Since 1978 the Forlaget Det Norske Samlaget has been an independent, separately operating nonprofit foundation.
A small group of determined men came together in Christiania in 1868 and formed the Norwegian Samlaget.
The formation of Norwegian Samlaget was a natural extension of the efforts to promote Landsmål as the predominant literary and official language of Norway.
Iceland sponsored a form of Icelandic in opposition to the official Danish, Finns promoted use of Finnish in opposition to the official Swedish, Flemish was promoted in Belgium,[citation needed] Provençal in the south of France and Slavic dialects proliferated to the east.
Although efforts had previously been made toward organization in the 1860s, it had been heavy work, and they met a great deal of resistance.