[PAX MUNDI]: [SCANDINAVIA] Selection of Autograph Statements Signed by a variety of famous individuals from Scandinavia, each one page, large folio, various places and dates, including Lauritz Melchior (1890-1973) Danish tenor, stating, in full, 'He who comes as I do from a small country (Denmark) and travels constantly throughout the world as an interpreter of the works of artists of the whole world, cannot understand at all that one can think of a war between civilised peoples after the collective experience of this terrible World War. I believe and hope, that human hearts and feelings find one another through music, so that here a basis for world understanding and world peace can be found. If it were granted to me, my greatest wish would be to lay a stone for this structure of peace with the gift of song that nature has given me'; Peter Rochegune Munch (1870-1948) Danish historian and politician who served as Foreign Minister of Denmark 1929-40; Laust Jevsen Moltesen (1865-1950) Danish church historian and politician who served as Foreign Minister of Denmark 1926-29; Albert Ehrensvard (1867-1940) Swedish diplomat and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs 1911-14, stating, in full, 'Either war will destroy civilisation or civilisation will destroy war'; Betzy Kjelsberg (1866-1950) Norwegian politician and feminist, stating, in part, 'I am of the opinion that general disarmament is the ideal to be aimed at and that this disarmament ought to be reached by stages under the control of the governments and the League of Nations. If one could obtain through the League of Nations an agreement forbidding submarine and air war as well as chemical war, I am sure this would lead automatically to entire disarmament'; Erik Colban (1876-1956) Norwegian diplomat who served as Norwegian Ambassador to Great Britain 1942-46 etc. Some light age wear, generally about VG, 9

 

The present statements were prepared for publication in the Pax Mundi book; an anthology of sentiments on peace published in Switzerland by the World League for Peace. Between 1925 and 1932 many notable persons from around the world were asked to comment on the prospects of world peace and the volume included contributions from Marie Curie, Guglielmo Marconi, Albert Einstein, Rabindranath Tagore and many others.