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.

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.

 

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)

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.

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.

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)

Ready to board Qantas flight to Singapore

 Ladies ready to board the Qantas Empire Airways flight Brisbane - Singapore in 1936. My restoration and colorization of the original image in the State Library of Queensland archive

Qantas Empire Airways Ltd, which was formed by Qantas and Britain's Imperial Airways in 1934, started its first international service between Brisbane and Singapore in 1936, using four engine de Havilland D.H.86 planes. The flight time was three and a half days for the ten passengers. (The ladies in this picture did not actually board the flight.They were fashion models taking part in an autumn feature of a McWhirter's Clothing supplement.)

Cruise ship Spirit of Adventure in Öresund

 Last night, just after 7 PM, the brand-new "boutique cruise ship" Spirit of Adventure passed by in Öresund on her way from Copenhagen to Gothenburg. 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)

 

LPG tanker B Gas Monarch in Öresund

 The small LPG tanker B Gas Monarch was early this morning in Öresund on her way from Gdansk (Poland) to Brofjorden (Sweden)

The B Gas Monarch, sailing under the flag of Portugal, was built in 2016. LOA is 87.5 m.

 

A red container ship in Öresund

 The Danish flagged container ship Tukuma Arctica was this morning on her way to the nearby port of Helsingborg. Her carrying capacity is 2150 TEU and her current draught is reported to be 8.5 meters. Length overall (LOA) is 179.4 meters and width is 31.01 meters.Takuma Arctica was built in 2020.

Full-rigger Asmund in Australian waters (1920)

 Norwegian full-rigger Asmund photographed in Australian waters in (ab.) 1920 by Allan C. Green. My restoration and colorization of the original image in the State Library Victoria archive. The 284 ft ship had an iron hull.

Skipshistorie.net gives this information on the ship:

"1886 Built as fully rigged CORTEZ by Oswald, Mordaunt & Co.,

Woolston, Southampton, England for George Petrie, London,

England.

1902 Transferred to George Petrie & Son, London.

1906 Sold in april to Harloff & Bøe et. al., Bergen.

Overført in December to Harloff & Rødseth et. al., Bergen.

1909 Sold in May to A/S Cortez (Alex. Bech & Co.),

Tvedestrand.

1913 Sold in September to A/S Cortez (E. Monsen & Co.),

Tvedestrand.

1917 Sold 01/01 for NOK 884.000 to A/S Odderø

(Thv. B. Heistein & Sønner A/S), Kristiansand. Renamed

ASMUND.

1919 Skibs-A/S Odderø taken over in June by A. I. Langfeldt &

Co., Kristiansand.

1921 Laid up at Newport News, VA, USA.

1924 Sold for USD 15.000 to Italian byers. Delivered in Genoa,

Italy. Broken up in 2nd quarter."

My tribute to the Nordic Folkboat

 This is my tribute to the Nordic Folkboat, recognized by the Classic Boat magazine as " the most popular, successful and influential sailing yacht of all time." The Folkboat pictured here is

Hjalmar Frisell´s Pax Aurea (7,64 x 2,22m), photographed as brand new in the Stockholm archipelago in 1946. My restoration and colorization of Theodor Modin´s photo in the National Maritime Museum of Sweden archive (Digital Museum).

Schooner Abel Tasman and cruiseferry Crown Seaways in Öresund

 Dutch schooner Abel Tasman was yesterday afternoon on her way northwards in Öresund. The 40 x 6,60 m schooner, built in 1913, has 12 cabins for 30 passengers. Her sail area is 450m².

MS Crown Seaways is a 172 m cruiseferry operated by DFDS Seaways on the route Copenhagen - Oslo. She was built in 1994 in Split, Croatia.

Sail training ship Alexander von Humboldt II in Öresund

Tonight it was wonderful to see the German sail training ship ALEXANDER von HUMBOLDT II back in Öresund. The 65 m (LOA) x 10 m ship is on her way from Grenaa (DK9 to Travemunde.

"ALEXANDER von HUMBOLDT II has been sailing the high seas since 2011. Like its predecessor ALEXANDER von HUMBOLDT, ALEX-2 is a civilian squarerigger offering tall ship voyages for everyone, regardless of previous experience. All you need is an open mind and a spirit of adventure! ALEXANDER von HUMBOLDT II has been built with a traditional barque rigg. That means the fore and main mast carry square sails while the sternmost, the mizzen mast, carries gaff sails. In total, ALEX-2 is driven by 24 sails with a sail area of 1.360 m2. In favourable wind conditions, she runs up to 14 knots. And if the wind does not blow at all, a 750 horsepower engine helps to reach the next port in time. While the rigging resembles that of a windjammer built 150 years ago, the safety and rescue equipment of ALEXANDER von HUMBOLDT II is absolutely up to date. Radar, radio and satellite communication, electronic charts, life rafts, two high speed dinghys and many things more make her a modern ship and easy to navigate. ALEX-2 is owned and operated by Deutsche Stiftung Sail Training (German Sail Training Foundation / DSST), based in the barque’s homeport Bremerhaven. DSST is a non-profit, charitable organization. Its aims are to provide traditional high seas sailing for people of all ages, but especially for young men and women aged 15-25."(Sailtraininginternational.org)

Dutch unmanned steel deck barge Hapo H-401 in Öresund

 The Dutch unmanned steel deck barge Hapo H-401 was this afternoon towed southwards in Öresund, loaded with two huge cranes. The 122 x 36.6 m barge, built in 2018, has a 4420 sq.m. deck space.

Some information from Hapo´s home page:

"Hapo International Barges B.V. (HAPO), is founded in 1987 by Henk Poot together with several partners and is situated in the harbour of Rotterdam. The headquarters is located in Ridderkerk and together with docks in Rotterdam, Ridderkerk and 's-Gravendeel makes HAPO as a whole. We are specialised in providing pontons, crane barges, heavy machinery and other facilities supplying contractors for salvaging shipwrecks, off- or onshore operations involving heavy lifting, and heavy lifting transportation."

The barge was towed by German tug Fairplay 35 and Danish tug Fenja (Fairplay not visible here, Fenja behind the barge).

Norwegian cargo steamer B. A. Broch in 1904

 Norwegian cargo steamer B.A. Broch photographed as brand new in Kristiania (Oslo) in July, 1904. The 216.3 ft (c. 63 m.) 878 brt ship was built by Akers mek. Verksted, Kristiania, for A/S B. A. Broch, Kristiania. My restoration and colorization of Anders B. Wilse´s original image in the Norwegian Maritime Museum archive.

B. A. Broch later had three other Norwegian owners. On October 14. 1916, when she sailed for the last owner, Rederi-A/S Granat (K. M. Pedersen), renamed Rabbi, carrying coal from Swansea (Wales) to Rouen (France) she was captured and scuttled by the German submarine UB18. The crew abandoned the ship in lifeboats, and were later saved by another Norwegian steamer.

Dandelion

 Dandelion

Spring crocuses in Hittarp

 Today we had a wonderful spring day. The crocuses are looking great now. 

 

US barquentine Anne Comyn

The barquentine Anne Comyn, built in Rolph (California) in 1920 and rigged by the Haveside chandlery of San Francisco for the Pacific Freighters company, photographed in Australia by Allan C.Green. She was one of the uncompleted Ferris-type steamer hulls in the United States, which were finished as 5-masted barquentines.

My restoration and colorization of the original image in the State Library Victoria archive.

Anne Comyn made her maiden voyage to Australia in 1920. According to the Sunday Oregonian, she made the voyage in record time:

"The barkentine Anne Comyn, a Ferris type hull, broke

a record of nine years' standing by reaching Sydney, Australia, in 52 days from San Francisco. The Alicia Haviside, now on passage from the Golden Gate to Durban, South Africa, and the Phyllis Comyn, on her way from Puget sound to Sydney, are Ferris hulls rigged as barkentines."

Four years later, on December 19,1924, the Melbourne newspaper Argus wrote about another visit by Anne Comyn - she was the first ship to land a cargo of Alaskan timber in Melbourne:

"BARQUENTINE ANNE COMYN."

"After a voyage of 83 days from Anyox,

British Columbia, the five-masted bar-

quentine Anne Comyn reached Melbourne

yesterday. The Anne Comyn is laden with

175,000 feet of timber consisting of baulks

of spruce and hemlock. She is in charge

of Captain Brasting and a crew of 16 men,

most of whom are Australians. The ship

is only four years old and is owned by

Comyn and Co., of San Francisco. She

is of 2,247 tons register. After discharg-

ing timber here the Anne Comyn will prob-

ably sail for Newcastle to take a cargo

of coal for Alaska. The passage to Aus-

tralia was uneventful. Light winds pre-

vailed until the barquentine entered Bass

Straits when she encountered a gale which

delayed her for about two days."

Refrigerated cargo ship Port Fairy (ab.) 1930

 Refrigerated cargo ship Port Fairy and a small sailing boat photographed by the Australian photographer Allan C. Green. The original image - here shown digitally hand colorizide by me - is in the Victoria State Library archive. The library does not give a date, but I think Green´s shot is from ab.1930. The 145.5 m ship had accomodation for 12 passengers.

"MV Port Fairy was a UK merchant vessel built in 1928 by Swan Hunter for the Commonwealth & Dominion Line Ltd (or "Port Line") shipping company and sold in 1965 to Embajada Compania Naviera SA of Piraeus. Named after the coastal town of Port Fairy in Australia, she was renamed Taishikan for her final commercial voyage to Hong Kong where she was scrapped."- -

"In 1930 her refrigeration equipment was modified and she carried the first cargo of chilled meat (instead of frozen meat) from Australia; she later worked the same cargo from New Zealand." --

"Port Fairy had an eventful war employed as an ammunition ship.Sailing in fast convoy OL8 from Liverpool to Canada on 22 October 1940, Port Fairy collided with the Canadian destroyer Margaree in rough seas about 300 miles (483 km) west of Ireland (position 53°24′N 22°50′W.). Margaree sank quickly; her captain, four officers and 136 crew were lost. Port Fairy rescued 34 of the survivors.On 9 July 1943 the small Convoy Faith, comprising Port Fairy, the troopships Duchess of York and California, with escorts Iroquois, Douglas and Moyola, sailed Greenock for Freetown, Sierra Leone. Two days later, when the convoy was about 300 miles west of Vigo, it was attacked by 3 Focke-Wulf Fw 200 aircraft of Kampfgeschwader 40 based at Merignac, near Bordeaux. The precision high-altitude bombing left both Duchess of York and California blazing. Port Fairy picked up 64 RAF survivors from Duchess of York. Both Duchess of York and California were abandoned, and in the early hours of 12 July they were sunk by torpedoes from their escorts as it was feared the flames from the ships would attract U-boats." (Wikipedia)

Motor yacht Ingmar (1928)

 This is Ingmar, a 12 m (l.o.a.) motor yacht designed by C.G. Pettersson. It (Ingmar is a male name!) was built in 1919 at Larssons Motorbåtsvarv, Saltsjöbaden, Sweden for the owner Karl Grönstedt. Bertil Norberg took the picture (ab.) 1926. My restoration and colorization of an image in the Maritime Museum of Sweden archive (Digital Museum).

Coaster Saturn passed by

 The Danish coaster, m/v Saturn passed by this afternoon on its way to Bergen (Norway). The 53,6 m Saturn, with a carrying capacity of 772 t. DWT, was built in the Netherlands already in 1966. It is kept in outstanding shape by a dedicated crew.

The yacht Tatjana (1905)

 This is the 96 sq.m. yacht Tatjana photographed by Erik Salander in 1905 or 1906. The 8,50 m (l.w.l) yacht was designed by the Finnish constructor August Westin and built by Åbo Båtvarf in Turku, Finland, in 1905.

My restoration and colorization of the original image in the SCIF.se archive.

Mrs. Cornelia Cecil (née Vanderbilt)

 

Mrs. Cornelia Cecil (née Vanderbilt) photographed by Harris & Ewing in (ab.) 1925. My restoration and colorization of the original image in the Library of Congress archive. 

"Cornelia was born at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina on August 22, 1900. She was the daughter, and only child, of George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914) and Edith Stuyvesant Dresser (1873–1958). Her father, the youngest child of William Henry Vanderbilt and Maria Louisa (née Kissam) Vanderbilt, built a 250-room mansion, the largest privately owned home in the United States, which he named Biltmore Estate. The estate, designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt, was modeled on the Chateau de Blois among other chateaux of the Loire Valley. She was the great-granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, and, on her mother’s side, she was a descendant of Peter Stuyvesant." --

"After her father's death in 1914, Cornelia inherited the Biltmore estate. Her mother sold approximately 86,000 acres (350 km²) of the Biltmore property to the United States Forest Service to create the core of Pisgah National Forest. Her mother later married Peter Goelet Gerry (1879–1957), a United States Senator from Rhode Island." --

"On April 29, 1924, Cornelia was married to a British aristocrat who was then the first secretary of the British Embassy in Washington, Hon. John Francis Amherst Cecil (1890–1954), the son of Lord William Cecil and Mary Cecil, Baroness Amherst of Hackney. The Cecils were descendants of William Cecil. The nationally-renowned organist from St. Louis Charles Henry Galloway played organ at the wedding. They divorced in 1934," --

"Around 1932, reportedly finding life at Biltmore too dull, she moved to New York City to briefly study art, leaving her husband to manage Biltmore. A few months later, she moved to Paris where she divorced her husband in 1934, dyed her hair bright pink, and changed her name to Nilcha. After her 1934 move abroad, she never returned to Biltmore or the United States again. After Paris, she moved to London, where she met and married Captain Vivian Francis Bulkeley-Johnson (1891–1968) in October 1949. Bulkeley-Johnson, the aide-de-camp to the 9th Duke of Devonshire when he was the Governor General of Canada from 1916 to 1918, served in the offices of the Imperial War Cabinet in World War I and in the Air Ministry. They remained married until his death in 1968.

One evening as she was having dinner with Edward Adamson in London, Cornelia met William Robert "Bill" Goodsir, their waiter with whom she fell in love. In 1972, Cornelia married for the third and final time to Goodsir (1926–1984), who was 26 years younger than she was." --

"Her sons (from the marriage with John Cecil) eventually inherited the Biltmore estate, with George Cecil, the older of the two sons, choosing to inherit the majority of the estate's land and the Biltmore Farms Company, which was more profitable than the house at the time. The younger son, William Cecil was thus left with Biltmore House, and is credited with preserving the chateau which (though still privately owned) is open to the public. Through her elder son, she was the grandmother of six, and through her second son, she was the grandmother of two more

Cornelia died on February 7, 1976, aged 75, in Oxford, England. Her ashes are buried at St. Peter's Kirkyard, Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland."  (Wikipedia)

The Swedish yacht Stormen (1919)

 The Koster style boat Stormen (Storm) photographed by A. Clason in 1919 on the western coast of Sweden. My colorization of the original image in the SCIF.se archive.  She had just been a winner in a local regatta.

Portrait of a Samoan girl

 Portrait of a Samoan girl (1890 - 1910). My restoration and colorization of the original image by Thomas Andrew in the Museum of New Zealand archive. The girl is wearing an elaborate traditional Lavalava (also known as an 'ie, short for 'ie lavalava, an article of daily clothing traditionally worn by Polynesians and other Oceanic peoples) made of Polynesian barkcloth.

S/S Sigurd Jarl (1905)

 The Hurtigruten ship S/S Sigurd Jarl photographed by Anders B. Wilse in 1905. The 60.5 x 8.9 x 4.5 m Sigurd Jarl was built in 1894 by Akers Mekaniske Verksted A/S (Kristiania/Oslo) for Nordenfjeldske Damskibsselskab, Trondheim. She was sunk on April 23, 1940, in a German air raid close to Molde The wreck was salvaged, but it would have been too costly to repair the ship, which was scrapped in 1947.

My colorization of the original image in the Norwegian Maritime Museum archive.

"Gas is cheaper than electricity" (1909)

 These Helsinki ladies, photographed in 1909, were not not suffragettes - after all, already in 1906 universal and equal suffrage had been achieved in Finland. No, the ladies were "demonstrating" on behalf of the Helsinki city gasworks, which wanted people to know that "Gas is cheaper than electricity". (The text is in Swedish, as this ad targeted the Swedish speaking population in Helsinki). The use of gas in kitchen stowes became more widespread in the early 1910s.

My restoration and colorization of Artur Fastin´s photo in the Finnish Heritage Agency archive.

Finnish stallion Primus (1953)

 Finnish stallion Primus photographed in Sippola (Finland) in 1953.

My colorization of Pekka Kyytinen´s photo in the Finnish Heritage

Agency archive.