Anna Sofie Boesen Dreijer (1899–1986) was a Danish schoolteacher who is remembered for her interest in

Danish folklore Danish folklore consists of folk tales, legends, songs, music, dancing, popular beliefs, myths and traditions communicated by the inhabitants of towns and villages across the country, often passed on from generation to generation by word of mout ...

and traditional

dance costume A dance costume is the clothing worn by a dancer when performing before an audience. A dance costume may be custom designed for use in a specific dance work, or it may have a traditional design, such as those used in some ceremonial and folk dan ...

s. Together with

Ellen Andersen Ellen Dorothea Johanna Andersen (1898–1989) was a Danish museum curator who specialized in folk costumes and the history of textiles. In 1929, she joined the Danish Folk Museum where she was the curator from 1936 to 1966. She is remembered for h ...

of the Danish Folk Museum, over a period of 30 years she produced "costume envelopes" or ''dragtkuverter'' for some 100 costumes, each envelope containing patterns for one or more costumes from a given area.

Biography

Born on 30 January 1899 in

Kolding Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companies, ...

, Anna Sofie Boesen Dreijer was the daughter of the postmaster Mads Christian Dreijer (1861–1924) and the schoolteacher Anna Johanne Marie née Boesen (1867–1959). On qualifying as a schoolteacher at

N. Zahle's School N. Zahle's School (Danish: N. Zahles Skole) is a private school located on Nørre Voldgade in Copenhagen, Denmark. Named after its founder, Natalie Zahle (1827–1913), it now consists of two independently run primary schools and a Gymnasium. Hi ...

in 1922, she spent three years as a teacher in

Nykøbing Falster Nykøbing Falster (; originally named Nykøbing) is a southern Danish city, seat of the Guldborgsund ''kommune''. It belongs to Region Sjælland. The city lies on Falster, connected by the Frederick IX Bridge over the Guldborgsund (''Guldb ...

and then moved to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

where she taught until 1966. One of her subjects was handicrafts. In 1922, she became a member of Foreningen til Folkedansens Fremme (Association for the Promotion of Folk Dance) which since its establishment in 1901 had collected information on Danish folk music and folk dances. The association created dolls in regional costumes which they lent out to members who wished to create traditional clothing. Realizing there was a need for more practical guidelines, in 1940 Boesen Dreijer contacted the museum inspector Ellen Andersen of the Danish Folk Museum with a view to accessing their collection of traditional costumes. Over the next 30 years, she produced about a hundred "costume envelopes". Each envelope provided a description of one or more costumes from a given region, complete with weaving instructions, colour samples and knitting and embroidery patterns. The envelopes could be obtained on loan from the association. Boesen Dreijer continued to coordinate costume descriptions until 1972, after which a "costume committee" was created to continue her work. Anna Sophie Boesen Dreijer died on 27 July 1986 in

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in 16 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boesen Dreijer, Anna Sophie 1899 births 1986 deaths People from Kolding Danish schoolteachers 20th-century Danish women educators Danish textile artists