Paul Botten-Hansen was a Norwegian librarian, book collector, magazine editor and literary critic, born in Sel

Sel

Sel is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Otta....

 in Gudbrandsdalen. He was co-editor of the magazine Andhrimner

Andhrimner

Andhrimner was a literary and satirical weekly magazine, issued from January to September 1851 in Kristiania, Norway.It was established in 1851, as Manden , but was later renamed after Andhrímnir of Norse mythology. Its editors were Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Henrik Ibsen and Paul Botten-Hansen...

together with Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...

 and Aasmund Olavson Vinje in 1851. He edited the magazine Illustreret Nyhedsblad

Illustreret Nyhedsblad

Illustreret Nyhedsblad was a Norwegian weekly magazine, issued from 1851 to 1866 in Christiania, Norway. Its first editor was Paul Botten-Hansen, who edited the magazine from 1851 to 1864 and from 1865 to 1866, with Frederik Bætzmann being editor from 1864 to 1865. Among its contributors were...

from 1851 to 1866. He was head of the University Library

University Library of Oslo

The University Library of Oslo is a library connected to the University of Oslo.Like the University, it was established in 1811 with Georg Sverdrup as the first head librarian. It originally doubled as the Norwegian national library, and was located at the old University of Oslo campus.In 1913 the...

 in Christiania from 1864.

His fairytale drama Huldrebryllupet first appeared in Andhrimner in 1851, and elements from this play are later treated by Henrik Ibsen in the 1867 play Peer Gynt

Peer Gynt

Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...

.

Botten-Hansen's book collection of 14,000 volumes was the basis for the establishment of the Bergen Public Library

Bergen Public Library

Bergen Public Library is a library building and public library institution in Bergen, Norway. Founded in 1872, it is the second largest public library in Norway...

in 1874.