Fantomen Cloth Patch

The Fantomen Cloth Patch was produced under license of Bulls Press in Sweden in the 1950s. Limited information is known about the patch.

For a period spanning over 70 years, Bulls Press has maintained exclusive licensing rights in Sweden for the manufacturing of Phantom merchandise and collectibles.

Bulls Press – originally founded by Cornelius Bull, along with his nephew Einar Wyller and Bjarne Steinsvik in 1929 in Norway, subsequently relocated to Stockholm, Sweden, a year later. In 1931, the company underwent a name change to become Bulls Presstjänst AB. Beginning as a small-scale operation, Bulls gradually evolved into a highly successful publisher of comic books and associated merchandise.

Semic – Sweden’s prominent publishing house, holds the distinction of printing the Fantomen Comic Book series, boasting the longest-running European Phantom comic book series worldwide. Since its inception in 1950 and up to recent years, Semic has not only produced hundreds of comic books but has also offered a plethora of Phantom collectibles through its fan club and comic book publications.

The Fantomen Cloth Patch is made of fabric and is square in shape. Printed directly on the fabric is an image of the Phantom in a standing pose with arms crossed, with the reverse side containing no print. The Phantoms Swedish title is also printed on the patch, ‘Fantomen’.

Along the right edge of the Fantomen Coth Patch, the inscription ‘TILLV.MED TILLST AV BULL’S PRESSTJ.AB STHLM’ is displayed in black print, which translates to ‘SUPPLIED WITH PERMISSION OF BULL’S PRESSTJANST AB STOCKHOLM’. It’s highly probable that the patch was distributed through purchase advertisements and/or served as a prize for contests featured in Fantomen comic publications.

The patch is purposefully designed for decorative applications on clothing, with the patch stitched directly onto clothing at the owner’s discretion.

The image seen on the Fantomen Cloth Patch is extremely similar to that seen on Fantomen comic book edition number 1, published by Serieförlaget in Sweden in 1951.