So here is the first of a small series of research posts. Things I found out about Severin Hansen.
What most people are not aware of is, that Severin Hansen and Severin Hansen jr. were not the same person. Both designed furniture for Haslev, the tables are remembered best, but if you want to be correct, you have to make a difference here.
Hans Severin Hansen (photo) was born 1903 in the Danish town of Thyregod. His father was a cabinetmaker and he became a cabinetmaker, too. When he married his wife Ella Kirstine Risager, they moved to Copenhagen where Severin began working in a business called Onskebo as a cabinetmaker. Soon he startet his own business and called it Mobelsnedkeriet Ravensborg, Severin was making tables, cabinets and other furniture. But under the war and the depression he got into financial trouble, gave up his workshop and started as a sales representative for Slagelse, selling their furniture to shops in Copenhagen.
He was a talented salesman and soon expanded the business, also representing other companies. During this time he took up his own designs again and began producing some tables in collaboration with a cabinetmaker, who was of age and soon couldn't handle the increasing demand. Severin Hansen looked for someone more capable and found two skilled cabinetmakers in Haslev: Henry Aunbirk and Knud Windahl Pedersen.
Both worked in a furniture company in Haslev at the time. In 1946 they started their own company in a garage in Ringstedvej, where they worked in the evenings and in weekends. They produced the furniture designed by Severin Hansen, who later sold it in Copenhagen.
"People buy a chair, and they don't really care who designed it." (Arne Jacobsen)
In 1952 Aunbirk and Windahl built Haslev Mobelsnedkeri and Severin Hansen became a co-owner. The tables, lamps, chairs, and sofas Haslev produced were worked out in collaboration between Severin Hansen and Knud Windahl. They developed the models together. The overall lines came from Severin, the details were worked out by Windahl who produced the furniture. Severin had his own showroom in Copenhagen by then, where all the models were displayed. There was much work to do for him, but in the middle of the fifties he got help from his sons.
Severin Hansen had three of them: Knuud Aage, Bjarne and Erik Severin. They all tried their luck in the business. Knuud Aage worked for his father for some time, designed a chair for Slagelse, but soon lost interest and became a doctor insted. Bjarne went to America and tried to sell Haslev furniture there. But the youngest, Erik Severin Risager-Hansen, joined his fathers business in 1957, then aged 21, and remained for about 20 years.
He soon got engaged in designing and used the name Severin Hansen jr, which for some time he even shared with his brother Knuud Aaage.
It remains unclear how the senior and the junior collaborated and who came up with the three way miter that became the signiture piece for Haslev. But factory owner Knud Windahl (photo: arkiv.dk) took part in the development, since he worked closely with both men, especially with Erik, who wasn't trained in designing and didn't know much about joints and wood working techniques. Erik drew his designs on large sheets of paper and kept working them out with Windahl, who was responsible for the technical details.
When co-owner Henry Aunbirk quit Haslev in 1969, the stocks were shared between Windahl and his son Poul and Severin and his son Erik. Four years leter the company was sold to one of the cabinetmakers from the company, Knud Tang. Severin Hansen and Erik Risager Hansen remained in the company till 1978. One year later Hans Severin Hansen died.
Erik Severin Risager-Hansen, died in January 2020 at the age of 83. I was not able to get information directly from him anymore nor did I get a photo.
But another enthusiast named Lasse Andersen was able to talk to him before his death, and he got all his stories, some photos and even the rights for his designs. So more details will come up later this year, if anybody is interested.
"People buy a chair, and they don't really care who designed it." (Arne Jacobsen)
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com