Maria Jonn

Maria Jonn (3 May 1855 – 16 October 1910) was a Swedish photographer and businesswoman.

Early life and education Maria Jonn was born on 3 May 1855, the fourth of seven children born to Hanna (née Pålsdotter) and Jöns Johnsson, tenant farmers in Stora Råby, near Lund. Her siblings were Anna, Jonas, Hanna, Pål, Carolina, and Erika. Maria was nicknamed Maja by the family.

In 1875, after their father's death from blood poisoning, the family moved into the town of Lund. Their eldest brother, Jonas, became the guardian of his younger siblings. Unmarried women were legally under the guardianship of a male relative until marriage at this time in Sweden.

In 1878, Maria Jonn undertook a teacher training course in Ystad. She then went to work as a teacher at a junior school. Lina Jonn was the face of the business and became famous throughout Sweden as a photographer, particularly after a photo of Oscar II of Sweden taken in May 1893 was widely circulated. Maria Jonn also worked as a photographer in the business but appears to have preferred to remain in the background. Lina emigrated to Norway, and Maria Jonn took over the running of the business, building on its success. She kept the name "Lina Jonn" as it was an established brand with a reputation for quality. The business became increasingly successful under Maria's leadership, winning competitions and being covered in the Swedish media. and had a modern commercial photography studio built. Completed in 1908, the photographic studio was on the top floor to make good use of daylight from a large roof window during the day. At night, electrical lighting was used, still a rarity at the time—the ground-floor shop sold photographic equipment. The building had Jonn emblazoned on the frontage and a carved stone camera at the apex of the façade. Photographer Ida Ekelund ran the studio and took over the business, running it under the name of Atelier Jonn – Ida Ekelund following Jonn's death.

By 1901, Jonn had bought a building in Stora Tomégatan in Lund. The extended Jonn family moved in there together. By 1903, Jonn was one of the most highly taxed residents in Lund.

Maria Jonn died on 16 October 1910 from cancer of the spine and was buried in St Peter's Kloster cemetery.

Her obituary in Svenska Dagbladet paid tribute to "an unusually hardworking woman, who was highly interested in her art, and very sympathetic in her demeanour, whose life's work is a telling example of how a diligent and practically minded woman can in our time find ample pastures to suit her inclination and aptitude".