In search of New Sweden : Discovering the ‘American curiosities’ of Samuel Hesselius
In 1736 Samuel Hesselius, former pastor for the Swedish parishes in Pennsylvania, donated a collection of ‘American curiosities’ to Lund University in Sweden. Within less than twenty years, however, the collection had apparently disappeared. In the course of the past three decades the lost ethnographic artefacts have received increasing attention, but for a variety of reasons the collection has reIn 1736 Samuel Hesselius, former pastor for the Swedish parishes in Pennsylvania, donated a collection of ‘American curiosities’ to Lund University in Sweden. Within less than twenty years, however, the collection had apparently disappeared. In the course of the past three decades the lost ethnographic artefacts have received increasing attention, but for a variety of reasons the collection has re