Tove, the Moomins and the sea

Art and the sea were always self-evident frameworks of action and thinking for Tove Jansson (1914–2001), who was born into the family of a sculptor father and a illustrator mother. Tove’s first published picture book, Sara och Pelle och Neckens bläckfiskar (“Sara and Pelle and the Octopuses of the Water Sprite”), written and illustrated at the age of 14, was set in the archipelago. The Janssons were practically half-islanders, as they lived the summer months in the archipelago, and the time spent in the milieu of the Pellinki islands is reflected in many ways in both Tove’s visual and literary art. The story of the beloved Moomintroll also began in the archipelago. Over time, this large-nosed troll figure carved into the wall of Tove’s summer house’s outhouse in the 1930s became a member of a large, diverse cavalcade of characters. It is a known fact that the Moomin books contain memories of the Glosholm lighthouse, blown up during the Winter War, which inspired the house where the Moomin characters live. Moominvalley, in turn, was modelled on the villa environment of Tove’s maternal relatives on the lush island of Blidö in the Stockholm archipelago.

In the life of a troll family who explore their surroundings and have even stayed on a lighthouse island, a watercraft is an essential tool, as it is for islanders in general. In real life, the boat is naturally built of wood, preferably with shiplap joints. The Moomins were given their boat by the sea and they named it the Adventure. It carried them on many adventures.

“They have found a boat!” shouted Snufkin. “Come on! Let’s run and see!”
It was true! A real big sailing-boat, with shiplap joints. It had oars and a net for caught fish and was painted white and green!
“Whose is it?” panted Moomintroll when he reached them.
“Nobody’s!” said Moominpappa triumphantly. “It has been washed up on our beach. We have the right to keep it as wreckage!” (Jansson, Moominpappa at Sea)

Victoria, Klovharun

Often, artists need a space for themselves where they can breathe and create, where they are away from the defining gaze of society and community. In 1965, in the outer archipelago of Porvoo, on the rugged rock islet of Klovharun, the seagulls and terns who had lived on the islet for countless screaming generations became neighbours to a one-room, two-woman and four-window cottage. The modest dwelling is surrounded by a little more than half a hectare of hard land between the open sea and the high sky. In this minimalist landscape, dominated by the sea as an autocratic majesty, Tove Jansson and the graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä (1917–2009) spent their summers for decades.

“We dreamed about what the cottage would look like. The room would have four windows, one on each wall. In the southeast, we made room for the big storms that rage across the island while, in the east, the moon is allowed to look upon its reflection in the lagoon. The view north must be unobstructed so that we can gaze out, see what is coming and have time to get used to it.” (Jansson, Haru – An Island.)

Trips to the island and from the island to good fishing spots were made in an open boat whose keel and forefoot were made of iroko, arches and gunwales of ash, and the sideboards were carved from mahogany. The boat did not rely on winds or muscle power to make its way through the waves; instead, it was pushed towards its destination by a 1.5-horsepower Archimedes outboard engine, which was later replaced by a 9.9-horsepower Yamaha with electric ignition. In her books, Tove often describes boats almost as miracles or living creatures, personifications of the sea. The opportunities and beauty they offer go beyond the mundane. Once the sounds of work have fallen silent in the workshop, you can sense the elevated, even mystical atmosphere of a boat being created.

“The wind rattled the roof tiles, but inside the spacious shed there seemed to be silence and great peace. The hull of the boat being built could be seen in the dim light, the ribcage of its great arches cast a shadow on the window wall. Near the ceiling hung bundles of wide planks for future boats, and there was a smell of planing shavings, tar and turpentine in the air. Katri now understood why her brother always longed to return to this very place, this peaceful world, where everything was real and pure.” (Jansson, The True Deceiver)

This boat, characterised as a Pellinki-type vessel and not only due to its native landscape, was built in1962 by Tove’s childhood friend, fisherman and boatbuilder Albert Gustafsson (1913–1981). He was a self-taught boat builder who had a workshop at his fisherman’s farm in Pellinki, where vessels such as boats with windshields were manufactured. The boats were then exported by Oy Telva Ab, which operated in Valkosaari, Helsinki, to the United States in the 1950s. According to Tove, the boat was “the most beautiful vessel the archipelago had ever seen” and so agile it practically danced through the waves. Both Tove’s and Tuulikki’s fathers were called Viktor, and so the boat was named Victoria.

Tove Jansson celebrated her 75th birthday in the boatyard of her childhood friend, who had already passed away. Tove had always held Albert’s islander skills in high regard, and perhaps the friends experienced a certain professional affinity. After all, building a boat can be seen as a form of creation that starts with something essential and unspoiled.

“I barely know another place on earth that has given me such peace as this house, this boatyard in Edisviken. Ever since I was little, I would go to the old shipyard and watch boats, beautiful boats, being built next to each other. The shipyard was a place to be alone, but not lonely. You could see the magic of boat-building for yourself and maybe even sense some of the serious nature of the work and the imaginative power of designing things.” (Excerpt from Tove Jansson’s speech at her 75th birthday party on 9 August 1989)

Victoria was donated to the Finnish Maritime Museum by Tove Jansson’s niece Sophia Jansson in 2006. The boat is featured in the main exhibition of the Maritime Museum of Finland in the Boat Hall. The workshop where Victoria was created still operates as a boatyard.

Come on a Moomin adventure in the Maritime Museum of Finland in the exhibition Courage, freedom love!

Timo Kunttu

Photos

Klovharun: Finnish Heritage Agency, Press Photo Archive.
Andra bilder: Ilari Järvinen, Finnish Heritage Agency, Johanna Aartomaa, Maritime Museum of Finland.

Sources

Jansson, Tove. The Summer Book. The original work Sommarboken was translated into Finnish by Kristiina Kivivuori. WSOY 1973.

Jansson, Tove. The True Deceiver. The Swedish original, Den ärliga bedragare, was translated into Finnish by Kyllikki Härkäpää. WSOY 2020.

Jansson, Tove. Moominpappa at Sea. The Swedish original, Pappan och havet, was translated into Finnish by Laila Järvinen. WSOY 1994.

Jansson, Tove. Saari. In the collection Bulevardi ja muita kirjoituksia, edited and translated by Sirke Happonen. Tammi 2017. Original essay “Ön”, Turistliv i Finland nr. 2, 1961.

Jansson, Tove and Pietilä, Tuulikki. Haru – An Island. From the original work Anteckningar från en ö, translated into Finnish by Liisa Ryömä. WSOY 1996.

Latva, Otto and Leskelä-Kärki, Maarit. Meri ja Tove. Elämää saaristossa. John Nurmisen säätiö 2022.

Pietilä, Tuulikki. Toven matkassa: muistoja Tove Janssonista. Edited by Helen Svensson and the original work Resa med Tove: en minnesbok om Tove Jansson was translated into Finnish by Outi Menna. WSOY 2004.

https://tovejansson.com/