Large collection of psalmodikon letters documented

Four hundred letters from psalmodikon players are preserved at the Institute for Folk and Language Memories' archive in Uppsala. The letters belong to the collection left behind by the researcher Karl Gösta Gilstring (1915–1986). In order to make these letters accessible, the Nordic Psalmodikon Association has now initiated a digitization of the letters.

Karl-Gösta Gilstring's collection consists, among many other things, of more than 8,000 original letters of correspondence that describe people's lives and daily routines during the early part of the 20th century. The collection is generally regarded as the most comprehensive gathered by a single Nordic researcher in modern times. Part of this collection is therefore about psalmodikon and psalmodikon playing. The Nordic Psalmodikon Association has thus taken the initiative to document and make these stories accessible, with the aim of increasing our knowledge of psalmodikon playing and its significance for the population of Sweden. Marcus Johansson (chairman) and Tommy Karlsson (vice chairman) began this work today by spending several hours reviewing the letters and photographing them, in order to later read them thoroughly and catalog them with the help of several others. All to facilitate future research.