1890 Norwegian Bible

Hello all!

First off I would like to introduce myself, my name is Matt and I am new to the forum as of today. I have always had an interest in antiques based on my mother and father, who as of last month are now both gone.

Its a sad time for us kids (37, 35, and 30) but we are getting through it. We are all very close so that is good in times like these. Along that note, my dad who just passed was quite the collector, as was his dad who passed in the 90s.

Going through the house with my sisters we have found some interesting things. One of which is this old bible that I know was brought over "on the boat" with the first of my ancestors that came to Minnesota from Norway.

No clue what something like this is worth (if anything), but figured I would start here. It is one awesome book to say the least!

I will have some other things that I post on here too that we frankly have no idea what they are/they are worth etc. Our angle is not to sell everything, more to understand what it is/was and make the determination as to whether or not we want to let it go.

It's tough as we know much if this is sentimental, but the more generations that get removed the sentiment decreases, etc. Thank you all in advance for the help

 

Hi Matty and welcome! My ancestors on my dad's side also came over from Norway and I have a couple old Bibles too. Sorry to hear about your folks.

I don't really know what if any value this might have but there are some who might.

 

Thanks!

Looking at the date 1890 I have to say that it didn't come over "on the boat", because the first one that came over fought in the civil war (I found his original discharge papers!), which obviously took place prior to 1890. Just wanted to correct myself...

 

Welcome....and sorry for your loss...mine are now gone as well as of this past March. Stay close with brothers and sisters

 

Greetings, Matt. Going through the house following a loss like yours is certainly sad, but it can also be very interesting.

Have you gone through the book to see if there is a "family register" section? Many old bibles had such and if there is one, it might tell you whose this was.

 

Greetings Matt. I second the notion to check for a family register. In this country, a lot of times the only place marriages were recorded was in the Bible, if you were out in the boonies. A lot of people didn't have a whole paper trail. There could be all sorts of goodies in this.

 

Hello Matt....
splitting up parents stuff between kids is a hard thing to do at the best of times....
We don't usually offer up values...but we'll help as best we can...!

 

I see it's illustrated by Paul Gustave Doré, that makes it more interesting than others of similar ilk but condition and age matter when it comes to value. Fun to look through, his illustrations are amazing.

 

You might consider contacting other relatives. Whenever I'm on genealogy sites, there are always folks looking for family Bibles and sometimes willing to pay more than the intrinsic worth of the piece. As a direct descendant of the owner, you may not be thinking about other branches of the family.

 

Hello Matty, welcome to the forum. I love the bible.
This must be very difficult for you, in a time of great loss to you and your siblings.
But finding out more about your family history is a great way to honour you parents. I became the family historian after my parents died, and opening a window of knowledge about those who lived before us was a way of coping with the loss.

 

And I just noticed it was published in Chicago. Interesting that a Chicago firm published a Norwegian language bible.

 

There were large enclaves of Scandinavians in the Mid-west - still are. There was an area of Chicago known as Little Norway.

 

Many Scandinavians settled in Chicago......Norwegians among them.

http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/911.html

I agree with Anund that Dore illustrated bibles tend to bring a bit more......at least that was my experience in the past.

 

Interesting link Judy, thanks.
I knew they were there, but never realized there were enough Norwegians to make publishing bibles in Norwegian in the States profitable. Such a bible must have been very expensive. Even Norwegian books in Norway are expensive, because of the small population and limited readership.

 

At one point there were more folks of Norwegian descent in the US than there are in Norway.(LOL) Parts of the upper Midwest still have a big Scandinavian influence, including the accent. There are a pile of Swedes up there too.

 

And now Norway is asking for Dutch people to settle there, giving them bonuses as well. I guess they're feeling a bit lonely with just a few million left. They prefer Dutch people because apparently Dutch learn the language more easily and adjust better than others do.

 

That is very interesting to know. Are they Dutch interested in doing so?

I had the opportunity to travel to the far northern mountains of Narvik, Norway....the land of the Midnight Sun. I took a train tour from Stockholm, to Kiruna (Artic Circle) then onward to the final destination of the tour, Narvik.

Unfortunately the tour is not available, altho one can take the 14 hr. overnight train trip to Kiruna, then another train to Narvik.

I would love to take that trip if we go to Stockholm next year, but that remains to be seen.

 

Sounds like a wonderful tour. I've never been to Norway, only crossed over to Sweden from Denmark.
Many Dutch have already gone to Norway. The Netherlands is small and densely populated, many people here feel stifled. But if they move to Norway, they have to be prepared to adjust to a culture that is notorious for a not so very modern way of thinking. Stifling in another way? Maybe the extremely beautiful scenery is enough compensation.

 

I know very little about the climate of the Netherlands....does it snow there?

 

Only occasionally. We have a moderate climate, influenced by the Gulfstream, a kind of river in the Atlantic Ocean, that carries warm water from the Carribean to Western Europe.
In the coastal areas, which is most of the country, it hardly ever gets really cold or really hot. I live inland, which is a transitional region from a moderate maritime to a continental climate. That means we get more extremes, but nothing compared to what you get in the States, or even Central Europe.