A frozen culture

Abstract

Between 1850 and 1914, Norway was a major supplier of natural ice to Britain and western Europe. The blocks of ice were kept across time and distance. The cold energy of ice was transferred as it melted in cabinets and boxes. The natural ice industry had a composite range of end consumers in restaurants, ocean liners, food industries and pelagic fish trawlers. At the same time, natural ice was also a production industry, based on methods for natural resource extraction. This article argues that while macro preconditions and structural outlines are generally understood, there has been little exploration of the social or technological processes by which it came to be a source of wealth (for a few) and employment (for thousands). It singes out for attention one entrepreneur, Johan Martin Dahll, who between 1850 and his death in 1877 was crucial in shaping the industry in a Norwegian context.