roaldamundsen@mia.no
Collections
Roald Amundsen left traces behind in many parts of the world. Some things were left by Amundsen himself, others belonged to people who were close to him. Each collection tells its own story individually, but together they allow a more comprehensive study and understanding of Amundsen’s life. Follo museum, MiA collaborates with several institutions whose collections relate to Roald Amundsen. Below you will find an alphabetical summary.
A
Alaska’s Digital Archives
Presents a wealth of photographs, oral histories, moving images, maps, documents, physical objects, and other materials from libraries, museums and archives throughout Alaska. Many of these relate to Amundsen’s expeditions and time in Alaska.
Alexander Turnbull Library
A division of the National Library of New Zealand. Holds photographs, books, archives and other material related to the exploration of Antarctica in its collection, including photos of Amundsen, Fram and Framheim.
American Museum of Natural History
The museum holds a great deal of material related to polar exploration, including a permanent exhibition dedicated to the expeditions of Lincoln Ellsworth that features objects, photographs and documents from his exploits with Amundsen.
B
Bergen Maritime Museum
Objects related to Amundsen include navigation lights from Gjøa, portraits of Amundsen and Gjøa, Odd Dahl’s and Martin Ronne’s models of Maud and Fram, and Amundsen’s depot map from the South Pole journey.
British Pathé
One of the world’s richest newsreel archives, with footage from around the world from the years 1896-1978. Includes several unique clips of Amundsen and his expeditions.
C
Canterbury Museum
Holds one of the world’s largest collections related to Antarctica, containing several Amundsen objects: a sledge, a note he left in a cairn on the return from the South Pole, and his pocket knife.
Concordia College Archives
Includes a few objects from the 1926 Norge expedition, but perhaps most special are two of Amundsen’s teeth from a dental visit made in Minnesota during his lecture tour in 1927.
D
Danish Arctic Institute, Copenhagen
Archives and collections of photography, art and ethnographic objects, maps and audio, related primarily to Greenland. Includes Godfred Hansen’s photographs from the Gjøa expedition, and photographs of or related to Amundsen.
Royal Danish Library
The library holds photographic collections featuring Roald Amundsen, Godfred Hansen and the Gjøa expedition. It also has a large collection of historical maps of the polar regions. Much of this material is available online.
Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen
A rich collection related to Claude Dornier and his aircraft production. The large amount of material related to Roald Amundsen’s 1925 expedition with the Dornier Wal flying boats includes a full-scale reconstruction of the N 25.
DigitalNZ
A platform that provides a single point of online access to materials from more 200 different organizations all around Aotearoa/New Zealand. These include newspapers, photographs and objects related to Roald Amundsen.
Digital Public Library of America
This free, national digital library provides a single point of access to cultural heritage materials from more than 4,000 libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Included are photographs, newspapers, objects and archival material related to Roald Amundsen.
F
Follo museum – MiA
Roald Amundsen’s home and all objects from his estate are managed by Follo museum – Museums in Akershus, MiA. The collection includes the buildings themselves, their fixtures and contents, Amundsen’s personal belongings, expedition equipment, letters, archives and photographs. Amundsen-related objects held elsewhere in Akershus by MiA can be seen on the Akershusbasen page of DigitaltMuseum.no
The Fram Museum
The museum’s centrepieces are the polar ships Fram and Gjøa. Also on display are objects, photographs and archives associated with Amundsen’s expeditions.
The Frederick A. Cook Society
The Frederick A. Cook Society is a nonprofit, educational organization preservering the information and legacy of Frederick Albert Cook. The Society has a collection of Dr. Cook’s photographs, taken between 1892 and 1909, which includes several photos from Belgica-expedition.
H
Houghton Library, Harvard University
The library holds the correspondence between Herman Gade and Roald Amundsen through the years 1903-27. All 127 letters are accessible online.
L
Library of Congress
The world’s largest library has a substantial collection of images and American newspapers related to Roald Amundsen, mostly accessible online.
M
Museum of Cultural History
The Gjoa Haven collection includes some 700 objects of Netsilik Inuit origin that Amundsen brought home from the Gjøa expedition in 1906. The museum’s wider collection includes photographs and Amundsen’s medals and honours.
Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI)
Collection of artefacts, images, archival materials and oral histories related to the Puget Sound / Seattle area that includes millions of items. Of particular interest in the photograph collection are those of Amundsen in Seattle with Nita and Camilla Carpendale in 1921, of the Maud, and of the crew of the Norge in 1926.
Museum of Lågdal
“Peter Ristvedt – objects from the Gjøa expedition” is an online photo collection showing items held in Ristvedt’s home district museum.
N
National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution
Holds a unique collection of coloured glass plates with motifs from Amundsen’s flying boat expedition to 88 degrees north in 1925.
The National Archives Services of Norway
The services comprise the National Archives, eight regional state archives (statsarkivene), the Sámi Archives and the Norwegian Health Archives. Their collections include documents related to Amundsen’s expeditions, his private life and the establishment of Amundsen’s home as a museum.
National Library of Norway
Norway’s National Library collection contains thousands of images, letters, documents, diaries, films, books and newspapers related to Amundsen. A great part of the collection is accessible online. Most of the archive from Amundsen’s house as Svartskog is part of this collection.
National Library of Australia
The collection contains several photographs of Amundsen, including the only known original print of Olav Bjaaland’s 1911 photo of the polar party in front of the tent at the South Pole (the negatives are believed to no longer exist).
National Library of New Zealand
Library holdings include books by and about Roald Amundsen. Site also serves as portal to online sources of digital newspapers and photos.
Norsk Folkemuseum
Objects, photographs and letters from different periods of Roald Amundsen’s life.
Norwegian Aviation Museum
The museum’s collection spans the entire period of aviation in Norway, from the first flights at the beginning of the 20th century to the present day. Amundsen features in the “Pioneer era” exhibition, and a large collection of pictures from his life in the air are accessible via the DigitaltMuseum.
Norwegian Emigrant Museum
These varied collections related to Norwegians abroad include a rich archive from Norwegians in Argentina, among them Amundsen’s supporter Don Pedro Christophersen, and other sources related to Amundsen’s international network.
Norwegian Maritime Museum
The museum holds objects, photos and archives from different parts of Amundsen’s life. Included is a lock of hair from 1926 – a rare physical remnant of Amundsen himself.
Norwegian Polar Institute
The institute’s archives and collections include many letters, clippings, photographs and objects from Amundsen’s life.
Norwegian Ski museum Morgedal
Holds a large collection of equipment belonging to Olav Bjaaland from the South Pole expedition, 1910-12, including a tent, skis and photographs.
Norwegian Technical Museum
Holds objects, archives and photographs associated with Roald Amundsen and his expeditions, which can be explored online at the DigitaltMuseum.
O
The Ohio State University, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival
Includes archives associated with American polar explorers such as Cook, Byrd and Wilkins. Also here, are a matchbox retrieved from Amundsen’s cairn on Mount Betty, parts of the airship Norge and several photos related to Amundsen.
Oslo Museum
Holds photographs from Amundsen’s homecomings and representations of Amundsen in paintings, sculpture, photography, etc.
P
Papers Past
A digital collection of newspapers, manuscripts, periodicals and letters from Aotearoa/New Zealand. The newspaper archive in particular contains a lot of information related to Roald Amundsen.
Polar Museum, The Arctic University Museum of Norway
The story of Roald Amundsen’s last journey has a central place here. The exhibition includes one of the petrol tanks found from Latham 47.02, the plane Amundsen disappeared with in 1928, as well as several objects from Fritz Gottlieb Zapffe and Helmer Hanssen.
Preus Museum
The collection at Norway’s museum of photography includes several photographs of Amundsen, including an album from the flying boat expedition to 88 degrees north and another containing photographs from both Amundsen’s stay in Bergen before heading north in Latham 47.02 and the memorial service conducted off Tromsø on the Stella Polaris a year later.
R
Roald Amundsen’s birthplace
Roald Amundsen’s birthplace “Tomta”. The house contains objects and photographs connected to the Amundsen family, including the ring that the boys’ nanny Betty received from Oslo Byes Vel (Society for the Welfare of Oslo) for “long and faithful service”.
S
Scott Polar Research Institute
Established in 1920, the institute holds a large collection of books, archives and photographs related to Amundsen’s expeditions, including all that remains of the tent left by Amundsen at the South Pole – the few scraps of silk found in Scott’s tent in 1912.
The Ski Museum, Holmenkollen
Objects in the museum’s exhibitions and archives from Roald Amundsen’s expedition to the South Pole include skis, clothes, tents, and the stuffed remains of lead sledge dog “Obersten”. Also here are Robert Falcon Scott’s skis, brought to Norway by Trygve Gran.
Stavanger Maritime Museum
Collection includes the models of polar ships Gjøa, Fram and Maud that Amundsen had in his study at Svartskog before donating them to the museum in 1927.
T
Trove
Trove provides a single point of access to freely available digital content held in the collections of Australian libraries, archives, museums, galleries, universities, etc. This includes a number of newspaper articles, artefacts and photographs related to Amundsen.
U
UAA/APU Consortium Library
The collection includes reviews and archives connected to Amundsen’s activities in Alaska. The archive of Captain Christian Theodore Pedersen is here, along with the pocket watch given to him by Amundsen in 1921.
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library
The large collections related to the history of Alaska include audio recordings of Elizabeth “Bess” Magids and other people who were part of Amundsen’s life.
University of Bergen Library
The MARCUS special collection at the University Library in Bergen contains photographs of Amundsen in Bergen from 1906-28, with emphases on the triumphal return from the Norge expedition in 1926 and the overnight stop with the Latham 47 in 1928.
University of South Carolina
The libraries’ large collections of digitized newspapers and newsreel include articles related to Amundsen and clips of the airship Norge and the polar ship Maud.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries
Houses collection and archives of American Geographical Society, which include telegrams, letters and photographs from the expeditions in 1925 and 1926 donated by Lincoln Ellsworth.
V
Vancouver Maritime Museum
The museum holds several objects from Maud, removed from the ship after it was stranded in Cambridge Bay, and archival items related to Amundsen. The collection includes technical drawings, a part of the galley deck tile, a brass oil lamp and more.
Varanger Museum
Varanger Museum consists of three departments located along Varangerfjord, in Vardø, Sør-Varanger and Vadsø. Vadsø Museum – Ruija Kven Museum is responsible for the mooring mast on Vadsøya that was erected for the Norge airship expedition in 1926 and also used by the Italia in 1928. The museum has pictures and some objects from these events.
W
Washington State Historical Society
Collection includes several objects from the Norge expedition, including a fuel tank and items that belonged to the crew.
The Whaling Museum
Of particular interest is the collection purchased by the Whaling Museum’s founder in the 1960s from Helmer Hanssen’s daughter and son-in-law. This mainly comprises objects, photos, prints and archival material related to the Gjøa and Fram expeditions with Amundsen. Much of the general collection also relates to polar exploration through the prism of whaling.
Y
Yourway – Framheim at Finse
In 2011, a full-scale reconstruction of Amundsen’s winter Antarctic hut Framheim was built at Finse on Hardangervidda. “Framheim at Finse” also offers reconstructed sledging experiences based on Amundsen’s and Scott’s equipment, clothes, skis and food. Open to visitors by appointment, the hut is used for lectures and as a starting point for historical tours.
