2002 · Scala Publishers · New Edition

Skansen: Traditional Swedish Style

by Ralph Edenheim · 128 pages · 150 colour photographs

This is the Scala Publishers printing — the version most readers picture when they think of the book, and the one reviewers tend to quote. Its 128 pages bring together roughly 150 colour photographs and a clear, friendly text to form a rounded portrait of Skansen, the Stockholm open-air museum that set the pattern for hundreds of others around the world.

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Publisher	Scala Publishers Ltd
Publication date	January 1, 2002
Edition	New edition
Language	English
Print length	128 pages
Item weight	1.74 pounds (about 790 g)
ISBN-10	1857590511
ISBN-13	978-1857590517
Customer rating	4.0 out of 5 stars (3 ratings)

What's inside this edition

Ralph Edenheim built the book the way Artur Hazelius built Skansen back in 1891 — by showing the whole picture rather than isolated pieces. Instead of a dry catalogue of dates, the pages move through farmsteads, storehouses, a wooden church and town workshops, each photographed inside and out, so you see not just a building but the life it once held. The captions and short essays connect what you are looking at to the region it came from and the people who used it.

What this Scala printing does especially well is balance. The page count is generous enough to give the photographs room, yet the book never feels heavy or scholarly; the writing stays readable from the first page to the last. If you want a single volume that explains the museum, illustrates Sweden's folk style and still works as a handsome object on a shelf, this edition covers all three jobs at once.

Who it's for

Travellers mapping out a Stockholm trip who want context before they arrive.
Interior and design readers drawn to Scandinavian colour, timber and texture.
Folk-art and history fans who like the human story behind everyday buildings.
Gift-givers after a photograph-rich hardback that looks the part.

Our take

If you only plan to own one copy and you want the familiar, classic look, this is the printing we usually suggest starting with. It pairs a comfortable page count with large, cleanly reproduced photographs, and it is the version most often referenced in reviews, so you'll find it easy to compare notes. Use the button above to check today's Amazon price against the softcover and large-format printings before you commit.

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