Famous Swedish woodcarver Axel Robert Peterson was born in 1868 in Döderhult in southern Sweden – hence his nickname. He earned his fame in 1909 when some of his wood carvings were on display at a caricature exhibition in Stockholm. They were very well received by the public and the critics, and his figures were displayed in international exhibits in Europe and the United States.
Fond of flying
He was very fond of flying, an interest he acquired suddenly one day laying on his back in the sunshine on a summer day at the Swedish east coast, when an aeroplane flew right over him.
“What a strange experience! Suddenly I saw things very clearly, and I understood how ridiculous it was to work! The only thing that could give life a meaning was to go aloft and whistle along in the sky!”
Having decided on this, he approached the flying school “Flygkompaniet” at Malmen and managed to arrange for several flights – 13 in all – with the military pilots. He also flew in a zeppelin but this didn’t impress him – “this is transport for cattle, children and ailing women” was his comment.
Wood carvings to Malmen
In 1920 there was an exhibition in Linköping and Döderhultarn was displaying some of his figures. However, this time they were not much appreciated, and, in disgust, he took them to Malmen and gave them to his friends at the flying school.
Five of his “groups” still remain at Malmen, in the custody of Flygvapenmuseum. They depict rural life in Sweden in the early 1900s.