This article examines the role of Swedish mail-order catalogues in the everyday life of the early twentieth century, and in the development of consumer culture. The study deals with the materiality, content and distribution of the mail-order catalogues as well as their use in everyday life. The case of Åhlén & Holm, a major Swedish mail-order company, and its audience is relevant beyond the national context, since it demonstrates how extensive distribution of and interaction with commercial media can induce a crucial societal change such as the development of consumer culture. Arguing for a ‘media history from below’, the source material consists of responses to a qualitative questionnaire, besides catalogues and other material from the company archive. The result shows that the mediated encounter with Åhlén & Holm provided its audience with a commercial literacy that entailed both an emancipation from the economic, geographical and social constraints of everyday life and a confinement in a commercial world.

本文探讨瑞典邮购目录在 20 世纪初的日常生活中以及在消费文化发展中的作用。该研究涉及邮购目录的重要性、内容和分布以及它们在日常生活中的使用。Åhlén & Holm 是一家瑞典大型邮购公司，其受众的相关性超出了国家背景，因为它展示了商业媒体的广泛传播和互动如何引发重要的社会变革，例如消费文化的发展. 主张“自下而上的媒体历史”，除了目录和公司档案中的其他材料外，源材料还包括对定性问卷的回答。结果表明，与 Åhlén &