Mill Man

Before yonder strange Mill-man whose four arms are the outstreched mill wings; whose stomach opens to a port to which the mill stepladder leads; whose breast contains two hearts; and above the whole of this timbered scaffolding of a body rises a living face, reminiscent of that of an old peasant, smiling and sensitive.

Does this not embody the idea of the Mill, the singularity between buildings created by man, artificially constructed, yet characterized by a close union with the essentialities for the simple life itself.

As a silhouette cutter Hans Christian Andersen is the life of the party. He was the celebrated guest of the gentry and the city intellectuals.

When travelling Hans Christian Andersen always brought his 24 cm (10 inch) long pair of scissors and he amused himself and others by cutting silhouettes.

The original “Mill-man” paper-cut can be seen in the Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense.