Who is that guy with his picture on the LEGO box?

[LEGO Historian]

This guy....

http://www.flickr.co.../l/in/contacts/

Why it's Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, owner of LEGO!!!

He was at Fanwelt 2012, the Cologne (Köln) Germany LEGO Show this weekend. This picture was taken by my good German LEGO friend and fellow AFOL Sven Köppchen.

Sven and a group of European AFOLs put on a group LEGO Museum showing of old 1950s and 1960s LEGO sets.

Kjeld went to greet them, and Sven took his picture holding a 1955-57 era Danish 700/5 Basic Set. That is Kjeld on the box top at age 8, along with his older sister Gunhild (on the left), and his late younger sister Hanne (middle).

The picture for that box top was taken 57 years ago, and all the basic sets of that era had Ole Kirk Christiansen's 3 grandchildren (from his son Godtfred Kirk Christiansen), on the box top.

Today Kjeld and his sister Gunhild Kirk Johansen are the principal owners of Kirkbi/AG, the Swiss holding company that owns TLG and all the LEGO patents.

I'm going to ask Sven if I can use this image in my next version of the LEGO DVD/download (Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide, 2800 pages, which will be free to all current DVD or download owners).

Cheers,

Gary Istok

P.S. Hanne Christiansen died in 1969 at around age 19, when the car in which she was a passenger, skidded off a rain soaked road near Billund. Kjeld, also in the car, was severely injured, but survived. Supposedly he has never talked about that incidence since. Their father (Gotfred Kirk Christiansen) was so grief stricken at losing his youngest child, that he nearly sold off TLG.

Edited January 11, 2013 by LEGO Historian

[LEGO Historian]

Wow, I just talked to the folks at the Fanwelt 2012.... and when they asked the TLG owner who the other 2 girls are in the image, he identified his older sister, and mentioned that he couldn't remember the other girl anymore... but that she was nice and sweet.

I think that out of respect for the family, I will leave it at that....

But here is an image of the simple family plot... with Ole Kirk Christianset in the cross monument (d. 1958), Godtfred Kirk Christiansen in front of him with white flower vase (d. 1995), and in front of him Hanne (d. 1969).One would think that by now the family would have a large family mausoleum, well within the budget of a billionaire family. But this rural part of Jutland (the Danish mainland), is populated with conservative Lutheran Danes who don't like a lot of pomp and show in their religion, and that included funerary monuments.

Edited November 28, 2012 by LEGO Historian

[LEGO Historian]

Well I just got another image for my next version of the DVD download collectors guilde (free to people who own the current version)....

This is the first and only time I have EVER seen an image of the entire Christiansen family. This image was taken in 1962 for Germany's Quick magazine. The magazine mentions that Godtfred's idea of The LEGO System of Play made him a millionaire.

Here we have (left to right) mother Edith Christiansen, her 14 year old son Kjeld Kirk, father Godtfed Kirk, 10 year old daughter Hanne and 16 year old daughter Gunhild.

Of these five, Edith, Kjeld Kirk and Gunhild still survive. Godtfred passed away in 1995 at the age of 74, and daugher Hanne passed away in 1969 (age 18) in an auto accident. Edith must now be at least in her upper 80s.

This will be one of many new b/w images that will be in my LEGO DVD/download Chapter 73 - LEGO Sales by Country.

Kjeld is holding what looks like a Saturn 5 rocket. The following year (1963), the very first LEGO Space set... the 801 Space Rocket set (USA Samsonite LEGO) was introduced.

Edited December 13, 2012 by LEGO Historian