Fritz Kredel facts for kids

Fritz Kredel (born February 8, 1900, died April 12, 1973) was a talented artist and graphic designer. He was born in Germany and later became an American citizen. Kredel was famous for his amazing illustrations in many books.

Fritz Kredel's Early Life

Fritz Kredel was born in a town called Michelstadt in Germany. When he was young, he studied art at the Offenbach School of Art and Design. There, he learned from a famous teacher named Rudolf Koch.

Kredel became very skilled at making woodcuts. This is a special way of creating images by carving them into a block of wood. Then, ink is put on the carved wood, and the image is pressed onto paper.

Rudolf Koch and Fritz Kredel worked together on some books. These included A Book of Signs (published in 1923) and The Book of Flowers (published in 1930).

After his teacher Rudolf Koch passed away in 1934, Kredel moved to Frankfurt. However, in 1938, he had to leave Germany. He moved to the United States with help from a person named Melbert Cary.

His Amazing Career as an Illustrator

After moving to the United States, Fritz Kredel started teaching art at Cooper Union in New York City. He also kept working as an artist and illustrator.

Kredel created pictures for more than 400 books! These books were in both German and English. He won many awards for his beautiful artwork. Many of his original drawings and woodcuts are now kept at Yale University's Art Library.

One of his special projects was illustrating a children's book for Eleanor Roosevelt. She was the wife of the U.S. President. The book was called Christmas and came out in 1940.

In 1961, Kredel was asked to create a woodcut of the Presidential Seal. This was for the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. An inauguration is a special ceremony when a new president officially takes office.

Fritz Kredel also illustrated many books for a group called the Limited Edition Club. This club made special, high-quality versions of classic books. He also illustrated World's Best Fairy Tales for Reader's Digest in 1967.

He even colored the famous drawings by John Tenniel for Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. These colored versions were published in 1946.