The below 80 ore denomination shows a graceful, older type steamer leaving Stockholm harbour. These white ships which serve the Stockholm archipelago, when passing the Royal Palace as the stamp depicts, form a classic part of the Stockholm seascape. They got their white colour at the end of the 19th century when this type of ship reached its highest stage of development. In Swedish they are called "Waxholmsbåtar," after the small summer town now spelled "Vaxholm," which is a central point in the archipelago.
These ships are the object of great affection and represent monuments of a period covering more than one hundred years in the history of the Stockholm archipelago. During the golden age of steamer traffic a whole fleet of the white ships called regularly at no less than 600 landing stages in the area.
