middle Ages. From the late 18th century, many of the ironmasters lived permanently on their estates close to the iron works, often situated in remote places.
Objects played important roles in the lives of the ironmasters; not least did they act as props when displaying social status. Letters and newspapers as well as visitors brought news and gossip from the surrounding world to these remote places. Lemons, fine china, laces and books regularly arrived to the ironworks, mainly from Stockholm, sometimes from abroad - from Paris, Copenhagen or even London.
My study concentrates on the connection the ironmasters had with their commissioners. Many records show that the ironmasters regularly bought goods to their homes, but how did they gain knowledge of what to buy and with whom did they engage to make the purchases, they themselves living far from commerce and fashion? How did the network of different commissioners and their employer look like? Did they see eye to eye on what to buy, when and how? Did they discuss social conventions and the fear of social discomfort in surrounding themselves with the “wrong” kind of goods? (Show less)

Lauri Suurmaa, Raimo Pullat : Probate Inventories as Sources for the Study of the History of Luxury in Estonian Towns in the Early Modern Period (18th Century)
Probate (post-humous) inventories as historical sources prove that the civilization and the way of life in Estonian towns in the 18th century was similar to that of Central and Western Europe. The most progressive-minded Estonian citizens kept apace with the latest developments in European fashion. This concerned table manners, tableware, ... (Show more)
Probate (post-humous) inventories as historical sources prove that the civilization and the way of life in Estonian towns in the 18th century was similar to that of Central and Western Europe. The most progressive-minded Estonian citizens kept apace with the latest developments in European fashion. This concerned table manners, tableware, clothing furniture, book reading etc. On the basis of the inventories it is therefore possible to observe the different symptoms and levels of luxury in the urban world both qualitatively and quantitatively. (Show less)



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