Early Scandinavia, 18th Century Europe, and a Miniature Museum
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Great Northern War – King Karl XII
Gustaf Cederström, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, "Karl XII and Ivan Mazepa after the Poltava Battle." The painting depicts Swedish King Karl XII, his name often Anglicized as Charles XII, during the Battle of Poltava. Karl had been injured in the foot by...
Great Northern War – Battle of Poltava
By Unknown author - National Archives of Sweden, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=112777804 The Battle of Poltava occurred in what is modern-day Ukraine, although in 1709 it was part of mainland Russia under Peter the Great. I found an...
Great Northern War – Battle of Narva
Image: Victory at Narva, 1905, by Gustaf Cederström, National Museum of Sweden, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. This image, painted two hundred years after the battle, depicts what the surrender of Russian forces to Sweden might have looked like after...
Novel Writing Update – November 2024
After watching another online writing conference and listening to yet another literary agent panel, my publishing dream almost died. Set in an unusual time and place, my story world won't slide into an existing group of readers. My books are probably best categorized...
Christmas at the Carl Larsson House – 2024 Update
Clicking on this post will lead you to the series "A Miniature Carl Larsson Christmas," either by clicking on the series title in the category sidebar on the right or on the related posts found underneath. There are twelve posts in the series. My mother staged an...
Naerøy Manuscript – Ceremonial Drum – Other Gods
The 1723 Naerøy Manuscript contains a rambling interpretation of this drawing of a Sami ceremonial drum attributed to Thomas von Westen. The god in the top half of the drum, to the right of Thor, holding a hoe with a claw at the end and having an arch with serrations...
Naerøy Manuscript – Ceremonial Drum – Thor
This is the drawing of the Sami ceremonial drum found in the Naerøy Manuscript, attributed to Thomas von Wessen, 1723. It is in the public domain, and there are other versions of it that render more detail. Johan Randulf, the author of the Naeroy manuscript, rambles a...
Naerøy Manuscript – Intro
I am certain there has been new scholarship on the Naeroy Manuscript since Just Qvigstad published his summary of it in 1903, but since he was my great-grandmother’s brother and he looks like my late father, I have been slowly translating his work for my own...
Tales from Sápmi – Animal Origins
Many of Just Knud Qvigstad’s works are out of print, and most are not in English. This is my paraphrased translation of stories from Sápmi from a French translation of his work. The Angry Loon God made the magnificent birds and let them fly away. The loon grumbled...
A Miniature Victorian Painted Lady – Swedish Dolls
Far Left Image. The rug was handwoven by IGMA fellow Judith Dean Adams. Center Left Image. The rug was handwoven by IGMA fellow Judith Dean Adams. Center Right Image. Far Right Image. The doll was handmade by Hantverk in Dockan, Sweden.
A Miniature Victorian Painted Lady – Swedish Immigrant Apartment
An unusually cold spring and summer in 1867, followed by drought in 1868, caused a famine in Sweden during the years 1867-1869, and a subsequent wave of immigration to America. Most Swedes ended up in the Midwest, but a few followed the Gold Rush to San Francisco....
A Miniature Victorian Painted Lady – Chinese Immigrant Apartment
Chinese Immigrants in Gilded Age San Francisco. Text coming soon,