By the autumn of 1838, Asbjørnsen & Moe had enough material to to justify looking for a publisher. Asbjørnsen approached Carl August Guldberg, who agreed to do the work, on the condition that the collectors should be able to attact enough subscribers to make the venture worth his while.
A “Subscription Invitation” was published in the Christiania newspaper, Den Constitutionelle, 23. February 1840. After representing the significance of folk literature, the collectors explain the importance of their project, before the details are given by the prospective publishers.
Few subscriptions were sold, however, and Guldberg withdrew his undertaking to publish the work.