Roald Amundsen’s telephone is an L.M. Ericsson, manufactured in Sweden. Due to its shape, this model was called “The Sewing Machine” or “The Eiffel Tower”. It was one of the world’s first telephones with its own handset and was manufactured from 1892 to 1925.

On 14 June 1928, Amundsen received an ill-fated call. It was from the wholesaler Fredrik Peterson, the head of the Norwegian-French Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Peterson wanted to help Amundsen to rescue the Italian airship that was reported missing north of Svalbard. Through his contacts in France, he was able to offer Amundsen the Latham 47 flying boat with a French crew. Four days later, the Latham 47 took off from Tromsø: Roald Amundsen, pilot Leif Ragnar Dietrichson and the French crew of four never returned.

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