nations – Object of the Month – Helsinki University Museum Flame

This time, the Object of the Month is an interesting recent donation to the Helsinki University Museum that consists of photos mainly illustrating the activities of the Hämäläis-Osakunta student nation (a student association originally affiliated with the Häme region of Finland) in 1929 and 1930. What makes this donation particularly valuable is that the original owner of the photos, Moira Lindfors (née Tuomikoski, formely Hormi, 1908–1979) has written on their back when and where they were taken, often also noting the names of the people in them.

The grandmother of the Berlin-based donor was Irja Tuomikoski, known as Moira, who completed her matriculation examination in Hämeenlinna and began to study law at the University of Helsinki in autumn 1928. She joined the Hämäläis-Osakunta student nation, a community of close to 1,000 students in the late 1920s. In 1930 the members of Hämäläis-Osakunta comprised up to one-quarter of all members of the Student Union.

The donated photos were discovered when I went to view a large set of photos sent to the Vantaa City Museum. My aim was to identify people in the photos who were associated with Katrineberg Manor in Vantaa, which I was investigating. Browsing the photos, I realised that they included rare depictions of student life.

I found a total of 31 photos which the owner eventually donated to the Helsinki University Museum at my request. Many of the photos were from 1929 and showed, for example, a procession celebrating the birthday of J. V. Snellman, a Finnish baseball tournament between student nations, excursions by Hämäläis-Osakunta, Flora Day celebrations and individual members of the student nation. I became particularly interested in a photo showing male students in dark caps and two female students in white caps, standing in front of a ship. I recognised the darker caps as those worn by Estonian students because I had previously visited the University of Tartu Museum in Estonia.

Student cap of the Tartu-based Eesti Üliöpilaste Selts (Estonian Students Society) male student organisation, made of blue felt fabric, with a black-and-white ribbon around the brim. The cap was donated to the Helsinki University Museum by a Finn who studied at the University of Tartu in the 1930s. Photo: Helsinki University Museum/Mai Joutselainen.

Continue reading “Photos depicting the Estonian relations of the Hämäläis-Osakunta student nation”

Overalls for the Rupla association, at last!

Acquiring a pair of overalls was no easy task. Two energetic students of Russian, who had begun their studies in 1987, decided something had to be done after enduring three May Day celebrations wearing the ‘boring overalls designed for the University of Helsinki Student Union’. They did not hesitate to approach large companies to talk to those holding the purse strings. Usually, they were given just a phone number to call. The cost estimate for an order of 40 pairs of overalls was 10,000–12,000 Finnish markka, truly a tall order, as just two names were on the list of buyers in March 1990. However, the project moved forward, and by May, the number of buyers was already 13. The rank-and-file members of Rupla had a suspicious, if not surly, attitude towards the project.

Symbols (a hammer and a sickle drawn in the form of a question mark) referring to the Soviet Union as well as text printed on a red, slightly crinkled piece of fabric.

In November 1990, the Rupla student association placed an order for 26 pairs of overalls for students of Slavonic languages. The logo on the back, based on an idea put forward by the overalls committee, was created at an ad agency. Detail from the back of the overalls. Photo: Helsinki University Museum/Salme Vanhanen

Tag: nations

Photos depicting the Estonian relations of the Hämäläis-Osakunta student nation

The story of student overalls

Overalls for the Rupla association, at last!