Cassel-Wronker, Lili, 1924-

Lili Cassel-Wronker was born May 5, 1924 in Berlin, Germany. She and her family fled the Nazis in 1938, and came to the United States in 1940. She attended the Art Students League in New York City and the Brooklyn Museum Art School. Early in her career, Lili Cassel-Wronker worked for Time, Incorporated's art department, as a book jacket designer for World Publishing, and taught calligraphy. She illustrated her first children's book, The Rainbow Mother Goose, in 1947. Throughout her long and prolific career, she has illustrated many works of fiction and non-fiction, several drawing on her interest in Jewish history and life. Lili Cassel-Wronker works primarily in black and white using pen and/or ink. She characterizes her work as linear and realistic . Some of her works such as Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella, also demonstrate her proficiency as a calligrapher. Lili Cassel-Wronker had also worked with her husband, Erich Wronker, publishing books on their own hand press.

From the guide to the Lili Cassel-Wronker Collection, 1947-1993, (University of Minnesota Libraries Children's Literature Research Collections)

German-born, American illustrator of children's books.

From the description of Happy New Year round the world : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62438162

From the description of All about us : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62448931

From the description of A wonderful Shabbos : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62438165

From the description of Jolly jingles for the Jewish child : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62438164

From the description of The secret of the marmalade cat : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62448467

From the description of The children of the old house : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62438161

From the description of Joseph and me in the days of the Holocaust : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62438166

From the description of The rainbow Mother Goose : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62438168

From the description of Boy wanted : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62448466

From the description of Bring a torch, Jeannette, Isabella : a Provençal carol attributed to Nicholas Saboly, 17th century : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62490585

From the description of Papers, 1947-1993 (bulk 1947-1979). (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62490584

From the description of A lament for the small book : with excerpts from a letter by Benjamin Franklin of 1785 and excerpts from an essay by Herbert S. Bailey, Jr., of 1959 : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62490590

From the description of Clarence Darrow : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62490587

From the description of Madame Curie : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62490588

From the description of Budongo : an African forest and its chimpanzees : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62438160

From the description of Jewish heroes : book one : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62448468

From the description of Yusuf, boy of Cyprus : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62490589

From the description of Riddles of many lands : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62686359

From the description of Chanukah fun and story book : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62686353

From the description of A picture dictionary of Jewish life : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62686358

From the description of The house next door : Utah, 1896 : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62686354

From the description of Unmarried sisters : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62686356

From the description of To build a land : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62686355

From the description of The boy and the donkey : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62402879

From the description of Jewish heroes : book two : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62402881

From the description of Weddings in the family : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62402880

From the description of Tell me about the cowbarn, Daddy : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62402882

From the description of Santa Fe : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62490593

Hermann Wronker was born on August 5, 1867 in eastern Prussia, the son of Lewin Wronker and Emilie Wronker née Sandel. When he was fourteen he began an apprenticeship at the business of H. & C. Tietz in Prenzlau; during this time he opened stores in Bamberg and Coburg. In 1887 he founded a business with his elder brother Simon, S. Wronker & Co., in Mannheim. He left Mannheim in 1891 to found a branch of the business in Frankfurt am Main. By November 1896 the store had grown successful enough that a neighboring building was purchased for its expansion. Further branches were opened in Baden, Hessen, and Alsace. A fire in 1897 destroyed the Frankfurt store, but it was rebuilt. In 1921 the business was incorporated as the Hermann Wronker AG, and by 1926 it had been expanded once again. With the purchase of the Kaufhaus Hansa in Frankfurt and the Warenhaus zum Strauss in Nuremberg, the Hermann Wronker AG had become one of the largest businesses in southern Germany. In 1934 the business was disbanded and taken over by the Nazis, becoming the Hansa AG . Hermann and Ida Wronker died in Auschwitz in 1942.

Hermann Wronker had three children with his wife Ida Wronker née Friedeberg: Erich, Max, and Alice. Erich Wronker lived only until 1918, when he died of tuberculosis after having served on the east front in World War I until 1916. Max Wronker also served as an officer during the First World War, and was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class. He married Irma Wronker née Lichter; they had two children, Erich and Gerda.

After completing her studies at the Viktoria Schule in 1914, Alice Wronker spent two years working at the Poliklinik für innere Medizin am Israelitische Krankenhaus (Outpatient Clinic for Internal Medicine at the Jewish Hospital) in Berlin. She then worked for 1½ years at the Archiv für Kriegefangenenhilfe (Archive for the Assistance of Prisoners of War) Zeil. In 1921 Alice Wronker married the orthopedic surgeon Hermann Engel, in Berlin, where the family lived until leaving Germany in 1936. They had two daughters, Ruth and Marion, born in 1924 and 1927, respectively. From 1927 until 1929 the family's home, the Villa am Rupenhorn 10, in the Spandau district of Berlin, was built; the house was a gift from Alice Engel's father, Hermann Wronker.

Hermann Engel was born in 1886, the second son of Gustav Engel and Jenny Loewy. The family moved to Berlin in 1892. After graduating from the Falke Realgymasium in 1905, Hermann Engel began studying medicine at the Universities of Berlin and Heidelberg, receiving his medical liecense in Berlin in 1912. As a young doctor Engel spent the next few years in various temporary positions, including working as a ship's doctor on trips to Mexico and Brazil and studying abroad for three months in the United States. From 1914 until the end of World War I he served as a military doctor on both the east and west fronts, including service at the Battle of Verdun. His military service earned him an Iron Cross. From the end of 1918 until 1927 Engel worked as the first assistant to Hermann Gocht at the Orthopädische Universitätsklinik und Poliklinik (Orthopedic University Clinic and Outpatient Clinic) in Berlin. He opened his own practice for orthopedic surgery in 1920. In 1936 he emigrated to Cairo with his family, where he had his own practice as well as working on the staff of several hospitals. While in Cairo he frequently visited Palestine (now Israel) for lectures and operations. In September 1949 Engel emigrated to the United States, where he opened his own practice on Fifth Avenue five months later. He was also on the staff of the Hospital for Joint Diseases. Hermann Engel continued to practice medicine until the age of 80, and published numerous articles in his field. He died in 1971.

Erich Wronker was the son of Max Wronker and Irma Lichter. Born in Frankfurt am Main in 1921, he spent his earliest years in the town of Königstein. He fled Germany with his family in 1933 via Paris and Cairo before ending up in Palestine, where Erich Wronker studied agriculture. Later he served in the Jewish Brigade of the British Army. In 1943 he emigrated to New York, where he taught himself printing. After working for the New York University Press he went to the Treaty Series Group, a printing company that worked with the United Nations. Erich Wronker stayed at the Treaty Series Group for twenty-five years, eventually heading the printing department, which printed international treaty books for the United Nations. In 1955 he founded Ron Press with his wife, the calligrapher Lili Cassel. Ron Press produced greeting cards, stationary, and books. Erich Wronker died on June 9, 1997.

Lili Wronker née Cassel was born on May 5, 1924. She attended the private Waldschule Kaliski from 1936 until 1938, and left Germany for England following Kristallnacht . From 1938 until 1940 she attended the Stoatley Rough School in Haslemere, Surrey, England. The Stoatley Rough School was a school for German and Austrian Jewish refugee children. In May 1940 Lili Cassel arrived in New York. For four years she studied art at Washington Irving High School. Her early experiences in the arts included working as an assistant to Time magazine's Promotion Art Director, Arnold Bauk and designing book jackets for the World Publishing Company. Lili Cassel's first children's book illustrations were included in the best book of the year show at the American Institute of Graphic Arts. In addition to freelancing for various publishers, she also taught calligraphy at several institutions, including the New School of Social Research, the YMCA, the United Nations International School and St. John's University in Queens, New York. In 1949 Lili Cassel was invited to spend a year a Jerusalem, where she met many Israeli artists and had an exhibition of her book illustrations at the Bezalel School. Three years later she married Erich Wronker. The Wronkers had a private press as a hobby, and were also founding members of the American Printing History Association as well as belonging to the Typophiles, a group of book and letter professionals. Lili Wronker was additionally a founding member of the Society of Scribes, New York. Her own work, as well as that of other calligraphers included in her collection, will be found in the San Francisco Public Library. In addition, she also created a video on the history of the Hebrew alphabet, which may be found in the collections of several libraries, including that of the Center for Jewish History.

From the guide to the Lili Wronker Family Collection, 1843-2002, bulk 1917-1984, (Leo Baeck Institute)