1872
Roald Amundsen born July 16
The Dream of the Northwest Passage
Roald Amundsen’s first expedition was a result of childhood dreams, mentors, creditors, and misunderstandings.
The online exhibition “The Dream of the Northwest Passage” delves into the entire story leading up to the expedition’s departure.
1903-06 Gjøa expedition
Crew
The crew of Gjøa originally consisted of eight individuals, many of whom were skilled sailors with Arctic Ocean experience.
Andreas Pedersen was initially hired as steward but dismissed just before departure. Second engineer Gustav Juel Wiik fell ill during the expedition and died in 1906. Along with the original crew, several local Inuit and visiting hunters and traders played crucial roles in the expedition’s journey through the Northwest Passage.
Roald Amundsen. Captain and expedition leader
Andreas Pedersen. Steward (dismissed before departure)
Gjøa purchase contract, 19.1.1901
Object reference:
Type: Contract
Sender / Author: Hans Christian Johannesen
Recipient: Roald Amundsen
Date: 19.1.1901
Language: Norwegian
Translation
Copy
Purchase contract.
The undersigned Captain H.C. Johannesen and Captain Roald Amundsen hereby jointly declare today that they have entered into this contract.
I H.C. Johannessen hereby sell to Mr. Roald Amundsen my own hunting vessel “Gjøa” with its now associated inventory, Arctic hunting gear and casks, 2 – two – hunting boats and 1 – one – stern boat all in good safe condition for a purchase price of Kr. 9750 – nine thousand seven hundred and fifty kroner – whereof Kr. 2750 – two thousand seven hundred and fifty kroner – payable before the end of January, Kr. 2000 – two thousand kroner – by Mr. Amundsen’s arrival in Tromsø, and upon the ship’s takeover, the remaining amount Kr. 5000 – five thousand kroner – payable to Mr. Merchant Poul Figenschou with Kr. 1,000 per year <at> 5% interest, the first time.
I Roald Amundsen undertake to provide a sufficient self-debtor’s surety for Kr. 5,000 – five thousand kroner.
I H.C. Johannessen guarantee the vessel is free of encumbrances and the title is in order.
Authenticated Tromsø 19. Jan. 1901.
H.C. Johannesen
Related resources
1903-06 Gjøa expedition. Photograph album
These photographs from the Gjøa expedition were discovered in a chest in an outbuilding at Uranienborg in 2015.📜 They show the crew on board Gjøa and on a sledge journey, and several of the Inuit Amundsen met during the expedition. We still don’t know the full story behind this album and why these particular prints were made.
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Related resources
Letter, 31.7.1925, from Fridtjof Bryde
Object reference: RA 318B13
Type: Letter
Sender / Author: Fridtjof Bryde
Recipient: Roald Amundsen
Date: 31.7.1925
Language: Norwegian
Translation
LOS ANGELES, CAL …31st July 1925 –
Dear Mr AMUNDSEN, –
I don’t know whether you will still remember the undersigned [me], as a little boy the time you visited Sandefjord, and thus my parents’ home on the return from the Northwest Passage; – but I remember it as clearly as if it where today. It will perhaps interest you to hear, that I still have in my possession book no. 610 from my father’s collection – he had around 2000 volumes, – this was titled “A mad world”, and has the signatures of those who passed through the N.W. Passage with “Gjøa”. Father gave me the book on my birthday many years ago. As you may know, he sadly died on the 24th of May – albeit after a year-long and painful illness, so it came as rather a relief.
Why I am today taking the liberty of writing to you is in order to offer you my services in Los Angeles, Cal., as I assume that you will also honour this city with a visit when you come to the States to give your interesting account of the adventurous journey.
During the war I lived in Oslo, where I ran a large shipping company with a branch office in New York, in which several of Norway’s larger shipowners were had interests. But unfortunately, I, like several of my family, among them G.M. Bryde, formerly of the Norway-Mexico Gulf Line, etc., lost all our money and business. This was during the great crisis of 1921/22. I have now teamed up with uncle G.M. Bryde, and we run a modest business in shipping and timber in Mexico, where G.M.B. has been granted concessions. It’s going slowly though, – from hand to mouth, but I have faith in the possibilities. I should add that I am married (b. Forseth, daughter of factory owner Forseth, Chra. Glasmagasin), and have my home here. –
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Mr Roald Amundsen. #2.
I have many good friends and connections in the city, and could easily arrange your lecture here, thus hire of premises, advance advertising, etc., and would feel only most honoured to be entrusted with your arrangements here, at the same time, I believe that you will be able to have full confidence in everything that will be done in this case. I don’t know what the conditions are, whether you intend to give one or more lectures, the cost of the entrance, etc., but I can in any case, with the necessary guidance from you, make all the arrangements in advance, secure a suitable venue, etc. I might have to do everything on your account, and would only reckon for myself a modest fee for the work and time. You would be able to count on an exceptionally large audience here, especially if the entrance is set low, – $1 – or so and flat, the city is a residential one with approx. 1,000,000 inhabitants, a large percentage of whom have the time and means to attend. You could easily either rent the city’s largest venue, or also – if a Sunday fitted your itinerary – the famous Hollywood Bowl, which is nature’s very own concert venue – a circle-shaped hollow in the mountain with natural acoustics, and where approx. 25,000 people daily attend the most excellent symphony concerts. This could probably be obtained for a Sunday morning. I would follow your instructions in all respects. Quite frankly, I do not hide the fact that apart from the great personal interest and joy I would gain from arranging this for you, so would the assignment – especially if you would grant me a percentage basis, – mean
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a more than welcome financial support for me. –
Based on the friendship that always existed between you and my father, and the unshakable confidence he always had in you and your undertakings, I hope that you will not hold this letter against me; but be able to honour me with your prompt, favourable reply.
At the same time, I add my very best congratulations on the occasion of the just-completed deed, an illuminating adventure story for everyone about courage and spirit – and which for the rest of us in a wearisome time – makes us happy again to bear the label Norwegian.
With my respectful regards,
Yours
Fridtjof Bryde
P.S. Should you find the opportunity to use my proposal, then for business reasons I will ask you to write to me in English. –
D.S. FB
[In a different hand] Organized by Keedick
Related resources
Medal with portrait photo
Objectnumber: RA 0294
Materials: metal, fabric
Text: Nordvestpassasjens seierherre 8. November 1907 (The conqueror of the Northwest Passage November 8, 1907)
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Photo, Professor Neumayer
Objectnumber: RA 0194
Width photograph: 16.4 cm
Height photograph: 10.7 cm
Width frame: 17.0 cm
Height frame: 11.0 cm
Depth frame: 3.0 cm
Materials: glass, paper, metal
Amundsen studied earth magnetism under Professor Georg von Neumayer at the Deutsche Seewarte in Hamburg, September 1900.
The picture was a gift from Dr. Neumayer and is signed with:
“Herrn Roald Amundsen zur freundlichen Errinnerung an seinen Aufenthalt an der Seewarte (1 October – 16 November 1900) von Dr. Neumayer. Nöge es Herrn Amundsen beschieden sein, den Flan sur Bestinmung der Lage des magnetischen Nordpoles Der Erde mit einem glänsenden Erfolge durch su führen. Dr. Neumayer. Hamburg, den 16 November 1900“.
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“Treasure chest” found at Uranienborg
On 22 November 2015, Henrik Smith – then department director at the Follo museum – discovered a chest in one of the outbuildings at Roald Amundsen’s home. On one side of the chest was written, “Leon Amundsen, Kristiania, Norway. From Roald Amundsen, Nome, Alaska.”
The find led to the launch in 2020 of a major digitization project. Read more about the discovery of the chest in Aftenposten, 26.11.2015 📜.
Fourteen hundred photographs, including negatives on both nitrate and glass, paper positives of various sizes, and slides varying in size and quality were contained in the chest. Also inside were notebooks, lectures, rationing diaries, letters, photographic postcards, and much, much more.
Almost at the top of the pile was an envelope on which was written in English, “North West Passage, Photographs not used” – inside were over 350 photographs apparently returned to Amundsen by the publishers of the English edition of his book on the Gjøa expedition.
As well as new images from the Gjøa expedition, several photos from the Fram expedition were found, including a repronegative of the famous photo taken by Olav Bjaaland at the South Pole. This copy from the original may be a step closer to the original than we knew existed.
The photographic material originates mainly from the years 1903 to 1920. Most of the public images are inscribed with date and place, whereas many of the private images lack such information.
A war lecture from 1918 and scientific works by Harald Ulrik Sverdrup from the Maud expedition were also in the chest, as were some more personal items, such as a book containing an alphabetical summary of songs Roald Amundsen liked.
The entire contents of the chest will be digitized and made accessible here📜
Related resources
1903-06 Gjøa expedition
The story of the Gjøa expedition will appear here soon.
In the meantime, you can explore our resources related to this expedition.
Gjøa expedition
Photo, Fridtjof Nansen
Objectnumber: RA 0332
Width frame: 33.0 cm
Height frame: 45.0 cm
Depth frame: 2.2 cm
Materials: glass, wood, paper
Portrait of Fridtjof Nansen that Amundsen took with him on the Gjøa expedition and later hung on the wall of his home at Uranienborg.
Fridtjof Nansen was one of Amundsen’s great sources of inspiration. He had high status as a polar explorer after his expeditions across Greenland in 1888 and over the Arctic Ocean in 1893–96.
The photo hung onboard in the lounge of the Gjøa during the journey through the Northwest Passage. When the expedition had safely sailed through, Amundsen stood and looked at the portrait.
“It seemed as if the picture had come to life, as if he winked at me, nodding, ‘Just what I thought, my boy!’ I nodded back, smiling and happy, and went on deck.”
Nansen signed the picture, ʺTo Captain Roald Amundsen with wishes of good luck and progress on the journey from his friend Fridtjof Nansen, June 16, 1903.ʺ
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