Reykjavík museum opens collection to memories of blue foot massagers

Reykjavík City Museum is offering visitors a behind-the-scenes look at items from its collection, including the blue foot massagers that became Iceland’s most popular Christmas gift around 1970, mbl.is reports.

Gerður Róbertsdóttir, project manager at Reykjavík City Museum’s Árbæjarsafn museum, said the collection contains many household objects that visitors will remember from their own lives. The museum has two of the foot massagers in storage.

“Some people used them only a few times before they ended up in storage,” Gerður said.

The collection also includes toys such as dolls, teddy bears, cars and old Matchbox cars, as well as schoolbags and household items from kitchens. Gerður said these everyday objects often evoke strong nostalgia because they are no longer commonly seen.

The museum preserves the objects so it can create exhibitions that realistically reflect particular periods in Reykjavík’s history. Its collection also includes older items, such as saddle blankets, carved wooden bowls and historic paintings.

About 100 paintings by Bishop Jón Helgason are held by the museum. Gerður described them as invaluable records of Reykjavík in earlier times. The tour begins at Vörður, the museum’s newest building, where the bishop’s paintings and the collection’s most important treasures are kept.

Reykjavík’s Archive and Museum was established in 1954, with Lárus Sigurbjörnsson as its first director. Árbæjarsafn was founded in 1957 and has since operated as both an open-air and indoor museum dedicated to the history of Reykjavík.

The history of the museum dates back further. The Reykjavík Association was founded on May 10, 1940, the same day the British army landed in the town. The association collected old objects, protected the town’s history and encouraged the establishment of a local museum.

After people stopped living at Árbær in 1948, the association requested the use of the old farm buildings to display historic objects and illustrate earlier ways of life. Reykjavík City later took over the operation when Árbæjarsafn was established.

Visitors must register through the Reykjavík City Museum website. The tours are scheduled for 1pm and 2:30pm on Sunday at Árbæjarsafn.