One of the world’s largest collections devoted to Icelandic literature and civilisation grew from a young student’s enthusiasm for Scandinavian languages. Today, Cornell University Library’s Fiske Icelandic Collection connects readers with sources ranging from early printed sagas to modern fiction, poetry and drama.
According to Cornell, Willard Fiske began building his Icelandic library during his first Scandinavian journey in 1850, while studying Danish and Swedish. Money was scarce, but collecting became a lasting pursuit. Fiske, who lived from 1831 to 1904, would become Cornell’s first university librarian, as well as an accomplished linguist.
He visited Iceland only once, in 1879. That journey and his residence in Florence during the final two decades of his life gave him opportunities to expand the library considerably. Young Icelandic assistants helped classify the books, preparing a collection that would eventually reach Cornell in 1905.
One assistant, identified by Cornell as Halldór, became its first curator. His 1914 catalogue of the books bequeathed by Fiske remains, in the library’s assessment, an outstanding achievement of Icelandic bibliography.
The holdings extend well beyond the sagas. They support research into North Atlantic settlement, runes, Norse mythology and the arrival of Christianity in Scandinavia. Books on religious life, social conditions and foreign travel also document Iceland’s later history.
Cornell says the collection quadrupled during its first century at the university. Collecting continues, although the volume of publishing about Iceland has made comprehensive acquisition impractical.
The collection offers different routes into that material. Older and rare books can be requested for consultation in the Rare and Manuscript Collections reading room. Modern books are available to Cornell borrowers and through interlibrary loan, keeping a collector’s personal fascination accessible to subsequent generations of readers.