64 Swedenborg as Gardener

The property owned by Swedenborg in Stockholm, which contained his summerhouse, also had extensive gardens, and written sources indicate that he was actively involved in the selection of plants and trees. An almanac for the year 1752 has Swedenborg’s notes in the margins. One side of the almanac records the sending of Arcana Coelestia pages to the printer, but the reverse side reveals his love of gardening, with entries listing plants and their locations on his property. A notation at the end even lists seeds that he has acquired from plants in America, including buttonwood, beech, and dogwood. 

In 1745, “a desire for a quiet retreat and comfortable establishment led [Swedenborg] to invest in the property on Hornsgatan, to the south of Stockholm, situated upon a high cliff overlooking Lake Mälar, on the one hand, and the Salt Sea on the other, with the Royal Castle and gardens in front. Continue reading » » » »

62 Bronze Bust of Swedenborg Disappears from Lincoln Park, Chicago; Police Baffled (1976)

On June 28, 1924, a bronze bust of Swedenborg, sculpted by the Swedish artist Adolf Jonsson, was given to the city of Chicago by Mr. and Mrs. L. Brackett Bishop. The ceremonial unveiling of the statue, on an island at the edge of Chicago’s Lincoln Park, included a speech by Professor C.G. Wallenius; the reading of a letter from President Calvin Coolidge by Congressman Carl R. Chindblom; an address by Axel Wallenberg, Swedish Minister to the United States; and the reading of Edwin Markham’s poem “Swedenborg.”

The statue remained in Lincoln Park until 1976, when it was stolen. The theft was reported in a February 10, 1976 article in the Chicago Tribune. “A Park District spokesman said the last bust burglary he recalled was that of a Beethoven bronze in the Lincoln Park Conservatory, stolen in April 1971. It never was recovered. ‘I can’t see why anyone would want that [Swedenborg] bust,’ he said. Continue reading » » » »