Christian Bjelland (30 May 1858 – 9 May 1927) was the founder of Chr. Bjelland & Co A/S, Norway's largest canned goods producer and amongst the largest in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. He became one of the great industrialists of his time and in 1908 was made a Knight, 1st Class of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

for his contribution to building the Norwegian canning industry.

Background

Christian Bjelland was born on the farm Åreskjold at

Høyland Høyland is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality was located at the innermost end of the Gandsfjorden in the western part of the present-day municipality of Sandnes. The muni ...

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

, Norway. His parents were farmers who raised a family of six. In 1868, the family moved to Stavanger where Bjelland attended school in the neighborhood of Bjergsted. His formal education ended after fifth grade.

Chr. Bjelland & Co A/S

After several years as a trading officer and inspector in various manufacturing shops, he became engaged in foreign trade, especially consignment shipments of fish to England. During 1882, Bjelland founded an export business. The initial focus of the business was established in fresh salmon, trout and halibut. In 1889 Chr. Bjelland started processing anchovies in a

tin can A steel can, tin can, tin (especially in British English, Australian English, Canadian English and South African English), or can is a container made of thin metal, for distribution or storage of goods. Some cans are opened by removing the to ...

. In 1893 he picked up the production of sardines packed with a

hermetic seal A hermetic seal is any type of sealing that makes a given object airtight (preventing the passage of air, oxygen, or other gases). The term originally applied to airtight glass containers but, as technology advanced, it applied to a larger ca ...

. The company became most famous for its

sardine Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it com ...

s on tins featuring the images of notable Norwegians including explorer,

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and co-founded the ...

. Particularly successful was the King Oscar brand for which Christian Bjelland received royal permission to use the image of

Oscar II of Sweden Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of Oscar I of Sweden, King Oscar I and Josephine of Leuchtenberg, Queen J ...

. The King Oscar brand became well known worldwide and is still popular in the U.S.A. as well as

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Bjelland sardines have been an important part of Norwegian culture throughout the 19th and 20th century. The company

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...

s and

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

are still remembered by many Norwegians to this day. These include the company

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

known as "The Man with the Fish" painted by

Theodor Kittelsen Theodor Severin Kittelsen (27 April 1857 – 21 January 1914) was a Norwegian artist. He is one of the most popular artists in Norway. Kittelsen became famous for his nature paintings, as well as for his illustrations of fairy tales and legend ...

, and the slogan ''Ikke noe snikk-snakk, Bjellands hermetikk, takk'', which translates into "No chit-chat, Bjellands canned goods, thanks". The company was led by Christian Bjelland's son Ragnvald Bjelland (1886–1955), then by his sons Christian Wilhelm Bjelland (1913–1984) and Frithjof Ragnvald Bjelland (1914–1992). The company remained involved in the canning industry until 1983 when Christian Bjelland's great-grandson Christian Bjelland (born 1954) sold this section of the company to Norway Foods Ltd. (now

Rieber & Søn Rieber & Søn is a Norwegian food manufacturing company that owns and produces a wide range of products and brands. The company is based in Bergen with more than 25 brands in 12 countries, of which 7 have manufacturing plants. Brands owned by ...

References

External links

King Oscar Inc. website

Chr. Bjelland & Co. factories and fishing vessels c. 1950
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjelland, Christian, I 1858 births 1927 deaths People from Rogaland 19th-century Norwegian businesspeople Norwegian industrialists Norwegian company founders Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal