Shopping Guide - National Tourist Organisation of Greece (c.1960s)

Year: Undated (c.1960s)

Format: Leaflet

Illustrator: Frederick Vincent Carabott (1924-2011)

Client: Committee for the Advertising Arts and Crafts of Athens/National Tourist Organisation

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Details: This leaflet was issued by the Committee for the Advertising Arts and Crafts of Athens (funded by the National Tourist Organisation) to promote shops and workshops where local goods could be bought. It is undated but looks c.1960s. The artwork was created by Greek-British painter and graphic designer Frederick Vincent Carabott (1924-2011).

Frederick “Freddie” Carabott was born in Athens. He joined a resistance organisation as a teenager during World War II. This resulted in him being imprisoned and taken by rail to a military prison in Vienna and later to POW camps in Germany and France. He was spared from execution after sketches of a cross and monks were found in his suitcase. 50 years later, he captured his wartime experiences in a series of watercolours which were made into a visual autobiography.

Carabott studied graphic design at the Chelsea and St. Martin's schools in London between 1950 and 1953. He returned to Athens where he worked in advertising, publishing and design. From 1958 to 1967 he was employed as an art advisor to the Greek National Tourist Organisation - his posters helped to develop a fresh and modern image for Greece in the years after the Second World War. He received awards in international competitions for his NTO work.

In 1965 the Greek State presented him with the Gold Cross of the Order of the Phoenix for his outstanding contributions to graphic design. He became member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) in 1968. He worked as a freelancer from 1979 onwards, with his work being published widely and featured in international and local exhibitions.