Erindringens glæder

Abstract

Joys of Memory

Kirsten Bacher takes us back in time, in her wonderful memories of her childhood in Copenhagen. If someone argues that memories are black and white, this essay proves them wrong.

Kirsten’s father, a well known artist potter at The Danish Royal Porcelain Factory, had many friends among his Jewish customers. Among them was philologist and runologist Dr. Lis Jacobsen, (1882-1961). Kirsten describes quite vividly her memories of visits with her parents to Lis Jacobsen’s elaborate home in Humlebæk, and of interesting and colorful personalities who attended Jacobsen’s parties. The description of Dr. Jacobsen’s decorative parrots placed on the rim of the glasses with the names of the guests in their beaks, gives the reader the feeling of having been taken back to the 1930s in a time machine. One senses the child’s fascination with the atmosphere at a fancy dinner party, a particularly beautiful dress, and a piece of candy in an exquisite bowl. Such are the joys of memory.