Treasures from the Swedish Magic Archives

Throwout Cards from the
Swedish Magic archive

In honor of the National Day of Sweden, which was celebrated on June 6,  I am going to discuss an unbelievably fortunate acquisition from last winter, that involves the Swedish Magic Archives run by collector/historian Christer Nilsson.


According to Magicpedia,

Christer Nilsson

"Christer Nilsson (born 1931), living in Nyköping, Sweden, has performed as a magician semi-professionally from 1949 until 1975. He started performing again 1995 and is still active.  He started collecting magic memorabilia 1946 and is the caretaker of Sveriges Magi-Arkiv (The Swedish Magic Archives).  Nilsson was editor of Trollkarlen from 1966 to 1989." 

"Since 2000, he has operated a blog  with the latest news from the Scandinavian magic scene. He has got the badge of merit, is honorary member and have been presented the highest award of The Swedish Magic Circle. He was territorial Vice-President of The International Brotherhood of Magicians in Sweden 1969-1972, International Vice-President 1973-1986 in Sweden and has 2002 got The Order of Merlin – Excalibur.
Christer Nilsson have been responsible for 5 magic conventions in Sweden.

He has written two books about magicians. Trollare och andra underhållare (Magicians and other entertainers) 1990 and Sveriges trollkarlar (Magicians in Sweden) 2007."

A quick look at his site shows the remarkable breadth and depth of his curating activities, as he maintains reams of information, files of collectibles and one the the largest museums of magicana found in Europe.

Over the years, I have traded a few items with Christer, and always found him to be a generous soul and passionate about magic.   Recently, I contacted him, advising him about Propelled Pasteboards and my continued interest in throwout cards.  After some discussion, he made me the proverbial offer that couldn't be refused: he kindly agreed to send me his entire collection of scaling cards, acquired over many years of diligent collecting.  

So, on a windy winter day, a package arrived containing the collection, parts of which you can see in the pictures in this post.  Forty-one items in all, and some beautiful and fascinating pieces.  

I am honored to be entrusted with this fabulous collection, which will be enriching the posts on Propelled Pasteboards for many months to come.   Stay tuned!