Around the turn of the century, Norwegian photographer Solveig Lund (1868-1943) made a good living photographing bunad wear and bridal attires. She was based in Oslo, and at one point had 3 different studios in Oslo at the same time! I’m sharing some of her work here, again sorted by Bunad-districts:
These images are clickable for you to zoom in and study the details, some of them are quite large:
HARDANGER – PERLEKRUNE (BEADED CROWN)
VOSS – BRIDAL CROWN / LAD
SOGN – SILVER CROWN
SETESDAL – LAD
Her photos were intended for postcards, targeting the tourist market especially. She handcolorized many of her images herself:
Marcus Selmer (1819-1900) also photographed a series of Bunad and Bridal Wear in the years 1862-1866, mostly in his Bergen studio:
Marcus Selmer’s originals were then cut out and mounted on drawn backgrounds. When they were handcolorized, often times the colors were changed from the originals, so these photos does not always give an accurate depiction of the costumes.
I’m including a few printable collage sheets with photographies of Traditional Norwegian Brides:
Find your high quality copies, free for your personal use and enjoyment in the download folder below 🙂
I have plans for several more posts about Norwegian Bridal Crowns, Bunad traditions and other Norwegian traditions. I’ll be sharing these special posts on Sundays, so stay tuned for more Norwegian Sundays to come 😀 Coming up next Sunday is Bridal Crowns in Film.
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I have used imagery from the following sources for this post:
Solveig Lund – Digitalt Museum
Solveig Lund – The National Library of Norway
Marcus Selmer – Digitalt Museum
Marcus Selmer – The National Library of Norway
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Wow, the Bridal Crowns are remarkable. Thank you so much for sharing these photos and downloads.
So interesting that Solveig captured their youth and beauty in her photos. Marcus’ photos are more typical of photos of the time – the brides look almost stern, which makes them look older.
Hi I’m an American of Norwegian descent, just found your site. Love the bridal crowns.
About ten years ago, after much research, located my cousin and family who live
in Asker. We’ve been corresponding ever since, and he came to US to visit in 09.
Thanks for the beautiful site!
Jeanne
Hello, I am an American of Norwegian descent, (Lofoten islands). I wish I could find a distant cousin and correspond with her. I am in Southern Minnesota and there are many Americans of Norwegian descent here. I teach high school and when viewing your crown photos, I definitely can see some of the brides look very much like some of my Norwegian American students. Very interesting how the genetics carry through.
Ann