Dorrit Dekk (1917-2014) – born Dorothy Karoline Fuhrmann – was an accomplished graphic designer and artist. Born in the former Czechoslovakia, she moved as a young child with her mother and brother to Austria where, between 1936 and 1938, she attended University of Applied Arts Vienna. In 1938, with the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany she fled to London.
Other than a year of living in South Africa, Dorrit settled in Airlie Gardens, in Kensington, London from the 1960s until her death in 2014.
Between 1946 and 1948 she worked for the Central Office of Information, creating posters publicising messages such as “Coughs and sneezes spread diseases” and “Bones are still needed to make glue” for the Ministry of Labour and National Service.
As part of the 1951 Festival of Britain’s Land Travelling Exhibition, she created the mural “People at Play”. She worked extensively creating posters for the like of Air France, London Transport, British Rail, Trust House Forte, Schweppes and the Post Office Savings Bank. She produced covers and illustrations for publishers such as Penguin Books (where she designed the cover for Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome) and Tatler magazine. She created menu card designs for P&O cruise ships in the 1950s, 60s & 70s a few of which are currently for sale on eBay.
She gained her “Dorrit” nickname during childhood from her mother who was a fan of Charles Dickens. A printer once recommended to her that she should sign her work however, she realised that both her maiden name and married name (Klatzow) would be difficult to recognise in Britain, so he suggested that she use her initials: DKK, but with the inclusion of an “e”. Thus, her professional name became “Dekk”.
Additional image credits:
Kensington Magazine | Postal Museum
