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En förbindelse med en större värld : Postorder i Sverige under tidigt 1900-tal

Nilsson, Charlotte LU (2020) 47.
Abstract
This thesis examines mail order in early 20th-century Sweden from the perspective of media history. Its aim is to study the mediated encounter between the foremost mail-order company in Sweden, Åhlén & Holm, and its audience, in order to answer the question of what this mediated link meant for the living conditions and conceptual worlds of the contemporary audience, as well as for the advancement of a Swedish consumer society. Through a number of case studies, each focusing on a separate form of mediation used by the company, including advertisements, catalogues, agencies, and commercial activities, it is shown how Åhlén & Holm and its audience established contact and created meanings. Each case study calls attention to both how... (More)
This thesis examines mail order in early 20th-century Sweden from the perspective of media history. Its aim is to study the mediated encounter between the foremost mail-order company in Sweden, Åhlén & Holm, and its audience, in order to answer the question of what this mediated link meant for the living conditions and conceptual worlds of the contemporary audience, as well as for the advancement of a Swedish consumer society. Through a number of case studies, each focusing on a separate form of mediation used by the company, including advertisements, catalogues, agencies, and commercial activities, it is shown how Åhlén & Holm and its audience established contact and created meanings. Each case study calls attention to both how the company shaped its audience’s understandings and usage through their mediations, and how the audience experienced the encounter with the mediations and what consequences it had for their everyday lives. The main source material is company archives and an ethnological questionnaire sent out shortly before the demise of Åhlén & Holm’s mail-order branch.
The study concludes that the mediated communication between the mail-order company and its audience, rather than the retailing or consumption, created a sense of community and unity through its depiction of a connected Sweden of commodity flows and a national audience. Furthermore, the active participation of the audience through agencies, competitions or the creative use of the catalogue spurred an understanding of the communication that was also shaped by the audience’s mental world. Thus, the thesis serves to question the notion of mail order as the spread of urban consumption patterns to the countryside, and the depiction of mail order as a one-way diffusion, reducing the significance of the audience. Finally, the study asserts that the mediated encounter between Åhlén & Holm and its audience generated commercial literacy in its audience – an ability to come in contact with, interpret and interact with commercial messages in everyday life. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • docent Orsi Husz, Uppsala universitet
organization
alternative title
A link to a larger world : Mail order in early 20th-century Sweden
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
mail order, media history, Åhlén & Holm, advertising, catalogue, sales agency, media event, commercial literacy, Sweden, countryside, everyday life, early 20th century, infrastructure, postorder, mediehistoria, Åhlén & Holm, annonsering, katalog, agentur, mediehändelse, infrastruktur, reklamkunnighet, Sverige, landsbygd, vardagsliv, tidigt 1900-tal
volume
47
pages
282 pages
publisher
Föreningen Mediehistoriskt arkiv
defense location
https://lu-se.zoom.us/j/62955584534?pwd=TkZxQ01tcTNUWUdXbWNwUGJEbWFaUT09
defense date
2020-11-21 15:00:00
ISBN
978-91-985801-4-3
978-91-985801-5-0
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
3f9713c0-91a4-4108-ae5a-e733675f60c7
date added to LUP
2020-10-21 08:36:18
date last changed
2021-03-10 11:36:28
@phdthesis{3f9713c0-91a4-4108-ae5a-e733675f60c7,
  abstract     = {{This thesis examines mail order in early 20th-century Sweden from the perspective of media history. Its aim is to study the mediated encounter between the foremost mail-order company in Sweden, Åhlén &amp; Holm, and its audience, in order to answer the question of what this mediated link meant for the living conditions and conceptual worlds of the contemporary audience, as well as for the advancement of a Swedish consumer society. Through a number of case studies, each focusing on a separate form of mediation used by the company, including advertisements, catalogues, agencies, and commercial activities, it is shown how Åhlén &amp; Holm and its audience established contact and created meanings. Each case study calls attention to both how the company shaped its audience’s understandings and usage through their mediations, and how the audience experienced the encounter with the mediations and what consequences it had for their everyday lives. The main source material is company archives and an ethnological questionnaire sent out shortly before the demise of Åhlén &amp; Holm’s mail-order branch.<br>
	The study concludes that the mediated communication between the mail-order company and its audience, rather than the retailing or consumption, created a sense of community and unity through its depiction of a connected Sweden of commodity flows and a national audience. Furthermore, the active participation of the audience through agencies, competitions or the creative use of the catalogue spurred an understanding of the communication that was also shaped by the audience’s mental world. Thus, the thesis serves to question the notion of mail order as the spread of urban consumption patterns to the countryside, and the depiction of mail order as a one-way diffusion, reducing the significance of the audience. Finally, the study asserts that the mediated encounter between Åhlén &amp; Holm and its audience generated commercial literacy in its audience – an ability to come in contact with, interpret and interact with commercial messages in everyday life.}},
  author       = {{Nilsson, Charlotte}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-985801-4-3}},
  keywords     = {{mail order; media history; Åhlén & Holm; advertising; catalogue; sales agency; media event; commercial literacy; Sweden; countryside; everyday life; early 20th century; infrastructure; postorder; mediehistoria; Åhlén & Holm; annonsering; katalog; agentur; mediehändelse; infrastruktur; reklamkunnighet; Sverige; landsbygd; vardagsliv; tidigt 1900-tal}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  publisher    = {{Föreningen Mediehistoriskt arkiv}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  title        = {{En förbindelse med en större värld : Postorder i Sverige under tidigt 1900-tal}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/86074046/pdf_fulltext_En_fo_rbindelse_med_en_sto_rre_va_rld.pdf}},
  volume       = {{47}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}