Breaking Ice and Breaking Stories: Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld and the Vega Expedition

In June 1878, the expedition ship Vega set out from the port of Karlskrona in southern Sweden. The vessel, small but highly capable, had been adjusted to be able to withstand even the toughest conditions. The leader of the expedition was the Finland-Swedish explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld. Accompanied by a merry crew of experienced scientists and sailors, they set out to do what no one before them had managed: to conquer the Northeast Passage. After being stuck in the ice for nearly a year, they managed to become the first ship to circumnavigate the Eurasian continent. The voyage back home was triumphant, and they made stops in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Suez. However, three months before Vega returned to Sweden, the publisher Frans Beijer set out on a more important journey. He travelled from Sweden to Italy, where he met up with Nordenskiöld. A cunning businessman who knew how to make the most of things, he convinced Nordenskiöld to sign a book contract and had the expedition photographed. When Vega finally reached Stockholm, in April 1880, the news of the expedition were everywhere, and soon, the first instalment of Nordenskiöld’s account of the voyage hit the bookstands. This paper explores the publisher’s role in shaping the narrative of the expedition, from something of a failure, into a scientific achievement that is still celebrated today. Using digitised newspapers, combined with bookshop sales from one of the largest bookshop’s at the time, we will have a closer look at the audience, the narrative, and the money involved.