| Summary: | This thesis focuses on a group of towels from the textile design program Linnelinjen (''the Linen-line'') from 1955. Linnelinjen was a collaboration between the department store Nordiska Kompaniet and the textile manufacturer Almedahl-Dalsjöfors. The first collection, renowned as a modern version of the traditional stock of linen, was created by textile designers Astrid Sampe and Marianne Nilson. The thesis is divided into three main parts. Firstly, through archive studies, the towel collection of Linnelinjen 1955 is mapped and described. This basic research throws new light on Linnelinjen, by emphasizing less known products in the collection. Secondly, the towel design is analysed to reveal in what aspects it can be considered modern. Through this analysis, the modern traits of the towel design are found to be connected to the towels' transformation from anonymous household articles to unique design products. Finally, the symbolic function of the towels in the modern home and household is analysed. The line of argument in this last part is based on the concept of myth, as used in the design theory of Adrian Forty. It illustrates how the modern Linnelinjen towels, thanks to their specific field of application, may reconcile the vision of the home as a haven of rest with the conflicting reality of household work.
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