The Anton Almquist collection

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Anton Almquist (1864-1949) was a dealer in Gothenburg when he, at the end of the of the 1880s, got into touch with Anders Nilsson Östlind and his reed organ factory in Arvika. In 1890, he entered the company as partner in charge of the Gothenburg branch office. While Östlind was the practical instrument maker and the factory chief, Almquist was the efficient business man. In the period 1909-1928 he was the managing director of the Östlind & Almquist company and in 1917 after the foundation of the AB Förenade Piano- och Orgelfabriker [Associated Piano and Reed Organ Factories] the first managing director of the concern 1918-1920.

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The Anton Almquist Collection contains an important series of photos that both show the rapid enlargements of the factory 1890-1908 and through the pictures of the 1909 years catalogue illuminates each part of the production. Furthermore there are interiors of the Gothenburg, Stockholm and Malmö branch offices (before 1910), medals from art and industry exhibitions given to the factory before 1910 (originally in the possession of Anders Östlind). The four boos for cuttings 1890-1928 brought together by Anton Almquist himself during his active years at the factory places together what was written about the own trade mark and mirror through reports of news, discussions and conflicts between factories, jubilees and others of the kind what was going on in the branch. Some objects also belong to the collection, among others a plaster head of Anton Almquist made by Thora Bjurklo, a school teacher in Arvika belonging to the circle around the Rackstad group of artists, probably to his 70th birthday in 1934.

On permanent loan from Christer Almquist 2007.

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