Ný saga - 01.01.1996, Page 99

May lst 1923. Their demands were many, one
being prompted by the outrage felt against the
loss of voting rights suffered by the poor when
forced to accept subsidies from the municipal
authorities. Some of the pictures have not been
published before and are important historical
sources. The first picture, for example, depicts the
first steps taken in a protest march in Iceland.
The marchers, both men and women, are led by
the leaders of the Social Democratic Party and
the Icelandic trade union movement with the Red
Flag prominently displayed. The author has suc-
ceeded in identifying many of the people in the
pictures and describing the events leading up to
the march, correcting some former misrepresen-
tations of this event.
Davíð Logi Sigurðsson
Our Man in Town
(Umbinn í borginni)
This is a sample of letters from the correspon-
dence of Sigurður Eiríksson, the author’s father.
As a young man he came to Reykjavík from
Eastern Iceland in the early 1950s to work in a
bank. These letters give an interesting picture of
life in Iceland in a period of shortages and
rationing as well as emphasizing the contrast
between life in the capital city and in rural areas.
Necessities were hard to find in country-towns.
Thus this young man received a steady stream of
letters from family and friends asking him to shop
for washing machines, material for a girl’s dress,
engagement rings for a couple he did not person-
ally know etc.
Point OF View (Sjónarhóll)
Smári Geirsson
History and the Provinces
(Landsbyggðin og sagnfræðin)
The author, who is a teacher in eastern Iceland,
criticizes the fact that as most Icelandic scholars
are situated in the Reykjavík area, all decisions
regarding research projects are made there and
that university educated people consider the
provinces to be a “gulag”.
This in his opinion, is narrow-minded, and he
points out that in recent years there has been a
quiet revolution taking place outside the capital
city: local archives and museums have been estab-
lished or greatly improved. Secondary schools all
over Iceland ensure that university educated his-
torians are to be found in every district.
Computer technology offers invaluable future
possibilities for the historian outside Reykjavík
and general progress in all means of communica-
tion are of especial benefit to historians working
outside the capital city.
Helgi M. Sigurðsson
Tourism and historical sites
(Minjar og ferðamennska)
This article offers an overview of the growing
interaction between tourism and the develop-
ment of historical sites in Iceland. The author dis-
cusses the current state of Icelandic museums and
then turns his attention to the museums’ policy
regarding their guests, exhibitions, special events
and marketing. The article gives a comprehensive
account of new exhibitions mounted in the past
few years.
Tourism is a growing industry in Iceland. At the
same time more emphasis has been placed on the
preservation of cultural antiquities. The general
public’s interest in history has been on the
increase both here and abroad. Tourist operators
have not been slow on the uptake, developing his-
torical sites as tourist attractions and encouraging
museums to mount interesting exhibitions. It is
important, in the author’s opinion, that this is not
done at the expense of the conservation role of
the museums.
Björn S. Stefánsson
Six party lists offering the same candidate!
(Sex framboðslistar með sama manninum!)
Until 1903 local government representatives in
Iceland were elected by open ballot at a public
meeting without formal nominations as candi-
dates. From 1904 in municipal elections party lists
became the law, with the possibility of the same
man appearing as a candidate on two or more
lists. For a time this was quite common, one man
even being nominated on six lists! This practice
was mainly adopted by non-partisan lists.
Women’s lists and the Social Democratic Party
for example never permitted their candidates to
appear on other lists than their own. In the 1920s
the nomination of the same candidate on more
than one list became increasingly rare and was
eventually prohibited by law in 1936.
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