During the past 50 years Skövde has changed a lot, and this becomes very clear when you look at old photographs – sometimes it even feels as if you are in an entirely different city! A town has to change to develop, and sometimes that means that some buildings must be torn down to leave space for new ones. When it comes to Skövde, after working with this series and looking at an infinite number of old pictures, I think that way too many houses were allowed to decay and become a victim for the excavators.
Anna Warner
The shop Clarks at Hertig Johans gata 14 is the oldest store in Skövde, and one of the oldest in Sweden. It has been on the same premises since 1870.
The shop was founded by Anders Johan Svensson in 1843 in another room at Hertig Johans gata. It was called A. J. Svensson & Co. and was a fabric and clothing store.
In the 1930s, Erik Svensson took over the store and then passed it down to his son Lennart and later his grandson Gösta.
Lennart took the family name Clark, and 1967 the store recieved its current name.