The Grand Shop Expansion
18.12.2008Woow, just a couple of weeks after we have opened our little Poster Shop it is time to expand. We had no choice, really.
This means we now can offer you four new re-prints of posters from Come to Finland.
Now, agreeing on which the four newcomers should be was far away from easy. There were many candidates. But in the end we singled out four gems that are unique in many ways.
Whadda pearl!
The first one is true rarity. It is a poster for the Finnish shipping company Helsingfors Ångfartygs Aktiebolags and their route to Germany. The original dates back to around 1890 and as far as we know there is only one copy saved to the afterworld. We got the re-print permission from the owner, Finnish shipping guru Tuukka Laakso. Thanks to Mr Laakso's generosity we can now share this piece of cultural heritage with the rest of he world.The French Connection
Poster number 2 is from an original owned by the Come to Finland team. In order to celebrate the opening of the French poster shop we of course wanted a poster in French. And our choice was clear.The funny guy created by Mr Heikki Ahtiala enjoys a special place in our hearts. The poster has it all: speed, humour and personality. Guess if we got excited when a French poster collector offered to sell us this version.
The world belongs to you, little boy!
Our third poster is created by Mr Osmo K. Oksanen. We believe his little fellow is the most travelled boy in the world. In the shop we already have a winter version of the same poster, but here he is about to conquer the world with his umbrella (better safe than sorry, aye?). And of course he chooses to travel by train, the best way to see the world. Mr Oksanen knew it, his little fellow knows it and we know it. Trains forever!The Nerve Wrecking ABBE Mystery
Poster number four is a work that is driving us nuts. The little sensual mermaid want us to travel from Stockholm to Helsinki (and vice versa too). But then the mystery begins…Dear friends! During two years we have tried to figure out who the artist behind the ABBE signature is. We have tried everything, we have called up old-timers in the business, contacted museums, scanned the Internet.
But no dice.
We have only figured out what ad agency in Stockholm produced the poster. The agency is long gone and nobody can remember how the poster came to be and who ABBE was (or is, he might still be alive, even if we doubt it).
In the beginning we were told the poster was created in 1965. But thanks to poster gurus in Finland and around the world we learned it was created for the Finnish Olympic year, 1952. Then, in November 2008, there was a breakthrough. Or at least a step forward. From the Swedish National Library we received word that the artist's name must be Albert Andersson.
But there the trace ends. For now, because the poster hunters never give up!
And pleeeeeeeaaaase, if you have information on this poster, do drop us a line at posters(at)cometofinland.fi. And as soon as we unravel this mystery, we will post more information.
