Kjære Kramer!

Tusend tak for dit brev – og 

for alt dit stræv med linoleùmen

for vor skyld – jeg tænker paa

selv at reise ned en af dagene og  

hente den op selv, – rigtignok er

jeg slemt plaget af kvælningsan-

fald om nætterne, men jeg kan jo 

kanske have godt af en tùr. 

Ja dù er altfor snild, – og Engel

glæder sig til at faa linoleùmen 

og er dig meget taknemlig –

hùn har meget at staa i nù i disse

omstændigheder; – da hùn faldt ned 

fra lemmen i vinter slog hùn sig

i ryggen og i den foden, som hun hav-

de aareudvidelse i og nù har hùn 

været saa daarlig i foden, at 

vi har maattet havt doktoren 

til hende; – han tror det er 

aarebetændelse og talte om at

reise til Bergen til Lönnichen

og operere, – men det er ikke saa

godt med det ùnder "disse om-

stændighederne", hùn venter sig

vistnok engang i Mai eller juni, – 

det værste er, at vi veed slett ikke

tiden, – det kan blive för vi venter, – 

og at reise ùnder slige omstændig-

heder er vanskeligt for ikke at

sige ùmùligt. 

Ja saa maa vi sige dig og frùen tù-

sind tak for "smaaforæringerne" som 

dù siger – men linoleùmmen var det 

jo aftale: at jeg faar lov at betale den. 

Ja dù har vist ret i, at jeg har 

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været for tung paa labben med fylde-

pennen, men jeg har nù opdaget at

naar jeg brùger den en tid paa vrangen, 

saa kommer den sig lidt på retten, 

saa jeg atter kan bruge den en tid 

der, indtil den igjen begynder at bli 

for "aapen". 

Dù spùrgte mig engang i höst, om 

ikke det nye hùs ödelagte landska-

bet, og hvor det var beliggende o.s.v.

idag sender jeg dig et prospektkort af det, 

som jeg tog i forgaars, da jeg fik dit brev, – 

der var graaveir og storm, saa det blev

ikke rart, og töiveir og næsten bart

(nù har vi igjen faaet meget sne) 

Jeg har copieret et kort svakere og ^be tegnet

de forskjellige dele op paa dette – 

jeg haaber du forstaar det – og vil finde

ud beliggenheden. –––

Ja det ahnede mig, at det 

hang slik sammen med jùle -

öllet – ja det var rigtig at 

jeg var skyldig lidt för jùl 

til Flùge, da jeg ikke havde

penge nok til at ùdbetale ham 

alt for hans andel i bygnings-

arbeidet, – men han laante

100 Kr. paa mit navn af en af 

mine svogre, medens han var 

i Bergen, – og det var adskilligt 

mere end det, som stod til rest

paa bygningsarbeidet, – siden fik 

han nù laane 200 Kr. til sine

dötre, – da de skulde til Ame-

rika, – deraf fik jeg dog Kr. 90 igjen 

for nogle dage siden. Stakkars mand

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han maatte nok fare rùndt halve

bygden og laane lidt hist og her for

at faa nok til sine dötres ame-

rikareise, – det var nok en dyr

afaire (henimod 3000 kr.) men 

saa havde den ene datteren faaet

billet hos en söster i Amerika. 

Billedet til Urdahl har jeg omtrent

færdig, men her er saa vanskeligt

om kasse. Meyer forlanger at jeg

skal sende stillebensinterioret

snarest, – jeg tænker paa at plage

dig med en hemmelig mission:

det gjælder Eie – vil du spörge

ham, om han "staar ved" sit bùd

ifald – (i fald) Engelsen ikke vil

have dette billede? (men ^kanske heller

vil have et af mine gamle

motiver, som han kjender, – 

han har jo ikke seet stillebens-

interiöret eller noget af mine

senere ting, siden jeg forandrede

malemaade. 

Thi; hvis ikke Hr. Eie vil

staa ved sit bùd, saa vil jeg

lade Engelsen faa det for sam-

me belöp, da jeg ikke liker, at

byde et billede ud först for et

höiere og saa for et lavere belöp,

man taper paa sit renommè,

hvis sligt blir kjendt. Billedet

har jeg slidt med i den senere tid,

og det er nù meget bedre end

i höst; jeg har malet om hele

bordteppet og faaet ruderne per-

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spectivisk rigtige, og den kanten

som Engelsen omtalte er rettet

Særlig baggrùnden er meget

forbedret; – frùgterne og vin-

duet derimot har jeg intet

gjort med; – jeg tror jeg har

stemt farvenerne meget bedre

sammen nù ogsaa. ––– 

Nù synes dù vel dette er en 

kjedelig mission og isaafald

skal dù ikke gjöre det, men 

jeg vilde nödig endnù sige dette

til Meyer, uden at have spùrgt

Eie derom först, hvis Eie

staar ved sit bùd, siger jeg heller 

intet om dette til Meyer.

Jeg maatte da helst faa vide

dette, förend jeg nù sender bil-

ledet. Jeg nævnte paa Vasenden

til Meyer, at jeg ikke vilde for-

lange mere af Engelsen end af

Hr. Eie; naar jeg först havde

slaaet af, fik det være den ^samme

pris for alle, – dette gjorde

Eie indvending mod, og jeg gik

da med paa at der skulde for-

langes 500 kr. mere af Engelsen.

Denne Eie´s indvending maatte jo

tydes derhen, at han vilde have

billedet, hvis ikke Engelsen tok det, 

men det var jo bedst at faa dette 

paa det rene , – da jeg imodsat fald

agter at sende billedet til en

Dear Kramer!

Many thanks for your letter – and 

for all your efforts regarding the linoleum

on our behalf – I am thinking of

going down myself one of these days to

fetch it myself, – although

I am terribly tormented by choking

seizures at night, it may do 

me good to make a trip. 

Well you are too kind, – and Engel

is looking forward to getting the linoleum

and is eternally grateful to you –

she has a lot to deal with now due to her

circumstances; – when she fell down 

from the trapdoor this winter she hurt 

her back and the foot, that had

an enlarged vein now her 

foot is so bad, that 

we have had to call the doctor 

to visit her; – he believes it is 

phlebitis and talked of

travelling to Bergen to Lönnichen

to operate, – but it is not such

a good idea under “the present

circumstances”, she is expecting 

some time in May or June, – 

what’s worse, we don’t know 

the due date, – it might be earlier than we expect, – 

and to travel under such circum-

stances is difficult not to 

mention impossible. 

And then we must thank you and 

your wife for “the small favours” as 

you say – but the linoleum was 

an agreement: that I must be allowed to pay for. 

Well you are probably right, in that I have 

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been a little hard on the fountain 

pen, but I have now discovered that

when I use it in a reverse position for a while, 

then it corrects itself a bit, 

so that I can use it for a while 

in that position, until it again becomes 

too “open”. 

You asked me some time this autumn, whether 

the new house did not ruin the land-

scape, and where it was situated etc.

today I am sending you a picture postcard of it, 

which I took the day before yesterday, when I received your letter, – 

it was overcast and stormy, so it’s not

very good, with the thaw and the ground bare

(now we have got a lot of snow again) 

I have made a lighter copy of the card and ⁱⁿ dicated

the various parts by drawing on it – 

I hope you can make it out – and decide

on the location. –––

Well I suspected, that that 

is what happened with the Christmas 

beer – yes it was true that 

I was a little in debt before Christmas 

to Flùge, as I did not have

enough money to pay him 

for his part in the building

labour, – but he borrowed

100 kr. in my name from one of 

my brothers-in-law, while he was 

in Bergen, – and there was quite a lot 

more than that, in arrears

from the building labour, – later 

he was able to borrow 200 kr. for his

daughters, – when they were leaving for Ame-

rica, – of that I did however get kr. 90 back

a few days ago. Poor man

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he was forced to traipse around half

the village to borrow a little here and there in

order to get enough for his daughters’ Ame-

rica trip, – it was surely a costly

affair (almost 3000 kr.) but

then one of the daughters had got

a ticket from a sister in America. 

The picture for Urdahl I have nearly

finished, but here there is a problem

about the crate. Meyer demands that I

shall send the still life interior

urgently, – I am thinking of bothering

you with a clandestine mission:

it has to do with Eie – will you ask

him, if he will “stand by” his offer

in case – (in case) Engelsen does not

want this picture? (but ^perhaps would

prefer to have one of my old

motifs, that he is familiar with, – 

for he has not seen the still life

interior or any of my

later things, since I changed

painting style. 

Because; if Mr. Eie will not

stand by his offer, then I will

let Engelsen have it for the

same amount, as I do not like to

offer a picture first for a

higher and subsequently for a lower amount,

one loses one’s reputation,

if it becomes known. The painting

I have strived with recently,

and it is better than

this autumn; I have painted over the entire

table runner and got the squares in the correct per-

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spective, and the corner

that Engelsen mentioned is adjusted

The background in particular is greatly

improved; – the fruit and the win-

dow on the other hand I have done

nothing to; – I think I have

harmonised the colours better

now as well. ––– 

You probably think this is a 

boring mission and in that case

you must not do it, but 

I was reluctant to say this again

to Meyer, without having asked

Eie about it first, if Eie

stands by his offer, then I won’t 

say anything about this to Meyer.

I was hoping to find this

out, before I now send the pic-

ture. I mentioned in Vasenden

to Meyer, that I did not wish to de-

mand more from Engelsen than from

Mr. Eie; since I had first

given a discount, it would have to be the ^same

price for everyone, – this

Eie objected to, and so I

agreed that I would de-

mand 500 kr. more from Engelsen.

This objection of Eie’s must be

interpreted to mean, that he wished to have

the picture, if Engelsen did not take it,

but it was best to have this 

verified , – as I otherwise

intend to send the picture to someone