The obsession with finding Dan A. Mangs started four weeks ago at a loppis. I spotted a pile of photographic prints sprawled across a table and couldn’t resist a quick peek. They were gold! Black and white street photography, Swedish life, hospitals, elderly care homes and portraits.
I could have spent ages looking through them but I didn’t fancy hanging around too long because people were not keeping their distance. We only had enough cash for five prints — although we later realised the seller took Swish. Argh! And we only had cash in the first place because another seller didn’t accept Swish.
I spent all week regretting not buying more and thinking about some of the faces I’d seen when rifling through the pile. We visited the loppis again the follow week hoping the seller would be there again… and we were in luck! It was quieter this time so there was plenty of space to look through them. There were so many I would have liked to buy but I only picked up another ten, focusing mostly on photos I would frame or could use to research Swedish history.
I’ve digitised the prints exactly as I found them. Some are faded and marked, others are still crisp black and white.
Star of the show
Nice to see “developer tartan” has been going strong since the 70’s! The guy on the left is looking very stylish in his Swedish Hasbeens (or something similar).
Employee funds for future jobs!
Full participation and equality for the disabled.
A demonstration at Kungsagatan on the 1st May — perhaps late 80’s or early 90’s. The rose is a symbol of the Social Democrats. They wanted Swedish companies to give ownership opportunities in the form of trusts, funds or shares, to their workers.
Farewell FP C M.
SL-Buss
This photo is from the same demonstration. The placard features FP/Folkpartiet (Liberals), C (Central party) and M (Moderate party). The Social Democrats seem to want these parties out, shown by them kicking the other parties up the bum! SL owned the trains, lines and staff at this point in time but it doesn’t appear to be an SL specific demonstration.
Build away sex – good nursery places for all children.
Good daycare for all children.
More daycare centres in Vasastan.
I’d like to find more information about the photo above. People seem to be asking for gender neutrality in nurseries, possibly in the early 90’s. I love the fact that men and women are marching together, both at the front and throughout the crowd.
This photo made me chuckle. People are stocking up on big packs of toilet roll just like they were a few weeks ago when the pandemic peaked. Same behaviour, different reasons. I suspect this may have been the opening of a new (and very large) supermarket.
We are young
We want to work
UMEA Unemployment CommitteeRight to work after study
A demonstration promoting social studies for adults and their right to work after study and school. The location appears to be Sergels Torg in early 80’s.
Finnish Christmas food. It looks like they ate Jansson’s Temptation (anchovies and potatoes in foil trays), casserole, meatballs and sausages. The pot at the back could be holding red cabbage or boiled potatoes.
So… I found myself with all these photos and no information about the photographer. Several evenings passed and my search for more information remained fruitless. I’m like a sniffer dog with research projects though — I get on the trail and don’t give up until I’ve found something. And eventually I did! Not as much as I wanted to but it’s a start. I’m hoping this post will serve as an online record of the press photographer Dan Anders Mangs for anyone else who comes looking for him.
My original plan was to contact Dan and ask him about his work, which newspaper(s) he worked for and see what he looked like etc. Sadly I discovered he passed away in November 2019 at age 75. I had a feeling this was the case because I couldn’t imagine a photographer giving up a large body of work dating back to the 70’s.
I found the address of an antiques warehouse connected to Dan’s name and discovered the business specialised in books. I originally asked the seller how he came to own the photos and he told me he bought a warehouse, so that connects the two dots. I imagine the warehouse was his focus after retiring from press photography.
Stockholm appears to be where Dan was born, lived, worked and laid to rest. And that’s all the information I have been able to find.
If you have any information about Dan Mangs (or these photos), I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a comment below or use the contact form to reach me.
Thank you to G & A for giving me some information about the demonstrations.
I can’t offer any help but they are all lovely photos. I particularly like the one of the punk rockers. So different from the others and yet, it’s still just faces.
That’s one of my favourites too. I like how cheeky the guy in the middle is and the lady looks so happy with her bag of chips!
Hej jag heter pix o skriver på svenska… 🤩
Känt Dan i decennier han sysslade mest med teklamfoto o var en känd matvarorfotograf OCH barnporträttor!! ..
Blev chockad när han avled men han såg alltid betydligt yngre ut än vad han var i verkligheten dessutom var han rätt så stram som människotyp…
Är väldigt glad o RÖRD över att du uppskattar hans foton som visar VARDAGEN för vanligt folk i slutet på 70 o början på 80 talet… Att dessa finstämda talande vardagsfoton hamnade på loppis tog jag som en personlig förolämpning faktiskt… Tycker de skulle vara värda att ställas ut under ordnade former på ett seriöst ställe… Diskuterar gärna vidare om en eventuell fortsättning om förutsättningar finns..
Mvh piamorex
Hei
Noen ord fra en nordmann som kjente Dan Mangs veldig godt. Han fotograferade inte reklam, matvaror etc.
Han plåtade mest reportage foton, dels på updrag men tog ochså många bilder på eget initiativ som han sålde før det mesta till facktidningar. Dan och jag børjade på Christer Strømholms fotoskola i 1972. Den låg på Klippgatan vid Maria kyrka på Søder. Dan jobbade som freelansare og var med och startade bildbyråen Bildlagret i 1980. Kom i håg att han var med och plåtade Pugh Rågerfeldt(?) i studion flers gonger. Annars så var jag med Dan och fotograferade på ålderdomshem, sportlovet, olika arbetsplatser. Dom bilderna som visades her er från 70-talet och 80-talet. Att ta kort av demonstrasjoner var en veldig 1970-tals grej, og en del elever på Fotoskolan syslede med det. Personer som undervisade på Fotoskolan i min tid der, var Tor-Ivan Odulf, Christer Landegren (kjend for fina jazzbilder), Rune Johnson, Kjell Fredriksson och Christer Strømholm.
Hej Ola, tack så mycket för informationen. Jag kommer att skriva mer på engelska 🙂
It’s nice to hear from someone who studied and worked so closely with Dan. I really like the documentary style of his work; I think he had a natural eye for it.
I will Google the people you mentioned from Christer Strømholms fotoskola, and see if I can find some of their work. I’m familiar with Maria kyrka — I used to live around that area.
Tack igen!
Hej Ola.
Kul att se din kommentar. Jag kommer ihåg dig från min barndom och det på ett bra sätt.
Hoppas allt är bra med dig!
/Christian Mangs.
Tack Christian?
Och god jul.
Ola
Hej pix! Tack för informationen. Jag pratar lite svenska men jag kommer att skriva på engelska 🙂
I love Dan’s photos and felt so sad to see years of work in a box at the loppis. I’m happy I was able to buy a few but still regret leaving the rest behind! It’s nice to see Swedish life from that time.
An exhibition is a lovely idea if it’s possible to find other people with his photos. You’re welcome to contact me directly if you would like to talk about that further.
Hei, jeg kjente også Dan, og vi gikk i samme klasse på Fotoskolan i Stockholm. Vi var ofte en gjeng som reiste til forskjellige steder for å ta bilder.
Husker spesielt en tur til Grisslehamn en kald vinterdag hvor vi var i sammen. Dan skrev også en kort reportasjetekst som var bra!
Dan var en seriøs type som tok ting på alvor.
Etter skole begynte jeg å jobbe i Aftenposten i Oslo, og mistet kontakten med ham. Av en eller annen grunn søkte jeg opp hans navn, og fant denne siden.
Trist å høre at han er borte.
Ole Christian Frenning