Technica & Nautica

Now it's spring - now it's Technica & Nautica.

This spring we see no less than four diving helmets at the auction, and three diving suits to go with them. The manufacturers are the big ones: The Swede Carl Axel Lindqvist and his successor Emil Carlsson and also the British giant Siebe & Gorman. They constitute impressive sculptures and memories of the great days of old, when the heavy divers were the ones who carried out the dangerous missions and salvaged marine treasures such as the regal ship Vasa. And yes, we have a small part of Vasa here too, part of a gun carriage. A fragment but still an impressive piece, with a breathtaking history.

If we are talking about nautical, about the sea, shipping and ships, it is hardly possible not to mention the Vega expedition. 2026 is the year of Vega in this century, and we look back on the lovely collection that was sold earlier this year. Here too, small traces of the ship can be seen and we can boast a delightful little boat model depicting the Vega launch and made from materials from Vega. In Louis Palander's collection, we saw piles and piles of ship porcelain, and here we see a plate. This plate has not even been on board, as it is a model for the tableware. We do not know who designed the decoration, but we do know that it was manufactured by Rörstrand's Porcelain Factory.

The nautical department has taken over this auction, that's clear, and what would a technical & nautical auction be without a plethora of naive dioramas, i.e., picture models and ditto ship portraits? Sad and empty. Now, fortunately, it is instead happy and filled to the brim!

In the slightly smaller, but no less so, technical department, a collection of high-quality microscopes immediately catches the eye - and rightly so! These German buggers have been used by the Swedish police and used in this forensic research. And since we are still talking about forensic research, surely the investigation into Mayor Olof Palme should be mentioned, and the fact that one of these faithful servants of the instrument was used in the Palme investigation? The wings of history tickle.

Other subdivisions that deserve some attention are those for sundials, electron tubes and early optometric instruments.

Well, there are enough funny things here and there. Just take a look.