Kristian IV's Gate, Olso

Kristian IVs gate (1-15, 4-12) is a street in Oslo city centre. It was named after King Christian IV ( 1577 - 1648 ) in 1852.

Lowry refers to the street in his novel Ultramarine when Dana is telling Popplereuter about his life; "I was born in Christiania, in the Christian den 4 des gade (sic gate), dangerous names for me. Pg. 93).

Image courtesy of Oslobilder

Eugene O'Neill Beyond The Horizon

Eugene O’Neill’s seminal, Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Beyond the Horizon, was written in 1918 but not produced or published until 1920, when it made its debut in New York. Beyond the Horizon was O’Neill’s first successful full-length play, and it signaled a change in American drama. Critics and audiences responded favorably to O’Neill’s dark, tragic vision, which contrasted sharply with the unrealistic, melodramatic plays of the day. The play drew heavily on O’Neill’s own experiences, including his tuberculosis and his sea voyages. During one of these sea trips, he met a Norwegian sailor who criticized his choice of going to sea as opposed to staying on his family’s farm. Taking this idea as a starting point, O’Neill crafted a tale of missed opportunities and failed dreams, involving two brothers. Robert, a poetic but sickly dreamer, wants to go to sea to strengthen his health and see the world. His brother, Andrew, is a born farmer who wants nothing more than to work on his family’s farm. Because they love the same woman, both brothers choose to go against their natures. Robert stays on the farm, and Andrew goes to sea. Enotes

In an article published in the New York Times April 11th 1920, O'Neill talks about the sources for his play Beyond The Horizon . 

O'Neill had got the idea for it from a Norwegian shipmate on the voyage from Buenos Aires to New York:

The sailor habitually cursed the day when he left his farm and went to sea twenty years before. This was a familiar lament among seamen, and O'Neill realized that this man was too much "a creature of the God of Things as They Are" to have stayed at home. But the playwright began to speculate about "a more intellectual, civilized type" in a comparable situation. In such a man, the "inborn craving for the sea's unrest" would be "intellectually diluted into a vague, intangible wanderlust. His powers of resistance, both moral and physical, would also be correspondingly watered." Electronic Eugene O'Neill Archive

Lowry alludes to the New York Times article in Chapter 3 of his first novel Ultramarine when Dana say to Popplereuter ; "Consequently I have in me an inborn craving for the unrest of the sea....Oh, but this craving was not, is not conscious enough, as Petit the poet said, intellectually diluted into a vague, intangible wanderlust" Pg. 96.

Trondheim

Trondheim, historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The settlement was founded in 997 as a trading post, and was the capital of Norway during the Viking Age until 1217. Trondheim is situated where the river Nidelva meets Trondheimsfjorden with an excellent harbour and sheltered condition. The river used to be deep enough for most boats in the Middle Ages. An avalanche of mud and stones made it less navigable and partly ruined the harbour in the mid-17th century.Read more on Wikipedia

Lowry refers to the port in his poem 'For Nordahl Grieg Ship's Fireman'; "Spring plants staring at the sun in Trondhjem." (Collected Poetry Pg. 42).  Lowry refers to a ship from the port in his novel Ultramarine; "Let me tell you this when I was in Belawandelli, it was on a Norwegian bastard out of Trondheim, the Hilda—" (Pg. 128). There is no record of Lowry visiting the port on his 1931 trip to Norway

Drammensveien, Oslo

  

Drammensveien is a street in Oslo, Norway, and a highway between the cities Oslo and Drammen. The highway is the heaviest trafficked road in Norway. The original road Drammensveien was built for transport from Oslo to the foundry Bærums Verk and the silver mines at Kongsberg. 

Lowry wrote to Nordahl Grieg from the Hotel Parkheimen (Drammensveien 2). In Ultramarine, Dana recalls standing in Drammersveien with Janet Travena; "Under the Aftenpostens Lysavis, standing in the Drammersveien with you." (Pg. 52).

Sandvika, Norway

Sandvika is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bærum in Norway. It was declared a city by the municipal council in Bærum on 4 June 2003. Sandvika is approximately 8 miles from Oslo.

Lowry refers to Sandvika twice in his first novel Ultramarine; firstly referring to where Dana Hilliot and Janet Travena fall in love; "And in Norway itself, where they had first fallen in love, over beyond Sandvika, the goat bells going tinkle, tonkle tankle tunk-" (Pg. 28) and "-other trams in other places: strolling with Janet over beyond Sandvika.The cowbells had tinkled faintly up the forest road. The woman picking berries - red currants. Crickets chirped. Dandelions - wild sweet peas - cornflowers - oats." (Pg. 84).

There is no documentary evidence that Lowry visited Sandvika. He may have known of Monet's paintings. Claude Monet visited in early 1895. During his stay he painted several views of the town and the surrounding landscape, with the mountain ridge Kolsås featuring in many of the paintings either in the background or as the primary subject. Perhaps the most well known of the paintings from this visit is 'Sandviken Village in Snow' which features the Løkke bridge in the foreground with Kolsås in the background.

Aftensposten Lysavis

Lowry arrived at the Oslo Østbanestasjon - Oslo's main station in 1931. Located on Jernbanetorget. He had travelled overnight from Aandalsnes en route to try and meet Nordahl Grieg in the city. Lowry refers to the Aftensposten Lysavis in his first novel Ultramarine when he thinks of meeting Janet Travena; "Under the Aftenpostens Lysavis, standing in the Drammersveien with you." (Pg. 52). It must be noted that if we take Lowry literally he is saying that the Lysavis was located on the Drammersveien which would have been incorrect as the street is some distance from the station.

Aftensposten Lysavis was an electronic news-ticker which was originally operated by the Aftenposten newspaper during the October 1930 Norwegian Stortingsvalget to inform people of the results of the election. The Lysavis was located at the Oslo Østbanestasjon - Oslo's main station in 1930. No details are currently available as to whether Lysavis was used after that date for example in the 1931 Norwegian local elections which Lowry may have seen during his stay in Oslo or the Lysavis was being used for another purpose. Lowry makes an intriguing reference to the Lysavis being used for more than election results; "Standing there the news of the whole world flowed above us, an opium dream of electric light." (Pg. 52)

Lowry later recalled the news-ticker in the film script for Fitzgerald's Tender Is The Night;

The feeling of unchangingness, or recurrence, in history of the illuminated news travelling way up round the Times Building on Times Square. This news goes on recurringly, in a manner that will be indicated , whenever the time of day or geography permits for the greater part of this short New York sequence. Whether the actual existence of the Times Building News itself at this precise time is historically accurate is thoroughly immaterial- that is, there was such an illuminated news in Oslo for the Aftenbladt and in other European capitals at this time, or within a year or so, perhaps the Times Building did not have one till a little later - more likely it was the other way around: what is of the utmost importance however - merely for the purpose of relating the film imaginatively to history - but as will later be explained, for psychological reasons too- is that it should, in one way or another, be there. (The Cinema of Malcolm Lowry: a scholarly edition of Lowry's "Tender is the Night" Edited by Miguel Mota and Paul Tiessen Pg. 148)

Lowry refers to the Oslo Aftenbladt which ceased printing in 1881. Lowry may have been confused with the Stravanger newspaper with the same name. Lowry creates a range of headlines seen by Dick in the film script (Pgs.148-149) - most seem to be based on real incidents/events except for the death of the character Abe North. There is no clear evidence how Lowry gleaned the headlines. Lowry's explanation in his Tender is the Night film script is an insight into how he used signs in his work.

On November 6th 1928, the New York Times encircled its the Times Building around the fourth floor of the building with its famous "zipper" headliner. This was one of the earliest outdoor incandescent message reader boards that provided the passing public with electronic messages about the breaking news as it happened. The Motograph News Bulletin, or "zipper" as it was known informally, was a technological marvel of its day. It extended 380 feet around the Times Tower and, with a band 5-feet tall, the moving letters were visible from a distance of several city blocks. It was first used to announce the results of the US presidential election of 1928. The sign was originally made of 14,800 lamps.In an interesting note, Times Square is now flooded with various evolved reader boards (Reuters, ABC, Morgan Stanley, etc) all based on the original 1928 Times Tower electric message board. 

A Times column from 2005 described how inventor Frank C. Reilly's remarkable sign worked:

Inside the control room, three cables poured energy into transformers. The hookup to all the bulbs totaled 88,000 soldered connections. Messages from a ticker came to a desk beside a cabinet like the case that contained type used by old-time compositors. The cabinet contained thin slabs called letter elements. An operator composed the message letter-by-letter in a frame.

The frame, when filled with the letters and spaces that spelled out a news item, was inserted in a magazine at one end of a track. A chain conveyor moved the track, and each letter in the frame brushed a number of contacts. Each contact set a light flashing on Broadway.

Reilly, the Times said, calculated that there were 261,925,664 flashes an hour from the zipper's 14,800 bulbs.

It was the first use anywhere of the zipper, which was itself big news on a big news day. A headline in the Nov. 6 edition of the Times declared: Huge Times Sign Will Flash News. It also happened to be election day, and the zipper's first streaming headline announced a new president:

HERBERT HOOVER DEFEATS AL SMITH

Read more

This sign, as Lowry suggests, must have been the inspiration for the Aftensposten Lysavis.

Aftenposten

Aftenposten (Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. Read more on Wikipedia

The Aftensposten operated a "Lysavis" - an electronic news-ticker during the October 1930 Norwegian Stortingsvalget to inform people of the results of the election. The Lysavis was located at the Oslo Østbanestasjon - Oslo's main station in 1930.  Lowry refers to the Aftensposten Lysavis in his first novel Ultramarine when he thinks of meeting Janet Travena; "Under the Aftenpostens Lysavis, standing in the Drammersveien with you." (Pg. 52).

Viking Kalosjer

"Viking Kalosjer" (galoshes) are made by a Norwegian-owned shoe factory. The company was established in 1920 in Askim by Peter Mathias Rowden. Viking Footwear mainly produces shoes and boots in the water-repellent material such as rubber and Gore-Tex.

Lowry refers to a sign for the shoes in his first novel Ultramarine during a sequence with references to his 1931 trip to Norway; Viking Kalosjer verdens beste - Viking Kalosjer verdens beste." (Pg.52).

Tromsø, Norway

Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. By the end of the 19th century, Tromsø had become a major Arctic trade center from which many Arctic expeditions originated. Explorers like Roald Amundsen, Umberto Nobile and Fridtjof Nansen made use of the know-how in Tromsø on the conditions in the Arctic, and often recruited their crew in the city. The Northern lights observatory was founded in 1927. Read more on Wikipedia

There is no record of Lowry visiting Tromsø on his 1931 trip to Norway. Lowry refers to the city in his first novel Ultramarine;; the ship Oxenstjerna seen by Dana Hilliot and Janet Travena in Birkenhead Docks in Ultramarine is leaving for Tromsø; "seeing her again sailing out mildly for Tromsø on the last stage of her journey.."; the Oxenstjerna is registered in Tromsø; "Tromsø  we read on her receding stern." (Pg.63) and the city is mentioned again in Hilliot's drunken thoughts in Dairen in Chapter 3; "A week and we’ll be docked in Tromsø". (Pg.66 )

Bergen

Bergen is a city and municipality in Hordaland on the west coast of Norway.The city centre of Bergen is located west in the municipality, facing the fjord of Byfjorden. It is situated among a group of mountains known as the Seven Mountains.

Lowry refers to the city in his first novel Ultramarine; "Matt told them that he had struck the new skipper, a Stavanger man, for calling him a Bergener." (Ultramarine Pg 17). There is no record of Lowry visiting the city - however he does refer to the city in two letters - one to Nordahl Grieg written on 8/9/1931; "That you will find time for us to talk again before you return to the mountains or to Bergen, or to both." (Collected Letters Vol 1 Pg. 102); he also wrote to Jan Gabrial "You should of course try & see Bergen" (Collected Letters Vol 1 Pg. 130). 

Stavanger, Norway

The city is the third largest urban zone in Norway and the administrative centre of Rogaland county. Located on the Stavanger peninsula in Southwest Norway.

Lowry refers to the city in his first novel Ultramarine; "Matt told them that he had struck the new skipper, a Stavanger man, for calling him a Bergener." (Ultramarine Pg 17) and in later works; "STAVANGER NORWAY— THE ROTOR SHIP IS REPORTED AGROUND HERE" (The Cinema of Malcolm Lowry: a scholarly edition of Lowry's "Tender is the Night" Edited by Miguel Mota and Paul Tiessen Pg. 156).; Dalfoun - Stavanger (Norsk) 'Through The Panama' (Pg. 68).


There is no record of Lowry visiting the city.

Norway's Occupation of Greenland 1931-33

Norwegian flag raised at Myggbukta and on 10 July 1931

Lowry refers to Norway's Occupation of Greenland between 1931-33 in his first novel Ultramarine  "When Christiania became Oslo I sold, in my desperation, the Dagbladet, and lectured on the Greenland occupation." (Ultramarine Pg. 93). We can assume that Lowry was aware of the occupation as he was in Oslo in the summer of 1931.



In June 1931 Hallvard Devold, Chairman of the Norwegian Arctic Trading Company, raised the Norwegian flag at Myggbukta and on 10 July 1931 a Norwegian royal proclamation was issued, claiming Eastern Greenland as Norwegian territory. Norway claimed that the area was terra nullius: it had no permanent inhabitants and was for the most part used by Norwegian whalers and trappers. The area was defined as "situated between Carlsberg Fjord in the South and Bessel Fjord in the North", extending from latitude 71°30' to latitutde 75°40'N. Although it was not explicitly stated in the proclamation itself, it was assumed that the area was limited to the eastern coast, so that the Inland Ice constituted its western limit. (The Inland Ice covers five sixths of Greenland's total area, so that only a narrow strip of varying width along the coast is free of permanent ice.)


Norway and Denmark agreed to settle their dispute over Eastern Greenland at the Permanent Court of International Justice in 1933. Norway lost and after the ruling it abandoned its claim. Read more on Wikipedia

Dagbladet

Dagbladet (lit.: The Daily Magazine) is Norway's second largest tabloid newspaper, and the third largest newspaper overall. The newspaper was founded in 1869 by Anthon Bang. Hagbard Emanuel Berner served as its first editor in chief and the first issue was published on January 2, 1869. From 1884 to 1977 the newspaper was affiliated to the Liberal party (Venstre). Read more on Wikipedia

Lowry refers to the newspaper in his first novel Ultramarine; "When Christiania became Oslo I sold, in my desperation, the Dagbladet, and lectured on the Greenland occupation." (Ultramarine Pg. 93)

Christiania, Norway

Christiania was the name given to Oslo after the city was destroyed by a fire in 1624. The city was rebuilt nearer to Akershus Castle during the reign of King Christian IV and renamed Christiania in his honour. It was established as a municipality (formannskapsdistrikt) on 1 January 1838. Following a spelling reform, it was known as Kristiania from 1877 to 1925, when its original Norwegian name Oslo was restored.

Lowry refers to Oslo as Christiania in his first novel Ultramarine as the main protagonist in the novel Dana Hilliot was born in Oslo prior to the name change; Andy the cook of Oedipus Tyrannus "had lost his ticket as a second mate on a tramp steamer out of Christiania." (Ultramarine Pg. 17); "I was born in Oslo when it was Christiania, so I can always say if anyone asks me, that I am a Christiania boy." (Ultramarine Pg.84); "I was born in Christiania, in the Christian den 4 des gade (sic gate), dangerous names for me. (Ultramarine Pg.93); "When Christiania became Oslo I sold, in my desperation, the Dagbladet, and lectured on the Greenland occupation." (Ultramarine Pg. 93)

Tvedestrand, Norway

Tvedestrand is a town and municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet.The town itself lies at the end of a picturesque fjord, Oksefjorden (originally Ufsefjorden, meaning the fjord with steep, rocky sides).The town as it now exists was built in the 19th century as a harbour for Norway's longest existing iron works, Næs jernverk. Lying in the parish of Holt, Næs jernverk has one of the largest and most significant of the surviving mansions in Sørlandet, built by Ulrich Schnell. Schnell bought up various iron works in the neighborhood and set up several sawmills in the district. He obtained a special license to export timber directly from Tvedestrand, establishing the basis for an international harbour.

Lowry refers to the port in his poem 'For Nordahl Grieg Ship's Fireman'; "Bare arms among the storm-tossed washing in Tvedestrand". Lowry refers 3 times to the port in his first novel Ultramarine; it is the birthplace of 2 of the crew of Oedipus Tyrannus- Andersen Marthon Bredahl and Norman Leif (Pg. 15), where the ship Oedipus Tyrannus was first registered (Pg. 51) and the home of Dana Hilliot - "The seasons changed quickly: spring plants were staring at the sun in Tvedestrand; there were bare arms among the storm-tossed washing; the soundless black depths of a fjord closed over my head. Home. (Pg. 98). There is no record of Lowry visiting the port on his 1931 trip to Norway.

D/S Henrik Ibsen

Gordon Bowker in Pursued By Furies relates that Lowry was told by Nordahl Grieg that the ship portrayed in his novel Skibet gaar videre (The Ship Sails On) 1924 was actually the Henrik Ibsen based on a voyage made by Grieg on the ship. (Pg. 126). Bowker further states that Lowry claimed that he originally intended to call the ship depicted  in his novel Ultramarine - Henrik Ibsen.

The Henrik Ibsen was built by Sir Raylton Dixon & Co. Ltd., Middlesbrough in 1906. Tonnage: 4671 gt. Delivered in Dec.-1906 to Vilhelm Torkildsen e.a., Bergen. From 1914, owners were A/S D/S Henrik Ibsen (Vilhelm Torkildsen), Bergen. From Dec.-1938, Skibs A/S Solvang (A. Gowart Olsen), Stavanger. Owner: Skibs-A/S Solvang, Scrapped in 1952 in U.K

Universitetsbiblioteket, Oslo

The University Library in Oslo was established in 1811 acting as the Norwegian National Library until 1999. Lowry refers to the library in his novel Ultramarine in which the protagonist Dana Hilliot compares the library to the Widener Library in Harvard; " strolling with my father through the Harvard Yard, passing the Widener Library, so absurdly like our Bibliotheket, and Amy Lowell's house." (Pg. 51). The library which Lowry refers to is the one purpose built at Henrik Ibsen's gate, which was designed by architect Holger Sinding-Larsen. The University Library moved into the 2nd January 1914, but the building was not completed until 1922.

Lowry must have been familiar with the library from his visit to Oslo on his 1931 trip to Norway.

D/S Nina

Painted by, Jan Goedhart, Holland

Gordon Bowker in Pursued By Furies relates how Lowry, upon arriving in Alesund aboard the S.S. Fagervik on his trip to Norway on 1931, tries to get a job on a ship to continue to Oslo to meet Nordahl Grieg. (Pg.125)

Captain Skaugen of the S.S. Fagervik introduced Lowry to a captain of a collier from Danzig (Gdańsk) to try and get him a job. The ship's name was the Nina which appealed to Lowry as by coincidence he had been shown a poem by a teacher from Alesund about Nordahl Grieg written by a "Nina". However, Lowry failed to get a job due to the captain wanting only to hire Norwegians.

The Nina was probably a ship owned by J.Kielland Peterssen as that is the only ship ever registered in Norway with that name.

Built in May 1917 by Olsen Brothers, CA and named Holm. Length: 240.2 Width: 36.2 Draft: 16.8. Gross tonnage:1371 Net tonnage:803 Dead weight: 2255. 1919: D / SA / S Holmen (Olsen Brothers) Stavanger do;12/1921: A / S Eidsvold (ATSimonsen) Kristiania / Oslo Eidsvold, 1/1929: Rederi A / S Nina (J.Kielland Peterssen) Oslo Nina;  8/1933: Rederi A / S Nina (Jan Dedichen) Oslo do;  1/1935: Rederi A / S Nina (Erling Mortensen) Oslo do; 10/1944.

There is conflicting information about the ship's fate in WW11 - possibly struck a mine and sank on Oct. 27-1944 at Schulz's Grund, in the Kattegatt; or sank in the RAF minefield "Silver XIII", 56 12N 11 20E on the above date. Some confusion here; on another page he says that the steamer Nina (this time he gives her 1371 gt) was sunk on Dec. 27-1944 in 56 10N 11 17E. War Sailors

There is another possible non-Norwegian ship called the Nina which might have been the ship Lowry tried to ship out of Alesund on which looks more like a collier. The ship below is flying the Finnish flag and registered to the port of Loviisa in South Finland.

The Nina was built 1899 by A.G. 'Neptun', Rostock as Martha Russ Ernst Russ, Hamburg. 2007 grt. Surrendered to the Shipping Controller 1920.Bought by Calvert in 1921 and renamed Fredrick Larssen. Sold in 1927 as Nina to R. Nordstrom of Loviisa, Finland.Broken up in July 1963 at Helsinki. The photograph below shows the ship being loaded with coal at Goole. (Information and photograph courtesy of  Goole Ships)

Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo

The National Gallery of Norway (Norwegian: Nasjonalgalleriet) is a gallery in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003 it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design.

It was established in 1842 following a parliamentary decision from 1836. Originally located in the Royal Palace, Oslo, it got its own museum building in 1882, designed by Heinrich Ernst and Adolf Schirmer.

Lowry probably visited the gallery in 1931 as part of his trip to Norway. The assumption of his visit is based on a drawing made on the back of a letter to Conrad Aiken dated September 1931 of Edvard Munch's Gerschrei (1895), which Lowry entitled "The Shriek". Munch's lithograph was then housed in the Nasjonalgalleriet.

Vår Frelsers gravlund, Oslo

Vår Frelsers gravlund is a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, located north of Hammersborg in Gamle Aker district. It was created in 1808 as a result of the great famine and cholera epidemic of the Napoleonic Wars. Its grounds were extended in 1911. The cemetery has been full since 1952. The cemetery is known primarily for Æreslunden, Norway's main honorary burial ground.

Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson (8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer and the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literaturelaureate. Bjørnson is considered as one of The Four Greats (De Fire Store) Norwegian writers; the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, andAlexander Kielland. Bjørnson is celebrated for his lyrics to the Norwegian National Anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet"

This cemetery maybe the inspiration for the one mentioned in Ultramarine by the protagonist Dana Hilliot when he describes where his family is buried; " Instead, let me show you the grave of my little uncles and aunts, all buried so neatly in a row, all my father's little brothers and sisters, all my mother's little brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. The gods hugged my forebears to death. Come take my hand; let us read: so Harald Wiers Hilliot, fodt 29 desember 1866, dod 2 mars 1867. Brigit Eva Hilliot, fodt 16 november 1867, dod 13 desember 1867. Edvard Nikolai Hilliot, fodt 8 april 1869, dod 6 mai 1870. Mary Sarah Hilliot, fodt 22 june 1874, dod 23 june 1874; without a country." (Ultramarine Pg. 68). "Without a country" is a reference to the death of Herman Bang on a train in Utah in self imposed exile from Denmark plus the phrase also refers to Bang's novel Denied A Country. Lowry later in Ultramarine refers again  to a cemetery in Oslo;  "I grant you, there is the business of my aunts, all knocked for a row of milk bottles in the cemetery in Oslo." (Pg. 96).

Another possible candidate for the cemetery is at  Old Aker Church (Norwegian: Gamle Aker kirke) - a medieval church located in Oslo. One of Lowry's favourite painters Edvard Munch depicted the church in at least 2 paintings which Lowry may have seen on his visit to Oslo in 1931.