Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.07.2016, Qupperneq 20

The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 9 — 2016
20
“It was 1965 when I first met my
wife,” recalls local sculptor and
master gold and silversmith
Ófeigur Björnsson, as he begins
telling a mysterious story that
took place in his household more
than 50 years ago. “Just a couple of
days after meeting her, I found an
old book in my bookcase. My book-
case was not very full at this time,
and I didn’t recognise this book. I
had never seen it before.”
Ófeigur was intrigued, and
asked if his family knew anything
about this odd appearance. “They
had never seen it before, either,”
he recalls.
There was one clue—the book
had been signed by its owner, Jón
A. Ólafsson. “I didn’t know this
name at all,” says Ófeigur. “Some
days passed, and then it simply
vanished—when I walked by my
bookcase one day, it wasn’t there
anymore.”
Law and lore
Years went by. In 1969 Ófeigur
got married to his beloved, Hil-
dur Bolladóttir. “We established
a new home together,” he recalls.
“And then, one day, I found the
book right there in the bookcase.
For some odd reason, it had come
back. We hadn’t taken it with us.
Who did, I don’t know.”
As Ófeigur got to know more
about his wife’s family, he was told
that this book had been owned and
signed by Hildur’s great-grandfa-
ther. “And there was no question
about it—he had been dead all this
time,” he says. “This is the most
mysterious thing that has ever
happened to me.”
The book was published in
1886, and is mostly about legal
matters. For example, one chap-
ter describes how to apply for a job.
Ófeigur hasn’t read it thoroughly,
just occasionally browsed its pages.
A family affair
Ófeigur Björnsson and his wife
currently live in downtown Reyk-
javík, where they run their family
business. Ófeigur makes jewellery
with lava and other natural mate-
rials, and also creates sculptures.
Hildur is a master dressmaker
and designer. One of their sons,
Bolli Ófeigsson, also works with
his father as a master gold and
silversmith. The business is well-
regarded—on the day I visited,
the former President of Iceland,
86-year-old Vigdís Finnbogadót-
tir, was in the shop.
The book now stands on the
bookshelf in Ófeigur’s workroom.
“I hold it close to me,” he admits.
“Maybe the book is the reason why
me and my wife are so creative,
and deal with handicraft.”
I wonder if there are great se-
crets written there, using invisi-
ble ink, that the spirit of the owner
wants to share with him. “It may
be so,” laughs the puzzled Ófeigur.
“I just don’t know.”
HISTORY
The Master Goldsmith
And His Mysterious
130-Year-Old Book
Words & Photos: GEIDI RAUD
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