Thursday, November 29, 2012

Swedes In America



Are there any Swedes out there?  I'm not even going to try and translate this one.  I assume it's in Swedish because it was mailed from the United States to Broby, a town in southern Sweden.  I'm not even sure from where in the U.S.  The image is from southern California.  The publisher is M. Rieder, a company in business from 1901 to 1915, located in Los Angeles, but the postmark....well, I think it's from Michigan, but I'm not even sure of that.  Did a Swedish immigrant pass through L.A. on his way to Michigan and send a card to those he left behind at home?   I would say that's most probable, but it's not the only possible explanation.  Los Angeles is a seaport, and there are also ports on Lake Michigan that service international shipping.  So, perhaps, a sailor.  Then again, the sender of this postcard might have been a tourist.  1906 seems far back in time, but like today, there were plenty of international travelers who just roamed for the sake of seeing the world.  And that's why I need someone who can decipher the handwriting and translate it into English.  It's the only way I'll know the who and the why of this message.

We have a partial translation from J'lee.  Click on  comment at the bottom to read what she has found out.  It seems Nils, in Wallace, Michigan is trying to send something to his sister Sigrid, in Sweden.  Whatever it is, it has to be well packed.  Wallace is the name of two occupied places in Michigan.  One on the southern, upper peninsula, and one not.  And I've double checked.  The entire card is visible on the post.

1 comment:

  1. I shared your entry with my mother, a Swedish-speaking Finn. Her interpretation of the postcard follows:

    Looks like a man named Nils sent it from Michigan to his sister Sigrid in Sweden.  I'll translate:
     
    On the address side it says "Miss Sigrid Öhrstorp, Asmund Cottage, Kristianstad County, Sweden, Europe".  A couple words are crossed out - perhaps by the postal service, who then added the corrected address to the left.
     
    On the other side, to the left of the picture it says: "Write soon then, be so kind.  Nils"
     
    Below the picture it says: "Wallace, Michigan, April 14, 1906.  Dear sister, I sent the cards today.  If you can't find ????? so perhaps I can package it well to prevent breakage...."
     
    It looks like not all of the card shows in the picture, so I'm not sure what he wanted to tell her, except something about sending something.


    I hope this helps.

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