Christian Tønsberg
Encyclopedia
Nils Christian Tønsberg ( 7 December 1813 - 6 February 1897) was a Norwegian publisher and author. Christian Tønsberg became one of the larger Norwegian publishers and was best known for illustrated books about Norway.
, Norway
. He was the son of a ship manager Johan Christian Tønsberg (1788-1830) and Anne Marie Dahl (1788-1837). From the age of 14 he was employed at the office of town clerk and justice secretary and worked as a secretary for several municipal commissions. In September 1834 he was assistant at the Recorder of Bergen. He enrolled in law studies, graduating with the cand.jur. degree in 1845.
, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg
, Colombia
, Liberia
and Romania
. Additionally he managed estates, auction and estate sales.
When the publishing company of Guldberg & Dzwonkowski was dissolved in 1844, Tønsberg assumed a large part of the publisher's legal literature. Tønsberg had met Henrik Wergeland
in Bergen in 1832 and later became one of the writer's best friends and his main support. He arranged to published Hasselnødder in 1845. At the time of Wergeland's death the following year, he was asked to manage his estate and take care of the widow. He also published works of P. A. Munch, Mauritz Hansen, Magnus Brostrup Landstad
and others. He was among the founders of the Norwegian Booksellers Association
in 1851.
Tønsberg became strongly influenced by the National Romantic period and was eager to establish a co-operation between the different art forms. The illustrations were drawn by some of the most famous of Norwegian artists including Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
among others. Tønsberg continued publishing similar books over the next years. He gathered and published the material in Norge fremstillet i Tegninger with Asbjørnsen in 1848. Tønsberg also published Bondeliv i Norge with Munch in 1861. Tønsberg continued with a limited publishing until 1891, by which time he was almost blind.
Background
Nils Christian Tønsberg was born in BergenBergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. He was the son of a ship manager Johan Christian Tønsberg (1788-1830) and Anne Marie Dahl (1788-1837). From the age of 14 he was employed at the office of town clerk and justice secretary and worked as a secretary for several municipal commissions. In September 1834 he was assistant at the Recorder of Bergen. He enrolled in law studies, graduating with the cand.jur. degree in 1845.
Career
Tønsberg was employed as clerk in the Treasury Department, working in the office of several Supreme Court lawyers. Tønsberg also served as consul for several countries: Kingdom of BavariaKingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...
, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. Additionally he managed estates, auction and estate sales.
When the publishing company of Guldberg & Dzwonkowski was dissolved in 1844, Tønsberg assumed a large part of the publisher's legal literature. Tønsberg had met Henrik Wergeland
Henrik Wergeland
Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland was a Norwegian writer, most celebrated for his poetry but also a prolific playwright, polemicist, historian, and linguist...
in Bergen in 1832 and later became one of the writer's best friends and his main support. He arranged to published Hasselnødder in 1845. At the time of Wergeland's death the following year, he was asked to manage his estate and take care of the widow. He also published works of P. A. Munch, Mauritz Hansen, Magnus Brostrup Landstad
Magnus Brostrup Landstad
Magnus Brostrup Landstad was a Norwegian minister, psalmist and poet who published the first collection of authentic Norwegian traditional ballads in 1853...
and others. He was among the founders of the Norwegian Booksellers Association
Norwegian Booksellers Association
The Norwegian Booksellers Association is a Norwegian interest group. Its purpose is "looking after the interests of the booksellers and working to strengthen the position of literature and books in society". It awards the annual Norwegian Booksellers' Prize .It was founded on 10 January 1851. The...
in 1851.
Tønsberg became strongly influenced by the National Romantic period and was eager to establish a co-operation between the different art forms. The illustrations were drawn by some of the most famous of Norwegian artists including Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore...
among others. Tønsberg continued publishing similar books over the next years. He gathered and published the material in Norge fremstillet i Tegninger with Asbjørnsen in 1848. Tønsberg also published Bondeliv i Norge with Munch in 1861. Tønsberg continued with a limited publishing until 1891, by which time he was almost blind.
Selected works
- Norge fremstillet i Tegninger (1848)
- Christiania og Omegn (1850)
- Norske Nationaldragter (1852)
- Berømte Nordmænd (1853–56)
- Norske Folkelivsbilleder (1854)
- Bondeliv i Norge (1861)
- Norske Kunstner-Album (1873)
- Billeder af Norges Natur og Folkeliv (1875)
- Norsk Portræt-Galleri (1877)
- En Brudefærd i Hardanger (1879)