Kjære Kramer

Dù maa ùndskylde mit sidste 

brev – det var vist meget 

idiotisk; – jeg tænkte jeg skùlde

skrevet bedre senere i julen – 

men da blev her veirforandring

og asthmaen, som har holdt sig

vække lige siden i oktober – begyndte

atter at plage mig; – og nù siden

har vi havt et næsten ægyptisk

mörke og styggeveir, saa det har 

været ùmuligt at male, – jeg har

ogsaa kviet mig for at reise ind

til Myklebùst for de elendige 

veie og förets skyld, – jeg savner

nù mere end nogensinde et

atteliere – det er jo meningslöst

at have sit arbeidsum næsten

en halv mil derfra, hvor man

bor (det er over en fjerding herfra

til Myklebùst). – 

Men jeg faar nok vente med at 

faa attelieret færdig nù, – det faar 

være til hösten, – mine arbeidsfolk 

er reist, – jeg havde ikke raad at 

have dem længer og skylder dem

mange penge, – men de har lovet

at vente mig med pengene. – 

Men nettop nù bùrde jeg arbeide

for at "skaffe": til at faa attelieret

færdig og klare alle mine andre

forpligtelser, – her er vanskelige tider

da dyrtiden nyttes ùd af handels-

mændene til sidste rest nù – de

föler vel at nedgangen er forestaaen-

de, og det gjælder at presse den

sidste blod draabe af fattigfolk.

Vi ser stadig i aviserne om "nedgang"

paa adskillige varer, men her er

det endnù "opgang". Vi har holdt 

paa lige siden i höst at kjöbe mel 

bare i kilovis i haab om nedgang,

og det har vi selvfölgelig tabt paa.

Her har vi nù endelig faaet 10 öre

afslag paa mel – det er det förste

tegn til nedgang; – men nù tænk-

te jeg at spörge dig, hvormeget melet

koster i Bergen, – det er jo rigtignok

dyr fragt – jeg maatte betale

næsten 30 kr. for en tönde sild

i fragt fra "Norland", – og næsten

det samme i fragt for et gam-

melt billede, som mor havde 

solgt, og som jeg gjerne vilde

forandre noget paa förend det 

kom til fremmede. – Her er 

prisen paa hvetemel 1,40 pr. kg.

(i kilovis eller "detail"). 

Jeg tror fragten pr- sæk blir ca. ^{12 –} 15 Kr.

og da kan det hænde, det ikke 

lönner sig at kjöbe i Bergen,

 – det er jo ogsaa megen klùss med

at faa det op fra Förde, og man

resikerer at faa det opspist af rotterne

                   II

der nede, eller det forsvinder

som med materialerne, – ja nù 

har jeg endelig ved trudsler og grov 

kjæft faaet dem til rettes i Förde –

enten nù expeditören har lagt dem

slig, at de har ligget nedpakket af

varer för, eller han har overladt

dem ved feiltagelse til alle de

træskjærer og snedker kùrser som er

der, eller han paa anden maade har

leveret dem ùd feilagtig og nù har

maattet skaffe nye igjen, – det veed

jeg ikke, – han er i et hvert fald

ikke blid paa mig for mine:

"skriverier", som han kalder det. 

Men for mig blev det dog tab, da

det dengang var let at faa mate-

rialerne op med bilerne og godt

före (det er jo snart 2 maaneder siden)

^{Opp ned: Undskyld alle mine blækflekker}

og nù er det ùmùligt före – sne

her – og bart nedenfor i nederste Jölster

og Förde – og ùmùligt at faa leie

hester, – da ingen lader hest til i sligt

före, – materialerne maa da ligge, –

og jeg kommer vel til at maatte

betale en masse lagerpenge og "over-

ligge mulkt" (dampskibs selskaberne

har nelig sat op noget sligt for hver

"dampdag", som varerne ikke fjernes fra

expeditionen, – for at tvinge folk til

hùrtigt at afhente sine varer). 

Her er ogsaa sligt veir, at materi-

alerne vilde blive ödelagt af væde,

om de skùlde hentes nù. –

Som dù ser er der en masse van-

skeligheder ved at bo i en fjeldbygd-

og adskillige extra ùdgifter – særlig

nù for tiden. – Jeg har pùslet

med lidt tegning, men det skaffer

lidet mynt. – Meyer skriver stadig

at jeg maa sende "de meget omtalte

og omskrevne billeder" – – "Rabarbra-

billedet har jeg malet lidt paa og tænkte,

at jeg skulde klart at faa malt et 

nyt til Meyer, – saa jeg fik beholde

det gamle til dig, – det som dù likte

bedst, – saa vidt som jeg forstod

dig, skulde jeg ingen omforandring

gjöre med andet end æpletreet, og 

og smaajentefigùren til venstre – jeg

skal selvfölgelig være yderst billig 

overfor dig, men jeg tör ikke love

at Meyer ikke ser, at det er et

andet billede og fordrer det förste. 

Billedet, (^{det dù husker} paa Myklebust) af samme

motiv – er adskilligt mindre og af et 

mere langstrakt format, saa jeg er ræd

han straks ser, at det er et andet

billede – igrùnden har de to billeder

intet andet tilfælles end kvindefigùrene

(Engel), som er i næsten samme stilling

paa begge billeder, og saa er det præ-

stegaardshaùgen, som dog er seet fra

forskjellige steder paa de to billeder, – 

saa at trærene er helt forskjellige

i form og belysning, – baggrùnden

er helt annerledes – forgrùnden ligele-

des – (men den kùnde kanske bringès 

til lighed). – Jeg har sagt til

Meyer, at jeg vil omarbeide billedet,

saa nogen forandring maa han vente

sig. – Jeg vilde gjerne trykket 

dig et træsnit til jùl, men vidste

ikke sikkert, hvilket dù kùnde bryde

dig om; – kan dù ikke være saa

snild at sige mig, om der er noget

af det, dù har seet af mine træsnit,

som dù kunde bryde dig om at ha?

                    III

Jeg sendte Meyer et tryk af

"jùninat" ("stort fjeld", som frù

Höst – gùd ved af hvilken grùnd – kaldte

det). Meyer var meget begeistret og 

syntes det var det bedste, han havde seet

af mine træsnit, – bare han nù mente

det, – man maa jo sige noget pent om

en "foræring". Jeg fik ham til at be-

stille hos Neùmann (som havde kjöbt to

træsnit gjennem Meyer) en del varer og

Meyer skrev til mig en tid för jùl, at 

han vilde havde betalt min regning hos

Neùmann (122 kr.), og at han vilde faa

lov at betragte det som en julegave

fra ham til mig, – jeg skyndte mig

da at trykke ham et tryk af "juninat",

og jeg tror, jeg var heldig med trykken, – jeg

lod den törre over ovnen for hver plade, og

jeg tror det er en heldig methode, – da

man samtidig faar se, hvor meget hver

farve med tiden vilde blevet, naar den

fik "sat sig"; (man kan paa denne maade

fremskynde den saakaldte "Nachdùnkeln"

som tyskerne kalder det). Man bùrde

altid have sine malerier saa længe

hos sig, at man fik se, hvorledes

farven med tiden vilde "sætte" sig eller

forandre sig; – de fleste farver blir

jo bedre – "patineres", men valeùrforhol-

dene kan jo forandre slig, at det kan

blive nödvendig at foretage en retoùche –

og ùnder denne retoùche gjælder det

da kùn at brùke ^bare de 5–6 absolut

uforanderlige farver, som findes i 

vor nùværende farveindustri; – ùnder

arbeidet med et maleri finder jeg

det baade meningslöst og utaaleligt 

at skulle tænke paa, hvilke farver,

som forandres ved blanding; – det er

ogsaa ùmùligt at hùske det i farten.

Og at redùsere sin palet ned til 5–6

farver vilde ogsaa være meningslöst. 

Naar man sælger billeder til venner

og bekjendte kan man jo som regel

faa anledning til at foretage retouche,

naar denne "nachdunckelen" efter

5–6 aars forlöb er nogenlùnde fuldbyrdet;

men overfor fremmede er det ùmùligt

og derfor bör man som sagt holde

en tid paa sine ting. Da malerier 

er tykkere maling paa – end et træsnit,–

vil jeg ikke vove at bruke kunstig 

törring over ild for at paaskynde

farvernes "samarbeide" i et maleri. –

Flùge fortalte mig, at dù önskede,

at jeg skùlde sende det sidste halv-

ferdige arbeide "stillebenet", saa dù

fik se det, – dù vilde sende det

tilbage igjen straks, sa han,– ja jeg

skùlde gjerne gjort det, men det er

lidt stort over 1 m. i korteste kant, saa

der blev vanskeligheder med forsendel-

sen, – kasse har jeg heller ikke. 

Forresten har jeg forelöbig ödelagt det,

jeg blev sint paa det, – men det

er meningen at tage fat paa det

igjen. Opgaven er vanskelig kanske

ùmùlig – (blanding af dagslys og ildslys

– næsten ùden skygger). –––

Det er iallefald ùmùligt at gjöre 

sligt ùden atteliere, og det var

vanskelighederne i höst med dette

"stilleben", som egentlig bestemte

mig til at bygge mere end jeg

fra först af var tænkt. –––

Ja nù kommer jeg og plager dig

som sedvanligt; – det er snart

Engels gebùrtsdag, og hùn har i aare-

vis önsket sig at faa i geburtsdags-

gave – linoleùm til kjökkengùlvet

hùn er i slige "omstændigheder" – har

ingen pike heller og har havt meget

at stræve med – og stadig og daglig

                  IIII

vask af dette kjökkengùlvet, som 

blir saa hùrtigt skiddent og vaadt

i dette sneslud og regn om hinanden –

(særlig var det vanskelig da vi havde

arbeidsfolk). Dù raadede os rigtignok

fra at anskaffe linoleùm, – da det

baade var dyrt og ùholdbart, – men

hvis det nù er begyndt at blive

billigere, kunde du kanske være

saa venlig at bede en eller anden

handelsmand sende os nogle pröver

(jeg har engang seet noget rigtig pent

i blaat og graahvidt men det er vel 

ikke at opdrive nù – det var "rùdet" i 

mönstret og det synes jeg er penest).

Gùlvet er ca 2 x 4 meter (egentlig

lidt over 2 m. bredt, men det kan 

ordnes med lister.) Tror dù Flùge

kan klare at lægge ned linoleùm 

og brùger man nogen slags lim,

cement, lak eller fernis ùnder?

Ja undskyld, at jeg plager dig, men

jeg har endnù en post – du

hùsker vi talte om stövler til

mig i sommer, – jeg syntes denne 

elendige kroppen kunde klare

sig en stùnd endnù ùden, –

jeg sparer jo paa alt, som angaar

min elendige krop; – nù gaar

det imidlertid ikke længer med

reparation af skoene, – det er

ogsaa 6–7 aar siden jeg anskaffede

mig nye; – men priserne er

jo like höie, og nù har jeg tænkt

at faa arbeidet mig et par her

hjemme, men her er slig 

mangel paa læster; – det jeg nù

vilde plage dig med var at faa

en læstefabrik at sende mig et

par læster, men jeg kjender ikke

nùmmer-störrelsen, jeg tager derfor

et maal saa stort, – at jeg kan ha

anledning at skjære dem til selv,

efter som det passer, – jeg veed ikke

om der er forskjel paa bredden (ca 10 cm)

men længden maa være 30 cm eller

derover. Kunde dù samtidig sende

mig lidt tyndt men sterkt lær

til overlær, vilde jeg være dig meget

taknemlig, – det som man har

her paa butikkerne er baade tykt

og sprödt – at have god kvali-

tet i overlæret gjör et skopar

dobbelt i værdi, – da man kan

halvsole det dobbelt saa mange

gange. Jeg vedlægger Kr. 50. – Dù

kan gjerne faa saa meget, at jeg

faar noget til börnene ogsaa, thi de 

slider nù ùd et par sko pr. maaned. 

Jeg indbildte mig för, at det tykke

lær skùlde være længst, men det

har jeg opdaget er feilagtigt, det

törrer aldrig men raatner og mörner

og blir stivt, slaar folder, som aldrig

gaar ùd, skjæver skoene og krymper. 

Det hjemmelagede lær var ogsaa

stivt og slog folder men var til gjen-

gjæld ùgjennemtrængelig for væde;

men det er jùst ikke dette tykke kjöbe-

lær, – som vi faar her, – enten man

nù kalder det "fettlær" eller andre 

tilsyneladende solide navne.

Ja nù har jeg plaget dig meget. Lad 

mig nù faa vide, hvad træsnit jeg

skal faa lov at trykke til dig, jeg

vil ogsaa gjerne male dig noget herfra,

men da skal du vælge ùd motivet

her paa stedet. Med de bedste hilsener

fra os alle her til dig og familie din

hengivne Nikolai Astrup

Dear Kramer

You must pardon my last

letter – it was quite 

idiotic I’m sure; – I thought I would

write properly later during Christmas –

but then there was a change in weather

and my asthma, which had been kept

at bay ever since October – began

to torment me again; – and since then

we have nearly had “Egyptian

darkness” and ugly weather, so that it

has been impossible to paint, – I have

also been reluctant to go

to Myklebùst due to the horrible

road and driving conditions, – I miss

now more than ever a 

studio – it is pointless 

to have one’s workspace nearly

five kilometres away, from where one

lives (it is approximately 2.5 kilometres from here

to Myklebùst). – 

But I will have to wait to 

have the studio completed, – it will 

have to be in the autumn, – my workers 

have left, – I could not afford to 

keep them any longer and owe them

a lot of money, – but they have promised

to wait for the money. – 

But it is precisely now I should work

to “secure” [resources]: in order to complete

the studio and take care of all my other

obligations, – there are hard times here

when the inflated prices are exploited by the mer-

chants to the very utmost – they 

probably sense that a decline is immi-

nent, and it’s a question of pressing the

last drop of blood out of poor people.

We read repeatedly in the papers about a “decline”

 in [the price of] many items, but here the

“rise” [in prices] continues. We have 

purchased flour by the kilo ever since 

the autumn in the hope of a decline, 

and we have course lost out by doing so.

Here we now finally have a 10 öre

discount on flour – it is the first

sign of a decline; – But I thought

of asking you, how much flour

costs in Bergen, – the cost of shipping is

admittedly expensive – I had to pay

nearly 30 kr. for a barrel of herring

for transporting it from “Norland”, – and nearly

as much for transporting an old

picture, which mother had 

sold, and that I wanted to

adjust a thing or two on before it 

came into the hands of strangers. – Here the 

price of wheat flour is 1,40 per kg.

(by the kilo or “retail”). 

I believe the freight per sack is around ^{12 –} 15 kr.

and then perhaps it isn’t 

worth buying in Bergen,

 – it is also a great bother to have it

transported up from Förde, and one

risks it being eaten up by the rats

                 II

down there, or that it disappears

as was the case with the materials, – well I 

have now finally via threats and coarse 

language brought them to their senses in Förde –

whether the clerk has placed them 

in such a way, that they have been buried under other

other merchandise, or he has transferred

them by mistake to all the

woodcarver and carpenter classes they have

there, or he has in some other manner

delivered them to the wrong recipient and is now

forced to obtain new materials, – I don’t 

know, – in any case he is

not pleased with me because of my:

“scribbles”, as he calls them. 

But for me it was a loss, because

back then it was easy to transport the mate-

rials up here by motorcar and with good road

conditions (it is nearly 2 months since)

^{Upside down: Forgive all my ink spots}

now the road conditions are impossible – snow

here – and bare down below in lower Jölster

and Förde – and impossible to hire

horses, – as no one harnesses a horse under such

conditions, – the materials thus have to wait, –

and I will probably have to

pay lots of storage fees and a “late

retrieval fine” (the steamship companies

have introduced something of the sort for each

“steam-day” the wares are not fetched from

the office, – in order to force people to

fetch their wares straightaway). 

Here the weather is also such, that the mater-

ials would be ruined by moisture,

if they were to be fetched now. –

As you see there are many dif-

ficulties associated with living in a mountain village

and considerable extra expenses – especially

nowadays. – I have occupied myself

with a little drawing, but it does not bring in

much cash. – Meyer writes repeatedly

that I must send “the much talked about 

and discussed pictures” – – The “Rhubarb

picture I have retouched a little and thought,

that I might manage to paint a 

new one for Meyer, – so that I might keep

the old one for you, – the one you liked

most, – as far as I understood

you, I should not make any changes

other than the apple tree, and 

and the figure of the little girl on the left – I 

shall of course give you a very 

good deal, but I dare not promise

that Meyer will not see, that it is a

different picture and demand the first one. 

The picture, (the one you remember from Myklebust) of the same

motif – is considerably smaller and of a 

more elongated format, so I am afraid

he will immediately see, that it is a different

picture – basically the two pictures

have nothing more in common than the female figure

(Engel), who is in the same position 

in both pictures, and then there’s the vica-

rage mound, which is nevertheless seen from

different perspectives in the two pictures, – 

so that the trees are very different 

in shape and lighting, – the background

is completely different – the foreground like-

wise – (but it might perhaps be made 

more similar). – I have told

Meyer, that I wish to rework the picture,

so he must expect some kind of

change. – I wanted to print 

a woodcut for you for Christmas, but was

not quite sure, which one you might

like; – would you be so

kind as to tell me, whether there is something

among what you have seen of my woodcuts,

that you might like to have?

                     III

I sent Meyer a print of

“a night in June” (“large mountain”, is what Mrs.

Höst – God know for what reason – called

it). Meyer was very enthusiastic and 

thought it was the best he had seen

among my woodcuts, – if he meant

it, – one has to say something nice about

a “gift”. I had him or- 

der some supplies through Neùmann (who had 

bought two woodcuts via Meyer) and

Meyer wrote to me some time before Christmas, that 

he would had paid my bill at

Neùmann’s (122 kr.), and that he wished

to consider it as a Christmas gift

from him to me, – I then hastened

to print a impression of “a night in June” for him,

and I think, that I was fortunate with the print, – I

allowed it to dry over the stove after each block [was printed], and

I think that is a good method, – since

one simultaneously can see, how much each

colour might change with time, when it

has “settled”; (one can in this way

hasten the process of so-called “Nachdùnkeln”

as the Germans call it). One should

always keep one’s paintings long 

enough, to see how

the colours will “settle” or change

with time; – most colours 

improve – gain a “patina”, but the contrast

in the values can change in such a way, that it

might be necessary to do some retouching –

and under this retouching it is essential

to use ^only the 5–6 absolutely

permanent colours, which exist in 

our present-day colour industry; – when

working on a painting I find

it both meaningless and intolerable 

to have to think about, which colours are

transformed by being mixed; – it is

also impossible to remember on the spur of the moment.

And to limit one’s palette to 5–6

colours would also be pointless. 

When one sells pictures to friends

and acquaintances one can as a rule

be able to do some retouching,

when this “nachdunckelen” is more or

less completed after 5–6 years;

but when it comes to strangers it is impossible

and one should therefore hold on to one’s

things for a while as I mentioned. Since paintings 

are covered with thicker paint – than woodcuts,–

I would not dare to dry them artificially

over a fire in order to accelerate

the “interaction” of the colours in a painting. –

Flùge told me, that you wanted

me to send the most recent half-

finished work “the still life”, so that you

might see it, – you would return

it immediately, he said,– well I

would be happy to do so, but it is

a bit large over 1 m. on the shortest side, so

it would present difficulties to transport

it, – and I do not have a crate. 

Incidentally I have temporarily ruined it,

I became frustrated with it, – but I

intend to start working on it 

again. The aim is difficult perhaps

impossible – (to mix daylight with light from a fire

– almost without shadows). –––

It is in any case impossible to  

endeavour without a studio, and 

difficulties arose this autumn concerning this

“still life”, which in fact caused 

me to build more than I

had originally intended. –––

Well here I am bothering you

as usual; – it is soon

Engel’s birthday, and for years she

has wished for a linoleum kitchen

floor – as a birthday gift

she is “in a family way” – has

no maid either and has had a lot

of work to do – and the continuous daily

                IIII

washing of this kitchen floor, which 

gets dirty and wet so quickly

in this alternating slush and rain –

(it was particularly difficult when we had

workmen here). I’m aware that you advised us

not to buy linoleum, – as it

was both expensive and not durable, – but

if it has now become less

expensive, would you perhaps be

so kind as to ask some merchant

or other to send us some samples

(I once saw something quite good-looking

in blue and greyish-white but it’s probably no

long possible to get hold of – it was in a “chequered” 

pattern which I think is nicest looking).

The floor is about 2 x 4 metres (actually a

little more than 2 m. wide, but that can be 

resolved with floor mouldings.) Do you think Fluge

knows how to install linoleum 

and do you use some kind of glue,

cement, lacquer or varnish underneath it?

Well forgive me for bothering you, but

I have one more item – do you

remember we talked about boots for

me this summer, – I think this 

miserable body should manage

a while longer without, –

I save on everything that has to do with

my miserable body; – however it is

no longer possible to 

repair the shoes, – it is 

also 6–7 years ago since I bought

new ones for myself; – but the prices are

just as high, and now I have planned

to have a pair made for me here

at home, but there is such a

shortage of lasts; – what I now

wanted to trouble you with was to have

a last factory send me a

pair of lasts, but I don’t know

the shoe size, I will therefore

ask for a size large enough; – so that I will

be able to cut them to size myself,

as necessary, – I don’t know

if there is a range in the breadth (around 10 cm)

but the length must be 30 cm or

more. If you could at the same time send

me some thin yet robust leather

for the upper shoe, I would be very

grateful to you, – the quality they have

here in the shops is both thick

and cracked – to have good quali-

ty leather for the upper shoe doubles the value

of a pair of shoes, – then one can

re-sole them twice as many

times. I enclose kr. 50. – I’m sending

enough, so that I

might have some for the children as well, for they 

wear out a pair of shoes per month. 

I imaged before, that the thick

leather would last the longest, but I 

have discovered that I was mistaken, it

never dries but rots and becomes soft

and then stiff, gets wrinkles that never

disappear, distort the shoes and shrink them. 

The hand-made leather was also 

stiff and had wrinkles but was on the other

hand waterproof;

not like this thick commercial

leather, – that we have here, – whether one

calls it “greased leather” or some other 

deceptively misleading name.

Well now I have troubled you greatly. Let 

me know, which woodcut I 

may be permitted to print for you, I

would also like to paint something for you from here,

but then you shall choose the motif

here in person. With best wishes

from all of us here to you and your family Your

devoted Nikolai Astrup