Date of use : 1920 Sweden

Swedish Business Mail to USA with King Gustaf V Stamps

This Swedish-dispatched cover was addressed to "J. S. Lundgren," a photographer in the town of Kane, Pennsylvania, United States. One of the most striking aspects of the envelope is that the recipient's profession is clearly indicated. The word "Photographer" suggests that the correspondence was directly connected to photographic activity. In the early 1900s, photographers were not limited to operating portrait studios; they were also involved in producing postcards, preparing commercial documents, and supplying visual material for local newspapers. For this reason, international correspondence relating to equipment supply, sample prints, or business connections would have been entirely normal.

The fact that the letter was sent from Sweden to the United States also raises the possibility of immigrant connections. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, large numbers of Swedish immigrants settled in America, particularly in industrial regions such as the Midwest and Pennsylvania. The surname Lundgren is of Scandinavian origin, which suggests that the recipient may have belonged to an immigrant family. As such, this document is significant because it demonstrates that even a small-scale photographer could have been part of a transatlantic communication network.

This item is documented as part of the Photography in Postal History research project.
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