Storyteller Mailboxes in Sweden
The painted mailboxes in Sweden have amazing stories to tell, vivid stories about life, history, nature, families and beloved pets. Artists have painted scenes of geese and birds flying across the sky over lovely beaches, landscapes and farms, images of tenderness, happiness and love, colourful flowers and green forests, boats transporting people to idyllic places among hills and lakes, or simple depictions of a love of gardening or admiration for one’s own home.
Sadly, these painted mailboxes are in the process of disappearing. Storyteller Mailboxes in Sweden pays homage to the ones that are still standing proud outside people’s homes or in streets nearby. These mailboxes are reflections of life that should be shared and treasured, no matter what. The purpose of this book is to create a moment of pure joy and admiration for them.
With over 100 painted mailboxes photographed and lovingly curated by author Kyra Núñez de León-Johnsson, Storyteller Mailboxes in Sweden documents this tradition with true emotion and connection. Originally from Mexico, Kyra has spent much of her life travelling and living around the world. She first visit Sweden with her Swedish husband,
‘He took me to Sweden one snowy winter. I was not exactly bowled over!
Then he brought me back in the summer – I rode a bike again, as I had when I was a child. In Skåne I found a Sweden I liked, with mailboxes that spoke to me, and that was when I started to fall in love with Sweden … even in the winter when the snow covers almost everything except the mailboxes.’
-Kyra Núñez de León-Johnsson
This unique book has been published in both Swedish and English language versions and is a genuine and vibrant insight into a very special tradition of painted mailboxes and embraces many elements which represent Swedish culture, love of nature, wildlife and the coastline.
