Albert Engström
Encyclopedia
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
artist, author and member of the Swedish Academy
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden.-History:The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"...
from 1922. He was born in Lönneberga, Kalmar County
Kalmar County
Kalmar County is a county or län in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg, Jönköping, Blekinge and Östergötland. To the east in the Baltic Sea is the island Gotland....
(Småland
Småland
' is a historical province in southern Sweden.Småland borders Blekinge, Scania or Skåne, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means Small Lands. . The latinized form Smolandia has been used in other languages...
), but spent most of his childhood in Hult
Hult
Hult is the Swedish spelling variant of holt and may refer to:-Organizations:*Hult Center for the Performing Arts, Oregon*Hult Healey, a maker of automotive kits...
(near Eksjö
Eksjö
Eksjö is a locality and the seat of Eksjö Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 9,676 inhabitants in 2005.-History:The city of Eksjö most likely appeared sometime in the medieval ages when it was the centre for the thing, a regional council. Its first mentioned is from the 14th century...
) where his father was the railroad stationmaster. He graduated from Norrköping
Norrköping
Norrköping is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County. The city has a population of 87,247 inhabitants in 2010, out of a municipal total of 130,050, making it Sweden's tenth largest city and eighth largest...
secondary school in 1888, and went to Uppsala Universitet in 1889 to read Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
which he aborted after two years. In 1892 he enrolled at the Valand School of Fine Arts
Valand School of Fine Arts
The Valand School of Fine Arts , usually called Valand, is a School of Fine Arts in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was founded as the Gothenburg Drawing School in 1865 and has been part of the University of Gothenburg since 1977. The school is situated in central Gothenburg.Approximately 90 students study...
in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
to study under Carl Larsson
Carl Larsson
Carl Larsson was a Swedish painter and interior designer, representative of the Arts and Crafts Movement. His many paintings include oils, watercolors, and frescoes...
.
Between 1894-1896 he was on the editorial staff for the comedy magazine Söndags-Nisse
Söndags-Nisse
Söndags-Nisse was a Swedish humorous magazine published from 1862 to 1924. It helped launch the career of cartoonist Oskar Andersson. Grönköpings Veckoblad, a satirical political magazine, started as a section of Söndags-Nisse in 1902....
and in 1897 he founded his own: Strix
Strix
Strix may refer to:* Strix , a legendary creature of ancient Roman mythology* Strix , the genus of large "earless" wood-owls* Strix , a Swedish production company...
. Among the themes of his many cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
illustrations were those of tramps and drunkards, and indeed alcohol, or rather its adverse effects, featured largely in his humour; one such recurring fictional character was Kolingen.
In 1895, Engström used the word Grönköping
Grönköpings Veckoblad
Grönköpings Veckoblad is a Swedish satirical monthly magazine. The name translates as "The Grönköping Weekly", Grönköping being a fictional Swedish town. Founded in 1902 by Hasse Zetterström as a supplement to Söndags-Nisse, it became an independent magazine in 1916...
as a headline for some of his drawings, thereby inventing the fictional Swedish town of the same name.
Several of Engström’s stories have been translated into English. Twenty titles have appeared in books and magazines published in England and the United States.
Translations
Charles Wharton Stork 1928- Charles XII, Hercules and Gustav Mattson
E. Sprigge and C. Napier 1934
- The Grey Seal
- Osarkrak
- A Jest of Janson’s
- Swedish Panopticon
Harold Borland 1949
- Politeness
- The Journey to Stockholm of Mrs. Holm, the Dean’s Wife
- The Power of the Press
- Whitsun
- Söderbom
- The Funeral Hat
- When I was Czar
- A Bookworm
- A Ghost Story
- An Upsala Story
- Causerie
- The Unkind Author
Edith T. Aney and Sven O. Karell 1954-1955
- Aidesimos of Aleppo
- Moose
- The Mystery of the Three Hundred Cans
Albert Engström in English
- Sweden’s Best Stories 1928 USA
- Modern Swedish Short Stories 1934 England
- Twelve Tales by Albert Engström 1949 England
- American-Scandinavian Review 1954-1955 USA