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Stamps and collecting

16 April 2015 - Anders B. Wilse 150 Years

Our legendary photographer, Anders Beer Wilse, was born in Flekkefjord on 12 June 1865 and grew up in the busy sailing port, Kragerø.

He had difficulty finding work in Kragerø, so in 1884 young Anders left for the USA, where he worked as an engineer with the railroad. In 1897 he got a job as a carto­grapher for the geographical survey in Seattle, but took pictures in his spare time and opened his own photography shop.

NK 1904
Grensen Street towards the Oslo Cathedral (1924)

After coming home to Norway in 1900, Wilse quickly became our most prominent landscape and tourist photographer. He traversed the entire country and his production of tourist pictures grew rapidly. He called himself an outdoors photographer and took pictures for postcards and books, but he also took pictures on assignment. The Directorate for Cultural Heritage gave him an assignment to document Norwegian architecture styles, which he did in addition to his own more commercial projects.

NK 1905
Wintery mountain landscape in Jotunheimen (1933)

The Norwegian Trekking Association, of which he was an active member, greatly enjoyed his pictures from the mountains. Skiing in particular would help Wilse become a pioneer in creating vibrant winter pictures. In the Norwegian winter of 1905 the new royal family started to grow, and Wilse was soon close to King Haakon and Queen Maud. He followed the little family through thick and thin for 30 years. His goal was to preserve the “elevated” aspect of royalty, while at the same time attempting to docu­ment their proximity to everything «Norwegian».

NK 1906
Fishermen in Lofoten (1910)

By 1909 Anders Beer Wilse had held over 800 lectures with pictures. Many of the pictures were coloured by hand, and he filled community halls all over Norway with his «exhibitions». When Wilse  passed away in 1949 his collection was divided among several institutions and individuals.Fortunately, most of it can be found in public collections at the Norsk Folkemuseum, the Norwegian Maritime Museum and the Oslo Museum.

NK 1907
Girls in folk costumes, with bicycles, Setesdal (1934)

Facts

NK 1904-1907
Date of issue: 16 April 2015 Values and subjects:
A Domestic: Grensen Street towards the Oslo Cathedral (1924)
Kr 14.00: Wintery mountain landscape in Jotunheimen (1933)
Kr 16.00: Fishermen in Lofoten (1910)
Kr 20.00: Girls in folk costumes, with bicycles, Setesdal (1934)
Photos: Anders Beer Wilse, © Oslo Museum (NK 1904,) Anders Beer Wilse, © Norsk Folkemuseum (NK 1905-1906), Anders Beer Wilse, © Dextra Foto / Norsk Teknisk Museum (NK 1907)
Design: Kristin Granli
Method of printing: Offset
Printing house: Joh. Enschedé Security Print