Abraham Danielsson Hülphers (31 March 1704 – 26 November 1770), also known as Abraham Hülphers the Elder (), was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

early industrialist, and politician. Managing several

iron works An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. Iron Works may also refer to: * Iron Works, a neighborhood in Brookfield, Connecticut * Clay City, Kentucky, known as Iron ...

and

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...

s around

Bergslagen Bergslagen is a historical, cultural, and linguistic region located north of Lake Mälaren in northern Svealand, Sweden, traditionally known as a mining district. In Bergslagen, the mining and metallurgic industries have been important since t ...

, he was an important contributor to the development of the

early industrial The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

craft production Craft production is manufacturing by hand, with or without the aid of tools. The term "craft production" describes manufacturing techniques that are used in handicraft trades. These were the common methods of manufacture in the pre-industrialize ...

in Sweden. While maintaining extensive commercial enterprises around his home town

Västerås Västerås () is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 158,653, over 100,000 mo ...

, he was also active in the

Swedish East India Company The Swedish East India Company (; SOIC) was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with India, China and the Far East. The venture was inspired by the success of the Dutch East India Company and the British Ea ...

, bringing new products to the Swedish market, including tobacco, textiles and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

. He attended the

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

of Sweden five times during 1740–1765, representing the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representativ ...

for the

Caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

party during the

Age of Liberty In Swedish history, the Age of Liberty () was a period that saw parliamentary governance, increasing civil rights, and the decline of the Swedish Empire that began with the adoption of the Instrument of Government in 1719 and ended with Gustav ...

Biography

Abraham Danielsson Hülphers was born in 1704 in

Hedemora Hedemora is a Urban areas in Sweden, town in Dalarna County and the seat of Hedemora Municipality, Sweden, with 7,273 inhabitants in 2010. Despite its small population, Hedemora is for historical reasons normally still referred to as a Stad (Swede ...

Dalarna Dalarna (; ), also referred to by the English exonyms Dalecarlia and the Dales, is a (historical province) in central Sweden. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Nor ...

, as a son of the milliner Daniel Johansson Hülphers, and Catharina (née Torpensis). On his paternal side, his great-grandfather was the

ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a larg ...

Hans Hilper, who immigrated to

Nyköping Nyköping () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden, with 32,759 inhabitants as of 2017. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County. Including Arnö, the locality on the ...

circa 1625 from

Schmalkalden Schmalkalden () is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwest of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the Werra. , the town had a popul ...

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. On his maternal side, his great-grandfathers included Petrus Petri Torpensis, and

Anders Angerstein Anders Angerstein (1614–1659), also called ''Andrae Angerstein'', was a German-Swedish ironmaster. Biography Anders Angerstein family, Angerstein is said to have been born in :de:Angerstein (Nörten-Hardenberg), Niedersachsen, Holy Roman Empi ...

. In addition, he was descendant five times removed of

Olaus Canuti Helsingius Olaus Canuti Helsingius (1520-1607) was a Swedish prelate, and member of the clergy of the Riksdag of the Estates (1571, 1590, and 1594). He was a preacher at the Royal Court of Sweden, and tutor to the prince, the future King Eric XIV of Sweden. H ...

, and Stephanus Olai Bellinus. He was also a cousin of Nils Hülphers. He married Christina (née Westdahl), daughter of the businessman and politician Lars Olofsson Westdahl in Västerås. Together they had 13 children, among them the

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

Abraham Hülphers the Younger. After an initial sejour in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, he settled permanently in Västerås where he was granted commercial privileges, followed by incremental investments alongside political duties. Besides his commercial interests, he also undertook municipal duties as judge at the

city court A city court or municipal court is a court of law with jurisdiction limited to a city or other municipality. It typically addresses "violations of city ordinances and may also have jurisdiction over minor criminal cases...and over certain civil cas ...

, and attended the

of Sweden five times during 1740–1765, representing the

for the

party during the

, which expanded Sweden's economic freedom as well as introduced the world's oldest constitutional implementation of

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...

. With reputed interest in and

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

for the arts and

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

, extending beyond that of his family circles, he issued some 25 000 copper

Swedish riksdaler The Svenska riksdaler () was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar,''National Geographic''. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''. was named after the German Thal ...

with annual rent designated for widows of

. Abraham Danielsson Hülphers died in 1770. He was buried in

Västerås Cathedral Västerås Cathedral (Swedish: ''Västerås domkyrka'') is the seat of the Diocese of Västerås in the Province of Västmanland, Sweden. The church building is a five-aisled hall church, with copper-covered roof and a single west tower with si ...

in the tomb of bishop Olaus Stephani Bellinus, situated between the royal benches, which he as descendant was granted access to upon request in 1751. An

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

by the royal sculptor at

Stockholm Palace Stockholm Palace, or the Royal Palace, ( or ) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch (King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia use Drottningholm Palace as their usual residence). Stockholm Palace is in Stadsholm ...

Johan Ljung Johan Ljung (1717–1787) was a Swedish ornamental sculptor attached to the Stockholm Palace. Johan Ljung was employed at the Stockholm Palace, as was his son, (1743–1819). Johan Ljung is represented in the collection of the National Museum ...

(1717–1787) was erected in tribute by his issue in 1772, "crowned with the arms of Hülphers surrounded by a

caduceus The caduceus (☤; ; , ) is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology and consequently by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was borne by other heralds like Iris (mythology), Iris, the messenger of Hera. The s ...

and

fasces A fasces ( ; ; a , from the Latin word , meaning 'bundle'; ) is a bound bundle of wooden rods, often but not always including an axe (occasionally two axes) with its blade emerging. The fasces is an Italian symbol that had its origin in the Etrus ...

, symbols for commercial and political duties, as well as two

cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (; ), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts. In Greek, it was called the " horn of ...

s, mellifluous with coins and wine grapes."

References

Bibliography

* ''Abraham Danielsson Hülphers'' (p. 42–43) in ''Tema 1700-talet'' by Sven Olsson (1914–2006); :sv:Västmanlands läns museum * ''Graf-skrifter wid herr rådman Abraham Hülphers jorde-färd i Wästerås dom-kyrka den 13 decemb. 1770. Wästerås'' (1770; Print: Johan Laur. Horrn) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hulphers, Abraham the Elder 1704 births 1770 deaths People from Hedemora Swedish industrialists Swedish East India Company people 18th-century Swedish businesspeople Members of the Riksdag of the Estates Municipal commissioners of Sweden Swedish philanthropists 18th-century Swedish politicians Swedish ironmasters 18th-century philanthropists