The Scottish Mountain Heritage Collection
680.2008.1
Skis.
17/12/2008
Hermione Cooper
17/12/2008
Pair of Icelandic wooden skis with metal edges and complete cable binding. Holes in tips.
wood, metal, leather
205(l) cms At widest part 9(w) cms
1 pair
Circle on tip with "TRESMIDJAN FJOLNIR REYKJAVIK" inside. On bindings "CHALET HARVEY E DODDS"
"2083" on ski.
brown
Tresmidjan
Iceland
These are a lovely set of skis which seem to have been made by an Icelandic woodworking company in Reykjavik(literally translated Tresmidjan is a tree-smith or wood worker. Dating from around the 1950's , this seems to fit in with the trend at the time whereby woodworkers, joiners and carpenters would put their skills to good use by producing skis to cater for what was a booming sport - skiing. Made from a single piece of wood which looks like oak, each ski would be shaped, probably by hand, with the tip turned up by steaming. We think the metal edges are a later addition. The binding is a little easier to pin down since Canadian Harvey Dodds patented the binding in 1934; so it looks like the Icelanders were importing Canadian bindings to put on their skis. Quite how the skis got from Iceland to Scotland and ultimately to us, we are not really sure - we are pleased that they got here though.
Part of collection passed on from Scottish Ski Club
01/12/2008
28/04/2009
Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007
28/04/2009