Every month the National and University Library of Iceland picks one item from its collections and tells its story: a manuscript, photograph, map, poster or letter that has lain untouched for decades. Some of the items are well known; others have never been shown in public.
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Ein ný sálmabók (A new hymnbook) 1589
During the episcopate of Guðbrandur Þorláksson (c. 1541–1627) at Hólar, book printing and the publication of religious works reached a turning point, above all with the publication of the Bible in 1584 and the Hymnbook in 1589. Changes in the Church after the Reformation required the congregation to sing hymns in its own language instead…
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Stage and costume design by Lothar Grund for the play Spádómurinn (The Prophecy)
Lothar Grund was born in Schwering, Germany, on October 22nd, 1923. In 1950 he moved to Iceland in search of new opportunities. Shortly after he met actress Anna Þorbjörg Halldórsdóttir. They married on July 25th, 1952, and had three sons: Pétur Adolf Garðar, Atla Halldór og Alfreð. The family moved to Germany at the end…
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‘The Angry Girl’
The highlight of the month is a drawing from the Redstocking Movement’s archive, which is preserved at The Women’s History Archives. The movement had a strong visual component and used images purposefully in their fight for equality. They used drawings made by members of the Redstockings as well as found materials such as cut-outs from…
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Fimmtíu fyrstu söngvar (Fifty first songs)
Ingólfur Guðbrandsson became known in Icelandic school life for his work at Laugarnes School from 1943 to 1957. The Minister of Education appointed Ingólfur as music director in 1956. Ingólfur received an official grant to study music in Nordic schools, especially in Sweden. The position of singing teachers was poor in those years. Everything was…
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Róbert Arnfinnsson’s personal archive
On the 16th of August the Icelandic acting legend Róbert Arnfinnsson would have been 100 years old. To mark the occasion two items from this personal archive (LBS 2019/27 and LBS 476 NF) have been selected as this month’s highlight, they are preserved at the Theatre Museum. Firstly, a photo album containing photographs from Róbert’s…
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Tengdamamma (Mother-in-law) by Kristín Sigfúsdóttir
The highlight of the month of July is the play Tengdamamma (Mother-in-law), by Kristín Sigfúsdóttir, which was published as a book in 1923 due to its popularity. It was written in 1920 and staged a year later in many places around Eyjafjörður and in Akureyri, but also in Iðnó (Theatre of the Reykjavík Theatre Company)…
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Deleríum búbónis by Jónas and Jón Múli Árnason
Jónas Árnason, parliamentarian and author, was born in Vopnafjörður on the 28 May 1923, so now we commemorate his centenary. Árnason died on April 5, 1998. He worked in journalism, fishing and teaching in his younger years.Árnason was a parliamentarian for the Socialist Party from 1949 to 1953 and for the People’s Alliance from 1967…
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Gísli J. Ástthórsson’s drawings
The Library’s highlights in May are Gísli J. Ástthórsson’s (1923-2012) drawings that have recently been handed over to the Library. Ástthórsson said in an interview with the annual review Sjómannadagsblaðið in 1988 that he started drawing when he was an editor of the newspaper Alþýðublaðið at the beginning of the Twelve Mile Cod War in…
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The polyphonic choir – a poster for a concert in Kristskirkja, Landakot, Reykjavík, in April 1961
Ingólfur Guðbrandsson founded the Polyphonic Choir in 1957 and at the same time the nation got access to choral music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, music that in many cases had never been heard in Iceland. From the very beginning, the choir’s concerts were well attended and reviews of the choir’s singing were in…
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The Lárus Sigurbjörnsson collection
Highlight of the month is an item from the Lárus Sigurbjörnsson collection, who was an archivist for the city of Reykjavík. On the 22nd of May this year will be 120 years from the birth of this remarkable man, the National and University Library of Iceland holds his performing arts collection. The collection includes various…
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Fool‘s cap and fractured letters, JS 27 fol.
The manuscript JS 27 fol. is a history book, written around 1670. It mainly contains prose romances and mythical-heroic sagas, or “A few informative ancient stories for permissible entertainment” as it says on the title page. The binding of the manuscript is most likely the original leather binding with wooden panels and clasps, and in…
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“Quid sentimus? Quid faciendum?” by Gunnlaugur Briem
The highlight of the month of January is Gunnlaugur Briem’s essay (1773-1834), Quid sentimus? Quid faciendum? (What do we think? What should be done?) Gunnlaugur compiled the essay following the coup of Jörundur Hundadagakonungur (1780–1841) in the summer of 1809. Jörundur arrived in Iceland in June 1809 as an interpreter with the soap merchant Samuel…