1903
―1984
Elizabeth Friedlander (or Friedländer, depending on the source) was born in 1903 in Berlin, Germany, to a culture-minded and wealthy Jewish family. She studied under the influential typographer Emil Rudolph Weiss at the Academy of Berlin’s Museum of Decorative Arts.
After graduating, Friedlander became a designer and calligrapher at "Die Dame", Germany’s first illustrated lifestyle magazine for women, where she quickly established herself as one of the country’s leading graphic designers. Among her most renowned creations is the typeface "Elizabeth", commissioned by the Frankfurt-based Bauer Type Foundry in 1927, making her one of the first women to design a typeface.
Following the enactment of the Nuremberg Laws in September 1935, Friedlander fled Berlin for Milan. When Italy introduced a series of fascist laws, she moved to London in 1939.
In the UK, Friedlander continued her work in publishing and advertising, contributing to renowned names such as Penguin, Mills & Boon, Linotype, and Monotype. At Penguin, she collaborated with Jan Tschichold, who was then head of typography and production and known for authoring the Penguin Composition Rules.
Friedlander remained in the UK for the rest of her life, continuing to influence the field of graphic design until her passing in 1984. (ss)