Pennants, pennants, pennants...

STOCKHOLM, GRANKULLAVIK, HAGFORS, DUVED, ALVESTA, SKÄNNINGE, GOTHENBURG, MUNKFORS, UNDERSÅKER, BÅSTAD, KIRUNA, STAVANGER, ÖSTERSUND, MORA...

Almost every place in Sweden had one or more different pennants from Frösö Handtryck between the 50s and 70s. The pennants were often decorated with the pride of the place, everything from the mountain landscape in Åre to the newly built subway station in Vällingby. If it was a very small place, it could be a church, a crossroad, a bikini-clad lady or a newly built municipal hall that adorned the pennant.

Ingeborg Själander started as a pre-school student and summer worker at Frösö Handtryck in 1972 and then became employed in 1974. Ingeborg printed pennants at breakneck speed during the 70s, there could be over 1000 pennants that went through her hands in a working day.

Around 2000 different pennants were printed, most with three to four colours. The colors used at that time were far from today's water-based pigment colors and all frames were washed with white spirit, which is a strong solvent.

– It was probably not useful to sit in those fumes, says Ingeborg. I worked in the "small print shop" where we also printed thousands of number plates for sports competitions. Often in series from 1 to 1000, so it was a gentleman's count and damn good fun.

Ingeborg is now retired but is the one who knows the most about the company's history after 47 years, some years also as operator and co-owner. Today, together with Hans-Ove Ström, she is the company's master printer and sews a lot of products. The old solvents in the printing house are a thing of the past, today's colors are environmentally optimized and if you visit the printing house when it is in full swing, you will feel that it smells of nothing more than freshly brewed afternoon coffee.

Lots of original drawings of the old pennants remain, including a rarity from the 1958 World Cup. Some of the originals can be viewed in our shop, perhaps you will find a childhood holiday resort you almost forgot the name of. As I said, a crossroad or a bridge was enough to make a pennant out of it!