Vintage: Sweden in 1880s and 1890s

Vintage: Sweden in 1880s and 1890s

MonoVisions Black & White Photo Contest 2025

Carl Curman (1833–1913) was a physician and a scientist. He is mainly known as a pioneer in his commitment in public health care, especially in bathing. He founded two public indoor baths in Stockholm and developed a minor outdoor bath in the fisherman village of Lysekil on the west coast into a high-society seaside resort. He was an associate professor in balneology (the science of health baths) and climatology at the medical university of Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and a professor in anatomy at The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts, in which he had also been a talented student before he finally chose the medical career. In time he became an honorary member of the Academy.

He shared his life with his wife Calla and their children in their home in central Stockholm and their summer residence in Lysekil, built in Old Norse style. Their villa at Floragatan in Stockholm became a kind of centre for the cultural and scientific society in the 1880s and -90s.

Carl Curman began photographing in the 1860s and became a prominent and industrious amateur photographer. He left a collection of about 700 photos – original print copies and glass plate negatives, mainly from the late 19th century.

Here is a selection of his outdoor images of Sweden.

St. Nicolai church ruin, Visby, Gotland, Sweden. People in Visby town with the ruin of Saint Nicolai medieval church in the background. Date: 1890s

St. Nicolai church ruin, Visby, Gotland, Sweden. People in Visby town with the ruin of Saint Nicolai medieval church in the background. Date: 1890s

Winter in Lysekil, Sweden. Ladies bath and ships in the ice covered Gullmarn fjord outside Lysekil. Date: 1880s

Winter in Lysekil, Sweden. Ladies bath and ships in the ice covered Gullmarn fjord outside Lysekil. Date: 1880s

Winter in Humlegården, Stockholm, Sweden. People enjoying the winter in Humlegården park in Stockholm city. Date: 1880s

Winter in Humlegården, Stockholm, Sweden. People enjoying the winter in Humlegården park in Stockholm city. Date: 1880s

Stockholm, Stockholm, Stockholm, Uppland, Miljöer-Stadsmiljö

Stockholm, Stockholm, Stockholm, Uppland, Miljöer-Stadsmiljö

Gotland, Gotland, Visby, Gotland, Miljöer-Stadsmiljö

Gotland, Gotland, Visby, Gotland, Miljöer-Stadsmiljö

Jönköping, Jönköping, Gränna, Småland, Miljöer-Stadsmiljö

Jönköping, Jönköping, Gränna, Småland, Miljöer-Stadsmiljö

Västra Götaland, Lysekil, Lysekil, Bohuslän, Byggnader-Kommunikationsväsen-Hamnanläggning

Västra Götaland, Lysekil, Lysekil, Bohuslän, Byggnader-Kommunikationsväsen-Hamnanläggning

Stockholm, Stockholm, Stockholm, Uppland, Miljöer-Stadsmiljö

Stockholm, Stockholm, Stockholm, Uppland, Miljöer-Stadsmiljö

Gotland, Gotland, Visby, Gotland, Byggnader-Religionsutövning - kyrkor-(01) Exteriörer

Gotland, Gotland, Visby, Gotland, Byggnader-Religionsutövning

Gotland, Gotland, Visby, Gotland, Miljöer-Stadsmiljö

Gotland, Gotland, Visby, Gotland, Miljöer-Stadsmiljö

sweden-in-1880s-and-1890s-10

Gotland, Gotland, Visby, Gotland, Miljöer-Kust- och skärgårdsmiljö

Gotland, Gotland, Visby, Gotland, Miljöer-Kust

Gotland, Gotland, Visby, Gotland, Miljöer-Stadsmiljö

Gotland, Gotland, Visby, Gotland, Miljöer-Stadsmiljö

Västra Götaland, Orust, Käringön, Bohuslän, Miljöer-Bymiljö-Skärgårdsby

Västra Götaland, Orust, Käringön, Bohuslän, Miljöer-Bymiljö

Västra Götaland, Lysekil, Lysekil, Bohuslän, Miljöer-Kust- och skärgårdsmiljö

Västra Götaland, Lysekil, Lysekil, Bohuslän, Miljöer-Kust

Stockholm, Stockholm, Stockholm, Uppland, Miljöer-Stadsmiljö, Miljöer-Kust- och skärgårdsmiljö

Stockholm, Stockholm, Stockholm, Uppland, Miljöer-Stadsmiljö, Miljöer-Kust


MonoVisions Black & White Photo Contest 2025