Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon

To advanced search
 

For more advanced searches and combinations please use the Språkbanken tool Karp. This is particularly relevant for researchers seeking to analyse the information contained in SKBL (Biographical Dictionary of Swedish Women).

  To Karp (External link)

Lilly Elin Sofia Elisabet Hellström

1866-08-211930-03-02

Politician, suffragette, publicist

Lilly Hellström’s name is primarily associated with Folkskolans Barntidning as well as with the publication of children’s books. In addition to that she was very active in the Swedish women’s movement as well as within municipal politics on behalf of Allmänna valmansförbundet (today the Moderate Party).

Lilly Hellström was born in 1866 in Nyköping. Her father ran a bookshop, which was also a publishing house. Lilly was educated at Nyköping elementarskola (foundational school) for girls. She later worked at the school as a teacher, from 1885 until 1889, before she got married to a merchant called John Hellström. He died just two months after the wedding, however. Lilly Hellström became close friends with another teacher in Nyköping, Stina Quint, who was active in Sveriges Allmänna Folkskollärarförening (SAF) (a teachers’ association).

Lilly Hellström and Stina Quint both had an idea of providing children with access to good reading material by publishing a magazine specifically aimed at children and by publishing books through their own children’s books publishing house. It was primarily Stina Quint who presented their ideas as an entrepreneur. She was unsuccessful at getting SAF interested in their project. However, she obtain support from Sophie Adlersparre, who wrote under the pseudonym of Esselde and who published the journal Dagny. In 1892 Stina Quint was given permission to produce Folkskolans Barntidning. She approached prominent people and successfully convinced Queen Sophia and the Crown Princess Victoria to become subscribers.

The editorial team was set up within bookseller Kullberg’s premises and the magazine was printed in his bookbindery until 1896. That same year both Lilly Hellström and Stina Quint moved to Stockholm, where they set up a publishing house primarily for children’s books. Stina Quint was in charge whilst Lilly Hellström was the executive director with significant responsibility for the company, particularly during Stina Quint’s many trips abroad. Lilly Hellström was also an active member of the Fredrika Bremer association, for instance as the treasurer for the Stockholm section. She was also a member of the Hedvig Eleonora parish school council.

Lilly Hellström was Stina Quint’s co-editor. From 1904 to 1917 they both lived in Villa Hagen in Elfvik on Lidingö. Their house became a gathering place for writers, journalists, artists, suffragettes, and municipal politicians. At the same time they were both active in the Stockholm Moderate party women’s association and they were on the Moderate party women’s committee, which cooperated with Allmänna valmansförbundet (AVF) in order to try and find solutions to the women’s suffrage issues. From 1917 onwards Lilly Hellström developed Moderata Kvinnors Rösträttsförening (MKR, Moderate party women’s suffrage association) as a part of Landsföreningen för kvinnans politiska rösträtt (LKPR, National Association for Women's Suffrage). They were also represented in a collaborative effort between AVF and Sveriges Moderata Kvinnoförbund (Moderate women’s association of Sweden). After Stina Quint’s death in 1924 Lilly Hellström remained the sole leader of their company.

Lilly Hellström’s contributions are in the main tied to Stina Quint. It is hard to determine which of the two of them came up with the ideas and how they divided the work between them, but it is likely that the great success they had with Folkskolans Barntidning and the associated children’s book publishing house was down to both of their efforts.

After Stina Quint’s death Lilly Hellström became politically active in Allmänna valmansförbundet and became a member of Stockholmshögerns förbundsstyrelse (Stockholm right-wing party association board) and its associated women’s council. She was also an elector in the first chamber election, and became an inspector for the children’s home run by the childcare authority.

Lilly Hellström died in 1930.


Ann-Marie Petersson
(Translated by Alexia Grosjean)


Published 2018-03-08



You are welcome to cite this article but always provide the author’s name as follows:

Lilly Elin Sofia Elisabet Hellström, www.skbl.se/sv/artikel/LillyHellstrom, Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon (article by Ann-Marie Petersson), retrieved 2024-03-29.




Other Names

    Maiden name: Kullberg


Family Relationships

Civil Status: Widow
  • Mother: Jenny Rosalie Leontina Kullberg, född Krogh
  • Father: Emil Gustaf Kullberg
  • Sister: Anna Sofia Konstantia Kullberg, gift Hofberg
more ...


Education



Activities

  • Profession: Lärare vid Nyköpings Elementarskola för flickor
  • Profession: Redaktör för Folkskolans Barntidning
  • Profession: Huvudansvarig redaktör och förlagschef för Folkskolans Barntidning


Contacts

  • Colleague: Stina Quint


Organisations

  • Sveriges Folkskollärarinneförbund (SF)
  • Sällskapet för befrämjande av förädlande ungdomsnöjen
  • Föreningen Hemmet för arbeterskor
    Revisor
more ...


Residences

  • Birthplace: Nyköping
  • Nyköping
  • Stockholm
more ...


Sources

Literature
  • Nicklasson, Stina, Högerns kvinnor: problem och resurs för Allmänna valmansförbundet perioden 1900-1936/37 = Women of the Right : problem and resource for Allmänna valmansförbundet 1900-1936/37, Univ., Diss. Uppsala : Univ.,Uppsala, 1992

  • Petersson, Ann-Marie, 'Åtta moderata pionjärer', Moderata pionjärer, S. 45-72

  • Svensson, Sonja, Läsning för folkets barn: Folkskolans barntidning och dess förlag 1892-1914 : med en inledning om fattiga barns läsning på 1800-talet = Reading matter for working class children : "The elementary school child's magazine" and its publishing house 1892-1914 : with an introduction on poor children's reading in the nineteenth century, Rabén & Sjögren, Diss. Uppsala : Univ.,Stockholm, 1983



Further References