The Penguin Handbook of First Aid - Penguin Books (1961)
Year: 1961
Format: Book
Illustrator: Hans Unger (1915-1975)
Client: Penguin Books
Details: Hans Unger (1915-1975) illustrated the cover to 'The Penguin Handbook of First Aid', published by Penguin Books in 1961.
Hans Ernest Unger was born in Prenzlau, Germany. He initially studied medicine in Berlin but the rise of the Nazi Party thwarted his ambitions. He spent a year away taking photographs in Italy, before returning to study graphic art.
Realising he would be unable to stay in Germany, he emigrated to South Africa in 1936, working as a designer in Cape Town before joining the South African army during the Second World War. He was captured by the Italian army in North Africa and escaped from a prisoner of war camp. He crossed the Pyrenees into Spain and then into Portugal, by foot, in the Arctic conditions of winter. Unger suffered frostbite, losing some toes. King George VI invested him with the Military Medal for gallant and distinguished service in 1944.
He moved to London in 1948, working as a poster designer and graphic artist for clients including London Transport, British Railways, BEA and the Post Office. He went on to establish the Unger Mosaic Workshop c.1958, working with Eberhard Schulze to create mosaics and stained glass windows. They were commissioned to produce work for churches and public buildings, including Lewisham Town Hall, Brasenose College, Oxford, and stations on London's Victoria Tube line.
Unger died by suicide in 1975. His last work was a mosaic at the Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead. It was completed and installed by Schulze and unveiled after Unger’s death.