1910-12 Fram expedition. Photographs of Equator party, 2 October 1910

These photographs were discovered in a chest at Uranienborg in 2015 and show the festivities on board Fram during the Equator party en route to Antarctica. 📜

On 2 October 1910, the Fram expedition’s “crossing the line” celebrations saw the entire ship decorated with flags and banners. Coffee, wine and brandy were served with biscuits, and a show was arranged on deck. First came music from Knut Sundbeck and Kristian Prestrud with the mandolin, and even the dogs were invited to dance. Next on stage was Hjalmar Fredrik Gjertsen dressed in a white dress like a ballerina, followed by Captain Thorvald Nilsen, dressed in clogs, tie, hat and trousers and telling stories. From the gramophone that hung under the boom of the mainsail, songs such as “Ja, vi elsker” (Norway’s national anthem), “Dollarprinsessen”, “Les millions d’Arlequin”, “Graf von Luxemburg” and “The happy troll” rang out over the ocean.

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