Egon Riss (1901-1964) was an Austrian architect of Jewish decent. From 1924 to 1934 he operated an architect office with Fritz Judtmann and worked on several buildings in Vienna. Riss arrived in Britain in 1938. After fighting with the British army during WWII, he moved to Scotland where he became employed by the Scottish Coal Board as architect, a job he held until his death in 1964. Only 100 of Riss original Penguin Donkeys were produced in 1939, including the one shown in the picture above.