Saturday 1 January 2022

Picking daisies in New Zealand (1912)

 Picking daisies in Waititi (Dunedin, New Zealand) in 1912. My restoration and colorization of George Pye Crombie´s image in the Museum of New Zealand archive. The two young ladies in the picture are probably his sisters.

A few years later (1917) George Pye Crombie was killed in action in Messines, Belgium, aged 35.




Friday 3 December 2021

Motor cycle acrobatics (1924)

 Erik Fagerström (and son?) showing off at the Stockholm velodrome on October 28, 1924.

My restoration and colorization of Th. Modin´s image in the SCIF (Sweden) archive.




Monday 22 November 2021

After sunset

 The sun sets early here in Southern Sweden this time of the year - tonight sunset was at 3.50 PM. This picture shows the view from my balcony at 4.35 PM.



 

Friday 19 November 2021

Portrait of Uno and Olly Donner

 Uno and Olly (Olga) Donner - A wealthy couple with a strong social conscience. My colorization of the original (ab.) 1900-1905 photo by Atelier Apollo in the Finnish Heritage Agency archive.

"Olly Donner (1881–1956) was born into the Sinebrychoff (brewery) family; the father of Uno Donner (1872–1958) was a professor of Sanskrit and later became a senator.
Uno Donner was a pioneer in industry, as he founded Finland’s first worsted spinning mill. He was an engineer, educated at university level in England and Germany, but also a painter with a keen interest in philosophy.
The Donner couple knew Rudolf Steiner, the founder of the Anthroposophical movement, personally from the early 1910s. In 1923, Uno Donner founded the Anthroposophical Society in Finland and acted as chairman for the years 1923–1932.
Uno and Olly were both Anthroposophists and implemented their ideology, for example, at their farm of Gerknäs in Lohja, the first in Finland where biodynamic cultivation was carried out. In connection with the farm, the nursing home of Gustavsberg was founded for children in need of mental care. Olly Donner in particular was deeply engaged in this activity.
Olly published about thirty works in as many years in the form of story-dramas and poetry in French and Swedish. In addition, she studied English, Russian and German. The cosmopolitan couple spent long periods abroad each year.
Thanks to the Donners, the largest special library in religion in the Nordic countries, with over 90,000 volumes, is today to be found in Turku. Their endowment in 1956 was one of the largest donations received by Åbo Akademi University to date and comprised a large number of industrial shares, real estate and land. Later on, this gift grew even larger through the will of the Donners. The fund is currently managed by Åbo Akademi University Foundation."
(The Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History)



Sunday 17 October 2021

Polish yachts in Visby in 1937

 Polish yachts participating in the first ever Gotland Runt offshore race photographed in Visby in 1937. My restoration and colorization of Karl Sandels´s image in the Swedish Maritime Museum archive (Digital Museum). The yacht closest to the camera flies the Yacht Klubu Polski (Yacht Club of Poland) burgee.

The Gotland Runt sailing classic is the world´s largest annual offshore race.




Saturday 2 October 2021

Portrait of a Norwegian lady (ab. 1900)

 Portrait of Inger Kristoffersen. My colorization of Oslo photographer Gustav Borgen´s (1865 - 1926) photo in the Norsk Folkemuseum archive (Digital Museum). No date is given, but I would like to suggest that Borgen shot this portrait ab. 1900. Other suggestions are welcome.




Friday 24 September 2021

The brand new cruise ship Spirit of Adventure in Öresund

Tonight, just after 7 PM, the brand-new "boutique cruise ship" Spirit of Adventure passed by in Öresund on her way from Copenhagen to Stockholm. The 236 m ship, with a capacity for 999 guests, is operated by Saga Cruises.

"Spirit of Adventure is a cruise ship operated by Saga Cruises and constructed by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. As Saga's second new-build vessel, she was originally considered as an option in the cruise line's pursuit to renew its fleet, but the company finalised the order in 2017 after seeing rising profits in its travel business following the announcement of her sister ship, Spirit of Discovery. Her keel was laid on 3 June 2019 and she was delivered on 29 September 2020, but in response to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the inaugural cruise was continuously postponed until she officially debuted on 26 July 2021.

Spirit of Adventure operates under Saga's business model of targeting guests ages 50 and over and shares many of the same dimensions with her sister ship, but includes a different interior design to better distinguish her identity as a distinct vessel in the fleet."

(Wikipedia)