Ice saw, used to produce natural ice
The opening scene of Disney’s Frozen shows still water under thick ice. Suddenly, an ice saw breaks through the ice – a saw like this one. It was in use around 1900, probably in Asker, because it belongs to Asker Museum. Ice saws were used by workmen to cut large blocks of ice for ice boxes and ice houses, which were the fridges of the day.
A growing consumer society
Around the Oslofjord, a large number of ponds were used to produce ice. Norway was a major producer and exporter of natural ice from the mid 19th century until the First World War. Ice made it possible to keep food fresh for longer. This helped to convert Norway into a modern country – the old ways of conserving food, like salting and drying, were no longer necessary, and exotic foods from abroad came across the sea.
Hard work!
OK, natural ice may have helped make our society modern, but producing ice was not a particularly modern process. It was all about brute strength.
Look at this ice saw. It is over 2 m long. Would you have been able to handle it? And what about the blocks of ice? They weighed about 200 kg. Would you like to feel how heavy that is? Try lifting the white box beside you.
Chosen by Solfrid, History student (57)
Artefact no. A 4192, on loan from Asker Museum