Elizabeth Friedlander (1903–1984) was a pioneering German-Jewish graphic designer, calligrapher, and typographer best known as the first woman to have a published typeface. Born in Berlin, she studied at the Berlin Academy under typographer Emil Rudolf Weiss, whose refined aesthetic shaped her early work. Friedlander began her career at Ullstein Publishing House, designing for Die Dame, a leading women’s magazine, before creating her groundbreaking “Elizabeth” typeface for the Bauer Type foundry. Denied work under Nazi rule in 1935, she fled Germany for Italy, where she designed book covers and illustrations for publishers like Mondadori. Still, the rise of fascism, again, endangered her life, prompting her escape to England in 1939. There, she was recruited to design for the British government’s wartime propaganda office, producing forged Nazi documents and counterpropaganda materials. After World War II, Elizabeth Friedlander's work continued to be a source of admiration and inspiration. She built a prolific freelance career, designing book covers, patterned papers, and calligraphic maps for Penguin Books, Thames & Hudson, and other major publishers. Her elegant borders and type designs were widely admired, and her calligraphic skill earned her commissions from institutions such as Sandhurst Military Academy. In the 1960s, Friedlander retired to Kinsale, Ireland, with her lifelong partner, Professor Alessandro Magri MacMahon, turning her creative focus to small crafts like leatherwork and maps. She continued designing for friends until her eyesight failed. Friedlander died in 1984, leaving behind a legacy of innovation and resilience.

TIMELINE

1903 – Born in Berlin

1927 – Designed the Elizabeth typeface for Bauer Type Foundry

1928-1935 – Designed for Die Dame Magazine

1933 – Nazis rise to power

1933 – Italian Under-Secretary of State allows in refugees from allied Nazi Germany as long as they were politically inactive

1935 – Elizabeth’s permit to work as a designer is denied by the Nazi party and she is fired from her job at Die Dame magazine

1936 – Elizabeth flees Germany and settles in Milan

1936-1938 – Works for Mondadori publishing house

1937 – Paid 200 marks for her Elisabeth typeface

1938 – Italy passes racial laws. Elizabeth seeks to emigrate to the US

1939 – Elizabeth learns her visa application cannot be expedited. She obtains a Domestic Service permit for Britain.

1941 – Mynell hires Elizabeth for his advertising firm

1942 – Final attempt to emigrate to the US before settling in Britain. World War II begins.

1942 – Howe recruits Elizabeth to his black propaganda unit

1945 – WWII ends. Elizabeth chooses to become a naturalized British citizen

1946-1949 – Worked on “Britain in Pictures”

1948 – Begins working for Penguin Books, designing book covers and patterned papers. Designs the Flexocase.

1949 – Is finally paid for her Flexocase design

1951 – Chosen by the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, to inscribe the Roll of Honour for officers of the Armies of the Commonwealth who fell in WWII 

1951-1960 – Designed several of the covers for the “Penguin Classics” series

1961– Moved to Kinsale Ireland

1958 – Designs the “Freidlander Borders” for Monotype

1967-1972 – Becomes the official Sandhurst calligrapher 

1984 – Death and burial in Cork

REFERENCES

Bauer Types. (n.d.). ELIZABETH FRIEDLANDER: THE FIRST WOMAN TO DESIGN A TYPEFACE. Bauer Types. https://bauertypes.com/elizabeth-friedlander-la-primera-mujer-que-diseno-tipografia

Ganeva, M. (2008). Women in Weimar Fashion: Discourses and Displays in German Culture, 1918-1933. Boydell & Brewer, Incorporated.

Kolesa, P. (2021, April 13). "ELIZABETH-ANTIQUA": A FILM ON ELIZABETH FRIEDLÄNDER [Video]. https://youtu.be/lY9FG9lcELY

Muraben, B. (2018, March 8). Elizabeth Friedlander: one of the first women to design a typeface. It's Nice That. Retrieved September 5, 2025, from https://www.itsnicethat.com/features/elizabethfriedlander-graphicdesign-internationalwomensday-080318

Paucker, P. (1998). New borders : the working life of Elizabeth Friedlander. Incline Press. https://doi.org/10.58066/j89j-mt96

The People's Graphic Design Arvchive. (2024, October 31). Penguin Books 25th Anniversary Designs by Elizabeth Friedlander. The People's Graphic Design Archive. https://peoplesgdarchive.org/item/15702/penguin-books-25th-anniversary-designs-by-elizabeth-friedlander

Rawsthorn, A. (n.d.). Story | Elizabeth Friedlander. Maharam. Retrieved September 5, 2025, from https://www.maharam.com/stories/rawsthorn\_elizabeth-friedlander