The bedroom walls in Carl von Linné's summer house.
The Flora Cabinet is an iconic cabinet, designed in 1937 and sought after by many of the major auction houses. The inspiration for the cabinet originated from Carl Linnaeus’ (Carl von Linné) summer residence in Hammarby, where the bedroom walls were wallpapered in prints from one of the world’s most famous and admired botanical volumes of work: Plantae Selectae from 1750-1773.
When Svenskt Tenn’s founder Estrid Ericson visited the Hammarby residence in 1930 in the company of her friend, the poet Bo Bergman, she was inspired by Linnaeus’ use of the beautiful book pages. It was romantic and provided a certain atmosphere that was in stark contrast to the strict aesthetics of the 1930s. Back home in Stockholm, she then had the walls and ceiling of her sleeping alcove wallpapered with French flora poster prints. Over time, flora prints would become a recurring feature in both Estrid Ericson’s interiors and Josef Frank’s furniture design.