Oslo Norway ski poster – Huszar – 1935

Norway, Oslo ski poster – Bert Huszár – 1935

This is a great reproduction of a very rare Norwegian Oslo ski poster designed by Bert Huszár for the Reisetrafikkforeningen for Oslo og omegn. The Norway Oslo ski poster was the winning entry of a poster design competition organised by the city of Oslo.

The vintage skiing poster was printed by Emil Moestue A/S, Oslo and features an image of a skier looking towards Slottet Royal Palace in central Oslo. The Palace was built as the Norwegian residence of King Charles III John of Norway in 1849. Huszár has used some artistic license to include the Scandinavian mountain range including Mount Áhkká in Stora Sjöfallet National Park in the background behind the palace. Nevertheless, this is a superb vintage skiing poster.

Did skiing start in Norway?

Well! It seems not. For a good while, it had a perfectly good shout. There are many countries who would like to claim likewise. And it’s no wonder the Norwegians would have liked it to be true, the Norwegians love skiing. It is their National Sport. Their love of skiing s responsible for the country’s stunning performances at Winter Olympics over the decades.

The earliest known reference to skiing in Norway dates back to around 3,000-4,000BC. Primitive carvings were discovered at Rødøy in Norway’s Nordland that depict figures walking on skis. Another famous example is the rock carving at Alta, Finnmark which depicts a primitive hunter on skis that dates back to about 1000BC.

There’s physical evidence as well. In 2014, archaeologists discovered a single wooden ski frozen in ice on Digervarden Mountain in southern Norway. Seven years later they found the other half! The pair of skis, amongst the best-preserved ever found are together again after 1,300 year separation.

The first primitive ski found in Scandinavia was uncovered in a peat bog in Sweden’s Jämtland County. It dates back to 4,500-2,500 BC.

However, cave paintings suggesting the use of skis have been discovered in the Altaic region of China. These have been dated at more than 5,000 years old. Which, at least until the next discovery puts the ball well and truly in China’s court.

At least Scandinavia can be proud that it has given the world some of the sports terminologies. The term ski and slalom are Nordic words. The word ski has its origins in the Old Norse word skíð, which means “cleft wood” or “stick of wood”.

Our posters are carefully and professionally created from vintage originals. Whilst great care is taken in the production of these posters, we also try to maintain a vintage feel, so there may be small imperfections, fold marks, scuffs, tears, or marks that were part of the original poster master. If these do appear they should be visible on the larger views of the item on this listing. The originals of many of the posters we offer can cost many thousands of pounds, so whilst these posters look great, especially framed and mounted on a wall, they are intended as fun, affordable reproductions and not intended fine art prints.

The 50x70cm version has been specially produced to be used in conjunction with Ikea’s 50x70cm Ribba picture frame which currently retails for around £12. So you can bag a bargain of print and poster for just £22.