Letter

Astrup, Nikolai to Høst, Isabella
1921

Transcription:

Turid Hagelsteen

Translation:

Francesca Nichols

Page

  • 1,
  • 2
Transcription
Translation

Letter

Astrup, Nikolai to Høst, Isabella
1921
Brevs.531-66596, Nasjonalbiblioteket

2 Pages

Transcription: Turid Hagelsteen

Translation: Francesca Nichols

Transcription

           Kjære frù Höst!

Kùn et par ord i all hast. Har nettop 

modtaget Deres brev, om, at De har 

solgt træsnit for mig og at penge Kr. 700

er sendt. Tusend tak! Her er endnù

ingen penge ankommen, – men jeg skal 

skrive straks, de kommer, og rekoman-

dere bevet; – jeg troede forresten, at jeg

altid havde skrevet og varslet, naar jeg 

fik penge – lige siden dengang, De for

ca. 3 aar siden bestemt bad mig om det.

Det gjorde mig ondt at höre, at De

har havt ubehageligheder i Bergen

for min skyld – paa grùnd af det

elendige billedet (det var forresten et godt

billede), – det havde da bare uheld med sig

– det var paa begyndt paa en daarlig dag.

Og det var da et sörgeligt uheld, jeg

altid skal ha med at paaföre mine

bedste venner ùbehageligheder. – Hvad er

aarsagen? Skylden er jo min, men hvor-

for gaar det slig med mig. Jeg bùrde

være hængt. Kjære kan De tilgive 

min forsömmelighed? Jeg var syg i den 

tiden ahnede heller ikke, at De gjorde no-

gen henvendelser til Bergen. – Det var heller 

ikke min mening, at De skùlde gjöre

det for min skyld, – naar jeg skrev til 

Dem, var det kùn for at höre, om det 

var beleiligt for Dem at modtage billedet

til salg; – da jeg i modsat fald ikke vilde

plage Dem med det.

Ja jeg maa nok slutte for at faa dette

i posten idag. – Har nogen sagt Dem, at jeg

troede at kunne faa höiere priser andensteds,

saa har de löiet, – det maa De aldrig tro, – jeg

synes tvertimod altid, at De faar höiere priser

end jeg venter: – 300 for Kverngang, synes jeg er

stridt meget – ligesaa 75 for fiskeren, – men 

nærmere derom senere. Alt, hvad De

tror vil være vanskeligt at sælge; kan  

De bare retournere Jeg kan udstille det hos Didr. Andersen?. Men er der ikke

noget, som jeg kan faa lov at trykke til Dem

selv, eller vil De heller, at jeg skal sende

et af mine ùmulige billeder – de er nem-

lig alle ùmùlige efter folks mening.

Undskyld hasten! I haab om at

De kan tilgive mig, er jeg Deres hengivne

Nikolai Astrup 

Translation

           Dear Mrs. Höst!

Just a few words in haste. Have just 

received Your letter, stating, that You have 

sold woodcuts for me and that money Kroner 700

has been sent. Many thanks! No money has

arrived yet, – but I will 

write immediately, when it arrives, and regis-

ter the letter; – incidentally I thought, that I

had always written and notified You, when I 

received money – ever since that time, approximately

3 years ago You specifically asked me to.

It pained me to hear, that You

have experienced unpleasantness in Bergen

on my account – because of that

terrible picture (it was by the way a good

picture), – it only brought bad luck

– it was begun on a bad day.

And it is a sad coincidence, that I

always seem to cause my

best friends unpleasantness. – What is

the reason? The fault is mine, but why

does it happen to me. I should

be hanged. My dear can You forgive 

my negligence? I was sick at the 

time and had no idea that You made

any inquiries in Bergen. – Nor was it 

my intention, that You should do

it for my sake, – when I wrote to 

You, it was merely to hear, if it 

was convenient for You to receive the picture

for sale; – because if the opposite were true I did not wish

to bother You with it.

Well I must end here in order to get this

in the mail today. – If anyone has told You, that I

thought I might get higher prices elsewhere,

then they have lied, – You must never believe that, – I

on the contrary always feel, that You get higher prices

than I expect: – 300 for Milling weather, I think is

extremely high – likewise 75 for the fisherman, – but 

more about that later. Everything, that You

think will be difficult to sell; You

can just return I can exhibit it at Didr. Andersen’s?. But is there not

something, which I may be permitted to print for You

yourself, or would You rather, that I send

one of my impossible pictures – they are

impossible according to most people. 

Forgive the hurry! In the hope that

You can forgive me, I remain Your devoted

   Nikolai Astrup