A Labour of Love
Britannia Hotel was first established in 1870 to accommodate travelling British gentry. Lords, ladies and sporting enthusiasts who’d travelled thousands of miles to fish the region’s abundant rivers and revel in its expansive nature. It was a tiring journey, often completed by tilting the postal system, whereby travellers would exchange hores as they travelled up the country, often staying in the most basic of accommodation.
The hotel’s founder, Andreas Myhre, recognized there was a demand for a little slice of luxury upon arrival in provincial Trondheim, from where most of the so called 'Salmon Lords' would launch their expeditions from. Somewhere where travellers could sleep, dine and drink in the comfort they were accustomed to.
Myhre placed a sign outside the hotel which read “We speak English and we serve tea at 5 o’clock” – a nod to British sensibilities. He also named the hotel Britannia.
The connection between Britannia Hotel and its namesake has been strong ever since. The hotel has welcomed esteemed British guests over the years, including royalty, and the Afternoon Tea serving is still one of the most popular offerings. When the hotel reopened in 2019, following a three-year top-to-toe renovation by new owner Odd Reitan, I was one of the first employees brought in to the new pre-opening team. A token Englishman in many respects, and a dubious connection to our origin story!
On top of being widely (and often wildly) publicised for the enormity of the reopening in year one, we were also blessed to have the hotel's 150th anniversary to celebrate during year two. A veritable open goal for a storyteller. So, when the opportunity arose to put this history into a luxury coffee table book to mark the anniversary, I jumped at the chance to create a lasting legacy for this important milestone.
Writer's blocks
Of course the project was much bigger than the sum of its parts and required a long process, and a dedicated team. We hired in a dedicated historian and an experienced non-fiction writer, a biographer of sorts who had written many books before. We also teamed up with the largest publisher in the region and utilised the services of our design bureau, in order to create a product which was in keeping with the new brand which we had recently developed.
The book itself was bound in a textured green finish, with gold embossed lettering.
We also curated 150 different cover images (one for every year the hotel had been in existence), with a very limited print run of each. All of these special editions were numbered by hand, in addition to a run of 'regular' books with a standardised cover image.
Pay and display
My role as project manager for the 150 year book incorperated being the hotel's in-house editor. I had responsibility to check the writers were pricing a text which was commercially viable and covered the elements of the hotel's past and present which would be attractive to future guests. I copy edited the English text and and fact checked the whole product.
A big part of the responsibility was gathering of historic and current imagery. The former category was a challenge, and I had to draw upon several sources of assistance to locate and source images from the hotel's long past. When the book was published we decided to do an exhibit of some of the most striking if these images. The black and white photos were printed in large format quality prints, framed in gold with a passepartout in Britannia green, to match the book. These images were placed in strategic areas around the hotel so guests could witness how these historic rooms looked before.
Happy owner
The hotel's owner, Odd Reitan, pictured infant of a display of the books in the Britannia's Course and Conference lobby.
Local dignitaries
Some of the influential people from the hotel's past were both included in the book and invited to its launch. Pictured here is Håkon Bleken, an artist whose work is displayed at the hotel.
Logistics...
The arrival of the books at the hotel posed big logistical challenges!
The final chapter
There was a big fanfare upon the book's arrival, and special editions were given out to each and every guest at the hotel's 150th Birthday party. It was a labour of love, and a proud moment when I saw the book in people's hands. There were enough versions of the special editions to ensure that each and every guest received a unique book on the night. In the days, weeks and months which followed, the books were made available to the public for purchase.
Now I am often reminded of the project when I see the product on various domestic bookshelves and coffee tables around town. Britannia is a flagship for quality in this little corner of the world, and the local populace has been very supportive of the initiative since it reopened in 2019.
