Today, Sverrir Guðmundsson and Þórdís Ingvarsdóttir presented the National Library with three books by Halldór Laxness that the author signed to Nikólín Árnadóttir almost 100 years ago.  

In The Year of Greece , Halldór's fourth childhood memoir, published in 1980, it is stated that Nikólína played a major role in the creation of the books You, the Pure Vine and The Bird on the Shore , which later received the collective name Salka Valka.

The inscriptions confirm this, especially the inscription on Vínvið , where Halldór thanks Nikkelín as she was called for the hymn , where the words Þú vínviður hreni occur, and the trunta from which Halldór creates the character Þórdís Sigurkarlsdóttir, Todda trunta , based on stories that Nikólína told about individuals and events from the Salvation Army in Ísafjörður.

Nikólína first married the poet Jóhann Jónsson, who was a close friend of Halldór Laxness, and Nikólína became a good friend of Halldór in the years after 1920, when Halldór was developing as a writer. The three books that Halldór gave her are signed: Kaþólsk síðingar from 1925, Þú vínviður hreni from 1931 and Fuglinn í fjörunn from 1932. The signatures are very significant because they confirm Nikólína's influence on the creation of the story about Sölka Völka , which was decisive, and also provide insight into Halldór's working methods when writing the story.

After Jóhann divorced Nikólína, she married Sören Sörensen, a doctor, who after Nikólína's death in 1935, preserved her belongings until her death. The books then came into the possession of Sören's heirs, who have now decided to donate them to the National Library.

In the picture are Ingibjörg Steinunn Sverrisdóttir, National Librarian, Steingrímur Jónsson, who initiated the donation, Sverrir Guðmundsson and Þórdís Ingvarsdóttir.