Penguin Books 25th Anniversary Designs by Elizabeth Friedlander

Elizabeth Friedlander was born to a Jewish family in 1903 in Berlin and was one of the first women to design a typeface according to University College Cork. She began her Graphic Design studies at the Berlin Academy working under famous typographer, Emil Rudolf Weiss. 

In 1936 Friedlander was forced to leave Germany due to Nazi regulations and moved to Milan. She worked there until the implementation of Antisemitic laws in Italy in 1938. Unable to emigrate to the United States, Friedlander moved to London with a permit that allowed her to work as a maid. 

She was able to secure a job working for Mather & Crowther advertising agency and later worked for the Political Intelligence Department's black propaganda unit. During this time she also would complete freelance commissions. 

After the war, she would stay in Britain, becoming a citizen. Friedlander worked for several publishers designing book jackets, patterns, packaging, and prints. She designed over 20 patterned papers for the Curwen Press, patterned papers for Penguin book covers, roundels for the Penguin Classics series, and lettered rolls of honor for the Folio Society. In 1951 Friedlander became the calligrapher to the Royal Military College, with her decorative boarders being issued by both Linotype and Monotype according to University College Cork. One of her biggest accomplishments however; is the creation Elizabeth-Antiqua in 1938 for the Bauer Typefoundry after taking on the project in 1927. 

The image featured is one of Friedlanders' design pages for Penguin Books' twenty-fifth anniversary in 1960. Her incredible design was printed on a variety of prints, books, and booklets. 

She moved to Ireland in 1961 where she continued her design work until she passed away in 1984.

Elizabeth Friendlander was an phenomenal designer who has earned her place in Graphic Design history. Not only did she help pave the way for women in type and design, but she was also committed to using her design skills to advocate for the rights of the oppressed during the Nazi regime.   Despite the unimaginable hardships that Elizabeth Friedlander faced as a Jewish woman during the second World War, the mark that she left on the history of Graphic Design as a whole is nothing short of incredible.