THE BIRTH OF THE KNIRPS
HANS HAUPT
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Somehow, it’s due to the First World War that umbrellas fit in a handbag today. HANS HAUPT from SOLINGEN was injured in the war and, subsequently, wasn’t able to carry his walking stick and his umbrella at the same time. This made him think about a possibility to put an umbrella into his pocket. He equipped it with a telescopic frame so he could push it together into a handy format. In 1928, he applied his invention for a patent, four years later, the businessman Fritz Bremshey started the series production. Despite a rather hefty price of 12.50 Reichsmark, the KNIRPS (German for »tot«), as the umbrella was called, became a bestseller. Even though the competitors used slogans like: »A LORD WITH AN UMBRELLA, A TOT WITH A KNIRPS«, business continued to prosper. Until today, about 200 million copies were sold all over the world. Even JOHN F. KENNEDY, BEATRIX OF THE NETHERLANDS and POPE BENEDICT XVI. purchased some. 134
