Uno Myggan Ericson Theatrical History Collection
Uno Myggan Ericson (1926–2001) was a man of many talents. He was a writer, a vaudeville and theatre scholar, a journalist, theatre director, famous radio broadcaster and the author of a host of books on, among other things, theatre, vaudeville and circus. His book collection at the Humanities Library mirrors only a fraction of his wide-ranging interests.
About the collection
The books previously belonging to Ericson which are now held at the Humanities Library are mainly works on circus, musicals, vaudeville, variety history and theatre in Sweden, as well as in many other countries. Sweden has an unusually long and rich history of, not least, circus, and here the collection provides a wide and valuable overview.
Uno Ericson also owned a large collection of Swedish fiction, as well as an extensive amount of books on Former Yugoslavia. The majority of these books, however, were not acquired by the Humanities Library, as the titles were already present in its holdings. A selection of the books on Former Yugoslavia that had been part of Ericson's own book collection were placed at what is now the Social Sciences Library.
The Uno Ericson donation also includes his record collection. It consists of, among other things, musicals, music hall, circus music, Swedish vaudeville, Swedish songs, French music and music from the Balkans. In addition, the personal archive of "Myggan" accompanied the donation - the inventory of the archive is available through Alvin.
The collection's focus on entertainment history aligns with several other collections and archives held by the Humanities Library, including the archives of Evert Taube and Barbro Hörberg, the Iwan Ljunggren Library, as well as press and archive materials from the Gothenburg Tercentennial Jubilee Exposition of 1923. Here, "Myggan" is in good company indeed.
Acquisition history
The collection was donated to the Gothenburg University Library by Ericson's wife, Iréne Ericson, in 2002. It is placed in the regular closed stacks as part of the general holdings, but is held together through its consecutive shelf codes, meaning all the books can be found in the same place. It can also be found in the online catalogue by using the phrase "Uno Myggan Ericsons samling".
Access the collection
The collection is held in the closed stacks of the Humanities library. It is available for reading room use only.
Catalogue
The collection is catalogued in its entirety.
In Libris
In Supersearch
Inventory
Archive inventory via Alvin
The music records in the collection have not been catalogued.
Humanities library
Renströmsgatan 4
405 30 GOTHENBURG
Phone: 031-786 17 45
Text:
Kristina Sevo
The collection has been catalogued by Pia Schmidt de Graaf and Isabel Folkesson.
Biography
Uno "Myggan" Ericson (1926–2001), was born in Nässjö, and graduated in 1947. Early on, he began writing stage reviews in the local newspaper Nässjö-Tidningen where he would later work as a journalist.
His career in the world of entertainment would be both long and diverse. He wrote vaudeville and worked as a theatre director. He was the host of a number of radio and TV shows, and wrote books on theatre, vaudeville and circus, as well as a number of biographies and several other books. He was the editor of the entertainment encyclopedia titled Myggans nöjeslexikon, issued in 14 volumes between 1989 och 1993.
In 1987 he was made an honorary doctor at the University of Gothenburg, due to his private research on Former Yugoslavia - above all the city of Dubrovnik in present-day Croatia. He was also awarded the Karl Gerhard scholarship in 1998.
He passed away in Gothenburg on May 11th, 2001. Margareta Artsman wrote his epitaph in SvD (12/5 2001) and mentioned that his nickname, Myggan - the mosquito - could be traced back to the football team for boys of which he was part in his youth. As he was very small as a boy, the moniker seemed apt at the time.
Read more
Artsman, M., Epitaph, Svenska Dagbladet by Margareta Artsman May 12, 2001.
Radomska, A., Myggan fick egen gata, Örgryte & Härlanda Posten no. 2, 2017, p. 20.
Sandblad, H., Minnesprogram 18 maj 2001
Skarback, S., Svenskt nöjesliv på väg att dö ut? Bohusläningen December 10, 1983, p. 2.
Svedin, L., ”Myggan från Nässjö”. Då och nu i Nässjöbygden 2004 (18): pp. 83-94.
Sveriges Radio, 2021. Myggan Ericson var stenkakans riddare
Uno "Myggan" Ericson via Wikipedia
Örnberg, S., Myggan – nöjenas utforskare. Göteborgs-Posten March 6, 1996.
Suggested research topics
- An overview of the collection's contents. What is represented here, and how does it mirror the time and context of the material?
- Biographical studies.
- Provenances and dedications in the collection.
- Comparisons with other, similar collections of works on entertainment history.
- Swedish circus.
- Swedish vaudeville and theatrical history.
Please contact us if you have any suggested research topics you would like to share!