ENGLISH - Caprichos Daneses

ENGLISH

In 1990, Piet Hein established the company Piet Hein A/S, which
owns and manages all of Piet Hein’s inventions, texts and designs.
The company has two main tasks:
• To collect, sort and register information about Piet Hein, from
either anecdotes or physical effects.
• To ensure the activation of Piet Hein high-quality products.
In the years to come, ‘new’ Piet Hein products will see the light of
day, based on his original drawings and models.

BORN 16-12-1905 – DIED 17-04-1996
Piet Hein was born on 16.12.1905 in Copenhagen, the only
child of graduate engineer Hjalmar Hein and eye specialist
Estrid Hein. Along with another engineer, his father owned
the development firm Hein & Møller-Holst, where he made
use of his talents as an inventor (HeinHolst lifts). His mother
was one of the first female doctors in Scandinavia; she was
politically active and was chairwoman of a number of social
commission in the League of Nations. The family lived in the
house at Gammel Torv 10-12, Copenhagen, which the firm
had built.
There are indications that Piet Hein had quite an unusual
childhood. He relates, for example, that at the age of 5-7
he assisted his mother at an eye operation on his nurse. The
girl had had her blind eye removed in an operation a couple
of weeks previously, and now little Piet stood on a chair
holding the empty eye cavity of his nurse open while his
mother removed the stitches from the rear wall of the eye.
3

Piet Hein began to draw at an early age. The first drawings,
hidden away to this very day, are from the age of five. He
completed his upper secondary education at Metropolitanskolen
in 1924 and began the compulsory preliminary philosophy
studies at the university. At the same time, he had
private drawing lessons to help him get in at the Academy
of Fine Arts in Copenhagen (he draw, among other things,
sculptures at the Glyptotheque) – but to no avail. This did
not disconcert him, however. He continued to Stockholm,
where he was accepted at Kungliga Svenska Konsthögskolan,
with Albert Engström as teacher. He lived with his aunt and
uncle – Emma and Erik Scavenius – in Stockholm while attending
the college.
After his stay in Sweden, it was his talent for the exact
sciences that was to be put to the text. He began to study
physics and epistemology at the University of Copenhagen
and studied and worked at the Niels Bohr Institute. Subsequently,
it was the practical use of technology that appealed
to him. He made various discoveries, for which he sought
patents, worked in a professional capacity in connection
with various companies – and began to write more. He himself
says that from that time on, he spent 50% of his time
writing and 50% on the technical side of things.
Throughout his life, Piet Hein was actively interested in the
cause of minorities and in peace between the great nations
– an attitude he demonstrated with his famous Grook
Co-existence or no existence. For twenty years, he was a
member of the executive committee of The Open Door, was
co-founder of the League for Tolerance and chairman of the
Danish branch of the World Movement for World Federation.
4

In the years leading up to the Second World War, Piet Hein
was a member of the anti-nazi association Liberal Cultural
Struggle, which worked for democracy and against dictatorship.
A few days before the German occupation of Denmark,
he accepted the post of chairman in the association, and
a few days later – on 14 April 1940 – as his first teasing
comment on the occupying power he came up with a double
entendre (the Danish word ‘længes’ means both ‘to long’ and
‘to grow long’) poem – Piet Hein’s first Grook:
SPRING SADNESS
The days
are longing,
longing, longing.
What are they
longing for
The days
are longing
l o n g i n g
longing
for midsummer.
This marked the beginning of the world-famous Grooks,
which have since appeared in every conceivable language.
There are over 8000 of them.
During the war, Piet Hein had a Jewish wife. And in 1943,
he left Denmark with his family for Buenos Aires in Argentina,
where they lived for a couple of years. There Piet Hein
continued his own personal struggle against the Nazis,
producing a long series of satirical drawings for the Buenos
Aires Herald that featured Hitler, Goebbels and Mussolini as
main characters.
7

In Argentina, Piet Hein missed his native clime so much
that he made a Great Bear candlestick out of steel wire that
could be lit and remind him of the night sky in Denmark.
The Great Bear can also be seen sketched in many Grook
vignettes and in this Grook:
TO THE GREAT BEAR
May childhood’s old acquaintance
from heaven’s farthest shore
that overcomes time’s breakers
and lasts for evermore
stand lit like candles seven
in winter’s darkest heaven
and shine your peace so pure
The drawing of the little man Kumbel Kumbell with a lyre in
his hand first appears in 1940 as a vignette drawing for the
Grooks. Originally, Piet Hein did not intend to have drawings
with his Grooks – but he did not feel the texts should only
be decorated with roses and other garden treasures as other
illustrators did. So quite soon there was a drawing along
with each Grook he wrote – and this proved to be a popular
combination.
8

In the early 1950s, Piet Hein was quite often in USA. Among
other things, he did humorous drawings for The New Yorker.
He also worked freelance for Politiken in the same period,
sending popular scientific articles home about such things
as the World’s greatest magnetic field, the Radio Hat and
Einstein.
10

Piet Hein together with Charlie Chaplin in Irland.
Piet Hein had many talents, and he tried all of them out in
the course of his life. He was in personal contact with such
scientific ‘heavyweights’ of his time as Albert Einstein and
Niels Bohr, as well as Chaplin and Norbert Weiner, of whom
he was a close friend.
11

He was an honorary doctor of a number of universities.
Many of his inventions were put into production. He
became world-famous with his superellipse, originally
designed for Sergels Torg in Stockholm and later used for
many things, including Mexico Stadium, the table, architecture,
the swimming pool of the DGI village, table-toppings,
handles, etc.
Sergels Plaza in Stockholm
Mexico Stadium
12

www.piethein.com
PRODUCTS

2
The great bear

CANDLEHOLDER
THE GREAT BEAR
In Argentina, Piet Hein missed his native clime so much that he made
a Great Bear candlestick out of steel wire that could be lit and remind
him of the night sky in Denmark. The Great Bear can also be seen
sketched in many Grook vignettes.
NORMAL [95.80.10]
MAXI [50.050]
3

Saturn, Jupiter, Venus
and Mars maxicandle holders.
MULTICANDLEHOLDER
The beautiful shape of the superellipse®
is turned in to an elegant holder which
can hold a tealightcandle or a normal
candle – just by turning it.
4
[95.80.22]

CANDLEHOLDERS
Mars 14 cm [95.80.11]
Venus 21 cm [95.80.12]
Jupiter 29 cm [95.80.13]
Saturn 36 cm [95.80.14]
MAXI
Mars 32,0 cm [95.80.44]
Venus 47,5 cm [95.80.43]
Jupiter 65,0 cm [95.80.42]
Saturn 80,5 cm [95.80.41]
CANDLEHOLDER 24x19 CM
Superelliptic glas.
[95.80.27]
GREASE GUARD
Available for ordinary
and MAXI-holders.
Ø20 MM [95.80.16]
Ø50 MM [95.80.18]
5

SUPER-EGG AS »ANTI-STRESS-EGG«
[22.14.55]
The superegg is a sculpture, a game and an amulet. It
is a spacious elaboration of the SUPERELLIPSE®. It is
able to stand upright on both ends – without cheating.
6

drinkcooler
DRINKCOOLER
[22.73.40]
THE SUPEREGG
7

SUPERELLIPTICAL SERVING TRAY 16,5X12 CM
Stainless Steel
[95.80.26]
UPERELLIPTICAL SERVING TRAY 41X31 CM
Stainless Steel
8
[14.80.28]

TRAYS
In addition, two trays medium-sized,
can be supplied from 2005-09-01
17x24 CM [100.32]
24x32 CM [100.33]
9

BOWL Ø 8 CM.
[95.80.60]
The bowls were originally made of silver
for a competition at Georg Jensen in
1967. The bowls now manufactured are
of stainless steel.
BOWL Ø 13 CM
[95.80.61]
10

owls
STAINLESS STEEL
BOWL Ø 10.5 CM.
[95.80.61]
In addition, two bowls can be supplied from 2005-09-01
Ø 15,5 CM [10044]
Ø 18,0 CM [10045]
11

PEBBER MILL
[95.80.24]
SALT MILL
[95.80.25]
PEPPER SPRINKLER
[10.027]
SALT SPRINKLER
[10.026]
pepper
12

STAINLESS STEEL
salt
13

DISH 19X25 CM
The smallest dish is perfect for making sautéed dishes and
can be brought to the table directly from the oven.
[86.50.12]
DISH 23X30 CM
The shape of Superellipse® offers the greatest possible
volume as you will experience while using it.
[86.50.14]
DISH 27X35 CM
The dishes are very easy to clean due to the simple design.
[86.50.16]
14
DISH 26X26 CM
One can be nothing but inspired by this supercircular dish.
An exciting shape for exciting dishes.
[86.50.18]

The collection of the heat resistant
dishes is made of porcelain.
They are safe to use in the oven,
Micro-wave, freezer and dish washer.
PORCELAIN
15

The collection of the
heat resistant bowls is
made of porcelain.
BOWL Ø 10 CM
[86.50.01]
BOWL Ø 14 CM
16
[86.50.03]

owls
BOWL Ø 18 CM
The superellipse® is the
most spacious shape and as
such very useful for serving.
PORCELAIN
[86.50.06]
BOWL Ø 21 CM
The bowl is suitable for
serving potatoes and
vegetables but only the
imagination sets the limit.
[86.50.08]
BOWL Ø 26 CM
With the simple design, the
largest bowl in the series
seems elegant on the table.
Especially suitable for large
salad portions.
[86.50.10]
17

Can be used as
serving boards for the
porcelain dishes
CARVING BOARD 28X35 CM
The smallest carving board is perfect for bread
and other small things. Fits the porcelain dish
23x30 cm as a serving board.
[24.65.10]
18

CARVING BOARDS
CARVING BLOCK
One can be nothing but inspired by this
super circular carving block.
fits the super circular porcelain dish
26x26 cm as an exciting serving board.
[24.65.20]
CARVING BOARD 36X45 CM
The shape of SUPERELLIPSE® makes up
the basic for this size. Perfect for slicing
the well prepared roast. Fits the porcelain
dish 27x35 cm as a serving board.
[24.65.15]
19

OPENER
Stainless steel
[10.025]
The bottle opener DeCap
can open both traditional
caps and, furthermore,
the sometimes stubborn
screw-caps.
DeCap
20

21
OPENER

The game of CON-TAC-TIX® occurred to Piet Hein while
he was contemplating the famous four-colour theorem
of topology. The theorem, as yet unproved, is that four
colours are sufficient to make any map so that no two
countries of the same colour have a common boundary .
Piet Hein introduced the game in 1942 at the Niels Bohr
22

GAMES
CON-TAC-TIX
Institute. The same year a leading Danish news paper
published an account of the game; it soon became
enormously popular in Denmark (under the name of
Polygon). Albert Einstein who was passionately inter ested
in games had since 1948 Piet Hein’s CON-TAC-TIX® on
a shelf in his study.
[30.140]
23

COLLECTED GROOKS I
185 grooks
[40.001]
COLLECTED GROOKS I
185 grooks
[40.002]
24

Many people have reviewed Piet Hein’s
ingenious verses over the years and sought
for a deeper meaning hidden in their overall
name »Grook«. Could »Gruk« (the Danish
name) be a contraction of GRin (laugh) and
sUK (sigh) Or was the name simply taken
out of thin air – as Piet Hein himself often
said. One thing is certain – Grook was a
completely new and brilliantly apt title for
the ingenious verses paid for by the line and
written for the »Politiken« column ATS from
1940 until 1961.
GROOKS
25

26Astro calendar

CALENDAR
Piet Hein made this Astro Calendar in 1968, which
covers a period of 300 years. It is possible to work out
which day of the week a particular event has taken place
- or will take place.
[40.200]
27

THE RA LAMP
The Ra lamp, which is listed among Piet Hein’s first
inventions, was designed already in 1931 and will now
be produced.
It is based on a previously unnoticed phenomenon of
spatial geometry and inspired by an old sun sign: the
circular disc with a mark in the centre.
The anti-dazzle lamp is a fine example of Piet Hein’s
at once academic and poetic approach to design.
BAR STOOL
Designed in 1968.
78 CM - [50.560]
62 CM - [50.561]
28

MISCELLANEOUS
FLAGPOLE 50 CM
Tri-superelliptic base
and superegg top.
All national flags can be supplied.
[95.80.28]
29

Helix Helios
SUNDIAL
The sundial is now available
in heights of 2, 4 and
11 meters.
2 METER [50.601]
30
Every sundial is uniquely numbered

31
SUNDIAL