Kategori: In the Sources


  • The Electricity Machine

    This week’s post deals with a curious object found in the probate inventory of a Swedish minister: an electricity machine. To what uses might such a machine have been put?

  • Near-Forgotten Names Used in 19th Century Sweden

    In this week’s post, we highlight some of the names found in Swedish 19th century probate inventories. Through names, we can study families’ aspirations and interests, all the while getting inspiration for what we might name our own descendants.

  • Nothing to Hide: The Swedish Art of Cataloguing the Dead

    If you died in Sweden after 1734, someone would have to write down everything you owned: your furniture, your debts, your bank balance, even your books. Here’s what these lists can tell us. The detective’s ledger: what probate inventories tell us about ordinary livesImagine you die today. Then, imagine a stranger, three months from now,…

  • The Ghost Room

    Probate inventories can offer unexpected insights into how people organised and used the space within their homes. One member of the wealthy Piper family maintained a ”Ghost Room” in his castle – but what was kept there, and how might the room have been used?