Russian Books, Posters and Other Lot 256 Collectibles Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc

December 2, 2010 at 1:00 pm Cherrystone Auction Galleries 119 W. 57 Street, 3rd Floor New York, NY 10019 Lot 6

Pre-auction viewing at Cherrystone Auction Galleries November 30–December 1, 9 am–4 pm. Viewing on the day of the auction will be limited. Phone: +1.609.632.1692 Fax: +1.609.235.9667 [email protected] www.memiauctions.com Lot 197

ex-Lot 239 Lot 260 Terms and Conditions By bidding at our auction, whether in person, by phone, absentee bid, or exception: MMA will agree to a refund of the purchase price if within on the internet, you agree to be bound by the following terms and condi- twenty-eight (28) days of purchase, the purchaser obtains and sends to tions. As used in the following terms and conditions, MMA, We, and Us MMA a signed written letter from a mutually recognized expert stating refers to Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, LLC. unequivocally that the auctioned item is a forgery. 1. There is a 20% buyer’s premium added to the successful hammer price 9. A prospective buyer must complete and sign a registration form before of every lot, which the purchaser of the lot agrees to pay along with bidding. MMA reserves the right to require bank or other financial applicable taxes as part of the total purchase price. references for participation in the auction or bidding on a specific lot. 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Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 P.O. Box 3040, Princeton, NJ 08540 USA Phone:+1.609.632.1692 Fax:+1.609.235.9667 Email: [email protected] web: www.memiauctions.com

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SIGNATURE: ______DATE:______Mercer and Middlesex Auctions , Llc Russian Books, Posters and Other Collectibles Contents by Category and Lot Numbers Fall 2010

Autographs Lots 1–17 (see also lots 45, 108, 110, 128, 241) ...... 1

Books—Historical and Antiquarian Lots 18–27 (see also lots 261–263) ...... 9

Classic Literature Lots 28–35 ...... 14

Books—XXth Century Lots 36–114 (see also lot 260) ...... 18

Books on Architecture Lots 115–125 ...... 58

Children’s Books Lots 126–140 ...... 64

Art Books—Lithographs Lots 141–155 ...... 71

Catalogs of Art Exhibitions Lots 156–160 ...... 79

Important Literary Magazines Lots 161–185 ...... 81

Books and Magazines— Large Groups Lots 166–167 ...... 84

Posters—Pre-1914 Lots 168–179 ...... 85

Civil War Posters Lots 180–183 ...... 91

Pre-WWII Posters and Cards Lots 184–201 ...... 93

WWII Posters Lots 202–225 ...... 102.

Artwork, Sketches Lots 226–243 ...... 114 .

Photography Lots 244–252 ...... 123 .

Soviet Pictorial Statistics and Isotype Lots 253–255 ...... 128 .

Textiles Lot 256 ...... 130.

Miscellany—Late Offerings Lots 257–260 ...... 131.

Late Arrivals Lots 261–263 ...... 134.

IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING IMAGERY IN THIS CATALOG: This catalog has been produced for best viewing on a computer screen . Higher- quality images are available by request . Send an email to info@memiauctions .com An Auction of Russian Books, Posters and Other Collectibles

December 2, 2010 at 1:00 pm Cherrystone Auction Galleries 119 W. 57 Street, 3rd Floor New York, NY 10019

Pre-auction viewing at Cherrystone Auction Galleries November 30–December 1, 9 am–4 pm. Viewing on December 2 will be limited and must be arranged in advance. Phone: +1.609.632.1692 Fax: +1.609.235.9667 email: [email protected] Website: www.memiauctions.com

The following conventions had been used in this catalog: (1) In some cases, the auctioneer was unable identify with sufficient degree of certainty the name of an author, or an artist of the item being offered. In this case, the corresponding name will appear in square brackets: [ ].

(2) English translations of Russian names of books posters, and other items offered for the auction usually precede the Russian transliteration. Such transliterations are enclosed in square brackets, e.g. Sunward [Posolon].

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Autographs 1 Lot 1. CATHERINE II (1729–1796). 1778 military commission, signed by the Empress, awarding Mitrofan Balavinskii, “who has served in our navy battalions since 1771,” the title of Lieutenant Colonel . Letterpress and engraved document on vellum (37 x 45 cm) . Signed “Ekaterina” with imperial seal . $3,000–5,000

Lot 2. NICHOLAS I (1796–1855). 1840 illuminated Grant of Nobility and Arms in Russian and Polish, awarding a noble title to Mikolai Skrobecky . 4 pp ., folio manuscript on vellum (41 x 27 cm), final leaf signed by the Emperor Nicholas I and by the State Secretary For Poland, W . Plonikowski . Signed grant, in green velvet boards, with Imperial seal in gold wash case with two-colored silk tassel affixed to the binding . Chemise calf-backed green marbled portfolio; coat-of-arms leather label with gilt stamp at center . Contained in black cloth slipcase over calf with separate oval box with clasp for the seal . $10,000–12,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 2 Autographs Lot 3 AKHMATOVA, Anna (1889–1966). Signed presentation copy of an important wartime anthology of Soviet poetry (Sbornik Stikhov, OGIZ, Moscow . 1943, editors: V . Pertsov, and V . Kazin) . Inscribed by the poetess to Mikhail Zenkevich, fellow Acmeist back in pre-revolutionary days . In addition, inscribed and dated on the inside cover by Zenkevich . Rare autograph dating to the trying period in the country’s history . The sheer number of Akhmatova’s poems included, and their placement immediately after poems by Mayakovsky, Blok, Bryusov and Bely, reflects the high regard in which Akhmatova was held by her contemporaries . $3,000–4,000

Lot 4. ESENIN, Sergei (1895–1925). Transfiguration [Preobrazhenie] . Imazhinisty, [Moscow], 47 pp ., 16 .2 x 23 cm . Signed presentation copy of the 1920 anthology (title poem first published in 1918), inscribed by the poet on front page: “To Egor Efimovich / Nechaev / Lovingly / S . Esenin / December 1920” . A desirable autograph . There were no book signings or promotional tours in revolutionary Russia and in the Soviet Union, so books signed by Esenin are rare despite the poet’s immense popularity . $4,000–6,000

Lot 5. MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir (1893–1930). Signed contract, turning over the rights to the Czech edition of My Discovery of America [Moe otkrytie Ameriki] to Václav Petr . Typed letter sheet signed in ink . 29 .5 x 20 .5 cm . A seldom-seen example of Mayakovsky’s signature not in Cyrillic . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Autographs 3

Lot 6. PASTERNAK, Boris (1890–1960)—Signed Manuscript Draft. Lengthy manuscript draft related to Pasternak’s work on Dr. Zhivago . Student notebook (12 sheets, 20 .5 x 16 7. cm), with contents in the poet’s hand, enclosed in unattached wrappers, with upper wrapper inscribed in blue ink “The second visit of Yuri Andreevich Zhivago to Varykino / May 16, 1954 / Boris Pasternak” . A second note, from the later time, also in the poet’s hand, reads “Make a clean copy 12 December 56 B .P “. A fascinating find that should—and will—excite any lover of Russian literature . The notebook dates to late stages of Pasternak’s work on Dr. Zhivago . It opens with eight lines of verse to be reinserted between the 6th and 7th strophes of the poem “Dawn”, and continues with a variant of verse 6 of Chapter 4, numbered VI to VIII . The text is very close, albeit not completely identical, to the final published version . Dr. Zhivago was the culmination of more than a decade’s work (the book also incorporated some passages dating to the 1920s, and some even earlier) . Pasternak’s attempts to have it published in the Soviet Union had failed . The Italian publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli had smuggled the finished manuscript out of the country, and the novel was published, without the poet’s formal authorization, in the West . Its worldwide success was the decisive factor in gaining Pasternak the Nobel Prize for Literature (1958), which the poet, under the pressure from the Soviet authorities, was forced to refuse . For many years, the novel remained unavailable to Soviet readers . It was finally published in the Soviet Union thirty years later, in Novy Mir, the same magazine that had rejected it back in 1957 . $25,000–35,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 4 Autographs Lot 7. GAGARIN, Yuri (1934–1968). Autographed photo taken on the day of Gagarin’s historic flight . It shows the visibly tired cosmonaut sitting at the table, with Sergei Korolev standing next to him . Signed on reverse by Gagarin, and dated 12 .4 .61 (day of the flight) . $5,000–8,000

Lot 8. GAGARIN, Yuri (1934–1968). Autographed photo taken on the day of Gagarin’s historic flight; similar to the previous lot, but this one shows the cosmonaut talking on the phone, possibly answering a call from Moscow . Signed on reverse by Gagarin, and dated 12 .4 .61 (day of the flight) . $5,000–8,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Autographs 5 Lot 9. KHRUSCHEV, Nikita (1894–1971), and GAGARIN, Yuri (1934–1968). Jointly signed printed card, 14 .2 x 10 cm . Gagarin is greeted in Moscow after his historic flight, sharing the Mausoleum Tribune with the Soviet premier . $2,500–3,500

Lot 10. KHRUSCHEV, Nikita (1894–1971), and GAGARIN, Yuri (1934–1968). Jointly signed postcard showing the Soviet premier and the first cosmonaut, their hands joined and raised in celebration . Caption below reads “The Path to Stars Is Laid By Communists” . $2,500–3,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 6 Autographs Lot 11. Group Autograph of First Soviet Cosmonauts. Official photo in color showing the first six Soviet cosmonauts, including Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space (1961), and Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space (1963), and signed by all six . News agency imprint on reverse, dated 1964 . Color photos are rare . $2,000–3,000

Lot 12. Group Autograph of First Soviet Cosmonauts. Black and white photo of a smiling group comprised of first eleven Soviet cosmonauts . Signed by nine, including Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space (1961), Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space (1963), and Vladimir Komarov, the first Soviet cosmonaut to die on a space mission (1967) . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Autographs 7 Lot 13. KOROLEV, Sergei (1909–1966). Signed photo dated 1965 . Autographs of the chief architect of the Soviet space program are scarce; signed photos are outright rare . $800–1,000

Lot 14. KOROLEV, Sergei (1909–1966). The father of the Soviet space program reviews the manuscript of a book about the pioneer of Soviet rocket research, Friedrich Zander . Typed letter sheet, signed by Korolev and dated 24 .6 .65 . The letter is addressed to the author of the manuscript, Dmitry Zelmanovich . Korolev welcomes the idea to write a book about Zander, recommends the manuscript for publication, and even suggests possible areas for further research . The book was published in 1966 (Zelmanovich D Ya. ., Pioner Sovetskogo Raketostroyniya F.A. Zander, Oborongiz, Moscow 1966) . An exceptional association document . $1,500–2,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 8 Autographs Lot 15. KHACHATURIAN, Aram (1903–1978). Two autographs of the great Armenian composer: an 18 x 13 cm signed photograph with the warm dedication to the long-time concertmaster of the Leningrad Philharmonic, I .A . Shpilberg (1967), and a signed typed letter of recommendation written on Shpilberg’s behalf (1969) . Khachaturian was an iconic figure that inspired (and continues to inspire) several generations of Armenian composers . Some of his compositions are literally familiar to the whole world, the Saber Dance from his ballet Gayane being the prime example . Amazingly, Khachaturian did not study music until he came Moscow in 1921 . $1,000–1,500

Lot 16. Important Soviet Musicians and Composers—Signed Letters. Group of four letters of recommendation signed, respectively, by the composer Dmitry SHOSTAKOVICH (1906– 1975), violinist David OISTRAKH (1908–1974), and conductors Evgeny MRAVINSKY (1906– 1988), and Evgeny SVETLANOV (1928–2002), all written on behalf of the important Soviet violinist Ilya Shpilberg, concertmaster of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra for 30+ years, and winner of the All-Union violin competition in 1937 (Oistrakh won the same competition in 1935) . Wonderful association group that brings together the brightest stars of the Soviet music scene of the period . (4 TLSs) $2,000–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Autographs / Books—Historical and Antiquarian 9 Lot 17. Russian Opera Singers— Signed Photos and Cards. An important group from an estate of a Russian opera enthusiast . Signed portrait cards, signed role cards, signed photos; many with lengthy inscriptions . Altogether over 140 items, virtually all pre-WWII . The earliest item noticed is a 1897 cabinet photo signed by soprano N . Asaturova, the latest is a signed photo of the great Obukhova . There are autographs of Chaliapine, Sobinov (several), Kozlovsky (several), Damaiev, Khanayev, Pirogov, Pechkovsky, Medea Figner, Lipkovskaya, Nezhdanova, Obukhova, Vyaltseva—the full list will take more than a page . This describer is clearly out of his depth here, please examine . $10,000–12,000

Lot 18. Legendary Proscribed Book. PNIN, Ivan (1773–1805) . An Experiment in Enlightenment in Regard to Russia [Opyt o prosveschenii otnositelno k Rossii] . Ivan Glazunov, St . Petersburg, 1804 . 147 pp ., 163 x 105 mm, near contemporary boards, with original wrappers bound in . Pnin, by no means a revolutionary, argued that the liberation of the peasants, combined with agricultural training and propaganda of temperance, is necessary for creating a stable monarchy, in which each estate knows and fulfills his obligations . Originally allowed to publication, this book was banned after a “concerned citizen”, one G . Gerakov, had filed a complaint with censors . The book was suppressed, with all unsold copies confiscated and destroyed . Pnin died a year later . An important book that should excite any collector interested in the history of political thought in Russia . Marinus West overstates the case in writing that all copies but one were destroyed (Classics in Russia 1700–1855: Between Two Bronze Horsemen, Brill, Leiden, 1992, p . 185), but it is exceedingly rare . $7,000–10,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 10 Books—Historical and Antiquarian Lot 19. Another Rare Book With An Unusual History. KHUDYAKOV, Ivan (1842–1876) . Ancient Russia [Drevnyaya Rus], printed by Kukol-Yasnopolskii Printing Works, likely for the Women Publishing Group, St . Petersburg, 1867 . 263 pp ., 18 .5 x 12 .5 cm . Publisher’s navy half morocco over marbled boards, spine lettered in gilt . Not in Fekula; bears the bookplate of the prominent turn of the twentieth century book collector (and publisher) Lev Bukhgeim . A book with a fascinating story behind it—this decidedly liberal treatise on Russian history from the ancient times through the century had appeared a few months after its author, the 25 years old Ivan Khudyakov, had been convicted of belonging to a revolutionary organization, and exiled to Yakutia, where he eventually went mad . Publication of Khudyakov’s book under these circumstances could be viewed as a testament to the liberalization of Russian life in the reign of Alexander II, but lax censorship did not mean that Russian political gendarmerie (III Otdeleniye) would not get involved . A 2001 paper by E .R . Olkhovsky about the liberal Women Publishing Group mentions that it was investigated in conjunction with the publication of Khudyakov’s reports; it also states that the Group did not have its own typography, and often used Kukol Yasnopolskii as a printer (in Rossiiskiye Zhenshiny i Evropeyskaya Kultura, St . Petersburg, 2001, pp . 85–89) . It is unclear whether the book was confiscated; but it is certain that it became a rarity almost immediately . Ivan Khudyakov was a prodigy of sorts—by the age of 20, he had already published several books, recording Russian folk songs, puzzles, and fairy tales . A young man with radical views, he had dropped out of University, and became the member of a revolutionary group led by Ishutin . Ishutin’s organization was uncovered in the aftermath of the Karakozov’s failed attempt to assassinate the Tsar, and Khudyakov was convicted and exiled to Verkhoyansk . For a while he remained active, studying Yakut language, and preparing a book on Yakut beliefs and folklore; but eventually he did succumb to the climate and solitude . $7,000–10,000

Lot 20. SHEREMETYEV, Count Nikolai (1751–1809). Description of the Church of The Sign Of Our Lady of the Novospassky Monastery [Opisanie … Khrama Znameniya Presvyatoy Bogoroditsy]. A . Reshetnikov, Moscow, 1803 . 56 pp ., 21 .2 x 13 .5 cm . Original boards with later stamped spine label . Rare; not listed in Fekula . Description of the historic Church in the Moscow’s Novospassky Monastery (New Monastery of the Savior) complex . The monastery, at its current site since 1491, was patronized by generations of Sheremetyev and Romanov boyars as a family sepulcher . Upon the Romanovs’ ascension to the Russian throne, they had rebuilt their family abbey in the 1640s . Apart from the Sheremetev sepulcher in the Church of the Sign, and the 18th-century bell-tower, all other Monastery buildings date from that period . $800–1,200

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—Historical and Antiquarian 11 Lot 21. SHEVYREV, Stepan (1806–1864). A Journey to the St. Kirill Belozerskii Monastery [Poezdka v Kirillo-Belozerskii Monastyr] . Universitetskaya Tipografiya, Moscow, 1850 . Two volumes bound in one, 23 .9 x 16 .2 cm, 26 lithographic plates (1 folding) . Near contemporary boards, original upper wrapper to vol . I bound at front, and original lower wrapper at the end . Academician Shevyrev was an authority on medieval Russian literature, and an important literary critic . Ironically, this staunch conservative and Slavophile was forced to leave Russia in the end of his life, and died in Paris . $2,000–3,000

Lot 22. SOLOVIEV, Nikolai (1877–1915). Court Life from 1613 to 1913 [Pridvornaya zhizn 1613–1913] . St . Petersburg: Kruzhok Liubitelei Russkih Izyaschnykh Izdanii, 1913 . 104 pp ., 23 x 16 cm . Illustrated frontispiece, 11 plates with tissue guards, decorative wrappers, one of 500 copies . Catalog of the exhibition of fine engravings held to commemorate the tricentennial of the house of Romanov, with thirteen reproduced, prepared by the renowned Russian bibliophile and dealer in rare books, antiquarian Nikolai Soloviev . Includes a brief history of Russia’s ruling house from the first Romanov to Nicholas II . $3,000–5,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 12 Books—Historical and Antiquarian Lot 23. SUMAROKOV, Pavel (1767–1846). Characteristics of Catherine the Great [Cherty Ekateriny Velikiya] . Department Narodnago Prosvescheniya, St . Petersburg, 1819 . 371 pp ,. 20 x 13 cm . Publisher’s three-quarter brown calf over marbled boards, spine lettered in gilt . An in-depth biography of the Empress by a member of the Russian Academy . Senator Pavel Sumarokov, possibly sponsored by the Imperial Department of Public Education . Rare—not in Fekula . $3,000–5,000

Lot 24. USTRYALOV, Nikolai (1805–1870). Historical Overview of the Reign of Tzar Nicholas I [Istoricheskoe obozrenie tsarstvovaniya Gosudarya Imperatora Nikolaya I] . Tipografiya EZGB , St . Petersburg, 1847 . 180 pp ., 20 .5 x 13 .5 cm . Half tan calf over patterned boards, spine tooled in black . A history of the early years of the reign of Nicholas I . Ustryalov was the professor of history at St . Petersburg University, and the leading specialist on Peter the Great’s reign . EZGB was the Russian equivalent of U .S . Bureau of Engraving and Printing; the fact that this book was printed by EZGB Printing Works gives it an official imprimatur of sorts . It may have been officially commissioned . $2,500–4,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—Historical and Antiquarian 13 Lot 25. VASENKO, Platon (1874–1929?). Romanov Boyars and Mikhail Feodorovich’s Accession. [Boyare Romanovy i votsarenie Mikhaila Feodorovicha]. Gos . Tipografiya, St . Petersburg, 1913 . 224+14 pp ., 30 .8 x 23 .2 cm . Portrait frontispiece of Czar Nicholas II, 22 colored plates . A deluxe copy in special binding, light brown morocco, the upper cover with gilt and partially embossed design in gilt, the spine divided into five compartments with gilt fillets and roll tools, lettered in the second compartment, patterned endpapers . Provenance: ex-Count Benkendorff, with his armorial bookplate . Issued for the tricentennial of the Romanov dynasty . An opulent production, with numerous full-page plates, often in color . A member of the Royal Archeographic Commission, professor Vasenko was a specialist on Russian historic books of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and on the “troubled times” (Smutnoye Vremya) period of Russian history that concluded with the Romanov’s accession . $5,000–7,000

Lot 26. von STAEHLIN, Jacob (1709–1785). Authentic Anecdotes of Peter the Great. [Podlinnye anekdoty Petra Velikago] . Third Edition . Ponomarev, Moscow, 1789, 19 .3 x 11 7. cm . Contemporary half sheep over marbled paper-covered boards, spine gilt . Rare—not in Fekula . German-born Jacob von Staehlin settled in Russia in 1735 . A historian and geographer, he was a high-ranking member of the Russian Academy, and the personal librarian of Peter III . $2,000–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 14 Books—Historical and Antiquarian / Classic Literature

Lot 27. RUSSIAN CRIMINAL APPEALS COURT CRIMINAL APPEALS COURT DECISIONS, 1877. [Resheniya Ugolovnago Kassatsionnago Departmenta Pravitelstvuiuschago Senata … 1877]. Tipographiya Pravitelstvuiushago Senata, 1877 . 2 parts in one volume, 2+10+266 pp ., 24 .3 x 17 cm . With a duplicate p . ix/x bound in . Contemporary green morocco, covers paneled in gilt and blind, spine in five compartments with raised bands, gilt turn-ins, white moire endpapers . 95 articles describing the proceedings and decisions in various criminal cases for the year 1877 . Some cases provide for an interesting reading . $800–1,200

Lot 28. KRYLOV, Ivan (1768–1844). Fables [Basni], c . 1840 . 8 parts in one volume (as issued), 425 pp ., 13 .6 x 8 .3 cm . Contemporary half calf over marbled paper-covered boards, spine gilt . Lacks the title page, and possibly some preliminary leaves . Lifetime editions of the Russian Aesop are avidly sought by collectors . Krylov’s impact on Russian culture is immeasurable . His fables are still widely read, and many of his lines became an integral part of the everyday language . $2,000–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Classic Literature 15 Lot 29. KRYLOV, Ivan (1769–1844). Fables [Basni], rare “funeral” volume . Smirdin, St . Petersburg, 1844, 326 pp . + 8 pp . index, 23 .8 x 14 .5 cm . On his deathbed, Krylov had arranged to send his friends a copy of the last edition of his fables to remember him (see Leslie O’Bell, “Krylov, La Fontaine, and Aesop” in Empire Nation & The Golden Age, NWU Press, 1998 .) “Funeral” copies can be distinguished by the special “in memoriam”- dated front page, and by the tipped-in invitation to attend Krylov’s funeral on Nov . 13, 1844 . Contemporary half calf over marbled paper-covered boards, spine gilt, ex-Babintsev, with his bookplate . $3,500–5,000

Lot 30. PUSHKIN, Alexander (1799–1837). Miniature edition of Evgenii Onegin . A .S . Suvorin, n . d ., 973 pp ., 5 x 3 .5 cm . Original gilt brown leather . A thumbnail printing sized to fit in a vest pocket . $800–1,200

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 16 Classic Literature Lot 31. BENOIS, Alexander (1870–1960), illustrator. PUSHKIN, Alexander (1799–1837) . Queen of Spades [Pikovaya Dama] . Golike and Vilborg, St . Petersburg, 1911, 69 pp ., 29 .6 x 23 .5 cm . Introductory essay by N . Lerner . Text printed in black within a light gray printed border . 15 mounted colored plates, 14 colored illustrations . Contemporary black morocco, covers paneled in gilt and blind, spine divided into six compartments by gilt fillets, lettered in the second compartment, patterned endpapers . A beautifully illustrated book . Ten years later, Benois had an opportunity to design sets and costumes for the production of the Tchaikovsky opera of the same name . Undoubtedly, his earlier work as an illustrator had influenced his work for the theater . $1,000–1,500

Lot 32. BENOIS, Alexander (1870-1960), illustrator. PUSHKIN, Alexander (1799-1837) . The Bronze Horseman [Mednyi Vsadnik] . Literature Popularization Committee of the Russian Academy of Material Culture History, 1923 . 78 pp ., 34 .5 x 27 cm . Number 376 of 1,000 copies . The first edition of Mednyi Vsadnik with Benois’ illustrations appeared in 1903 . The fact that a Soviet Government-sponsored institution saw fit to reissue it in a deluxe format at the time of rampant hyperinflation and general scarcity suggests that Benois’ illustrations were still considered the best twenty years later . $800–1,200

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Classic Literature 17 Lot 33. ZVORYKIN, Boris (1872–1935), illustrator. PUSHKIN, Alexander (1799–1837) . Le Coq d’or et d’autres contes . l’Édition d’Art, H . Piazza, Paris, 1925 . 30 x 23 cm . French translation by N . Andreieff . In slipcase, decorative title, 20 colored plates, decorated wrappers . A magnificent limited edition, with full-page plates high­lighted with gold and silver, text in ornamental borders, and section titles printed in color and gilt . $1,000–1,500

Lot 34. No Lot

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 18 Classic Literature Books—XXth Century

Lot 35. CHEKHOV, Anton (1860–1904). The Cherry Orchard [Vishnevy sad]—First Serial Publication and First Separate Edition. First publication in Znanie Collection for 1903, volume II [Sbornik tovarischestva “Znanie” za 1903 god], St . Petersburg, 1904 . 4+320 pp ., 19 .8 x 13 7. cm . In contemporary brown half morocco over cloth-covered boards, spine lettered and numbered in gilt . First separate edition by A . F . Marks, St . Petersburg, 1904, 62 pp . +2 pp . publisher’s advertisements, 21 1. x 14 .3 cm . The official release date of the first separate edition was June 1, 1904; Chekhov died on July 2 . More than a hundred years later, The Cherry Orchard remains an utterly contemporary play, “a powerful, potent myth of wasted opportunities, frustrated dreams, and fragile hopes” (James Loehlin) . $4,000–6,000

Lot 36. AKSENOV, Ivan (1883–1935) and EXTER, Alexandra (1882–1949), illustrator. Picasso and Environs [Pikasso i okrestnosti] . Tsentrifuga, Moscow, 1917 . 73 pp ., 17 x 20 .5 cm . The world’s first monograph on Picasso— written by the man at the center of the important Centrifuge Futurist group, and with original decorated wrappers designed by the talented Alexandra Exter . Only 1,000 copies were printed [MOMA 148] . Picasso and Environs was the second Aksenov—Exter collaboration; a few months earlier Exter had illustrated Axenov’s book of poetry (Neuvazhitelnye Osnovaniya, Tsentrifuga, Moscow, 1916) . It is possible that the two met through Lyubov Popova, who, like Exter, belonged at the time to the Supremus group, and was married to Aksenov . More likely though, the pair knew each other for years, as both hailed from Kiev, and were active in the Kiev art circles . Exter was also friendly with Picasso from her stay in Paris before the war; this personal acquaintance had likely influenced her work . $800–1,200

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 19 Lot 37. ALTMAN, Nathan (1889–1970). Lenin . IZO NKP, Petrograd, 1921 . 14 pp ., 22 .2 x 18 .5 cm . Printed paper wrappers with Suprematist design in red and black on front cover also designed by Altman . First edition . One of 5,000 copies . Nine studies of Lenin and a view of Kremlin from Lenin’s office, each signed in the plate, and dated May 1920 . Altman made these sketches during the seating for an official portrait of the Revolution leader . Many years later, he had difficulty finding work as a book illustrator, let alone exhibiting . The artist largely supported himself through that period by knocking out copies of the Lenin bust also made after the 1920 seating . $1,000–1,500

Lot 38. ANNENKOFF, Georges (Yuri Annenkov, 1889–1974). Portraits [Portety] . 1922, 172 pp ., 33 x 24 cm . Illustrated wrappers and pictorial dust jacket, numerous plates and illustrations in the text, all after Annenkov, with contri­ butions by Evgeny Zamyatin, Mikhail Kuzmin and Mikhail Babenchikov . Published in a limited edition of 900 . Importantly, this copy comes with the frequently missing dust jacket . Among the many writers and artists depicted in this collection of portraits are Akhmatova, Altman, Benois, Chukovsky, Gorky, Khodasevich, Kuzmin, Pasternak, Remizov, Sologub, H G. . Wells, Zamyatin, and Blok on his deathbed . $4,000–6,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 20 Books—XXth Century Lot 39. BURLIUK, David (1882–1967), and KAMENSKY, Vasily (1884–1961). Velemir Vladimirovich Khlebnikov. Works from 1906 to 1908—An Appendix. [Velemir Vladimirovich Khlebnikov. Tvoreniya 1906–1908 g.—Prilozheniye] . Izdanie Pervogo Zhurnala Russkikh Futuristov, Moscow, 1914, 6 pp ., 20 .8 x 13 .5 cm . A standalone pamphlet with essays on Khlebnikov by Burliuk and Kamensky and two drawings by Burliuk . Decorated wrappers also designed by Burliuk . Round seal on the front suggests that this copy comes from the personal library of V . Tatlin . Rare publication, not recorded in standard English-language reference sources . Velimir Khlebnikov was considered the “poet’s poet” by his Gileya cohorts . His influence on Russian futurist literature was aptly summarized by Nikolai Ushakov, who in a 1930 essay proclaimed him to be “the Lomonosv of the twentieth century” . Association through ownership with one of the founders of Constructivism is indicative of cross influences between the different movements of the Russian avant-garde . $4,000–6,000

Lot 40. The Futurist Gazette, First Issue. BURLIUK, David (1882–1967), KAMENSKY, Vasily (1884–1961), MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir (1893–1930) . The Futurist Gazette [Gazeta futuristov], no . 1, 1918 . ASIS Publishing, 2 pp ., 71 x 53 cm . The first issue of this short-lived futurist newspaper . It opens with a thundering Futurist Manifesto signed by Burliuk, Mayakovsky, and Kamensky, and with Decree No . 1, in which the Flying Federation of Futurists proclaims that art is no longer allowed to stay in palaces, salons, museums and libraries . Instead, it must come into the street, and the street will become “a festival of arts for everybody” . In this spirit, the Flying Futurists announce that they will be happy to give free of charge lectures, poetry readings, and painting exhibitions in front of workers audiences . A long poem by Mayakovsky and several poems by Burliuk occupy the rest of the front page, with contributions from several other Futurists appearing on the other side . The new Gazette does not have a permanent address yet, but the Flying Futurists can be contacted through the Poets Cafe that they, apparently, patronize daily . A literary history document of considerable importance . Rare, not in MoMA collection . $3,000–5,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 21 Lot 41. BRODSKY, Moisei (1896–1944), PUNIN, Nikolai (1888–1953), and other contributors. Workers Art [Iskusstvo Rabochikh] . Russian State Museum Publishing, Leningrad, 1928 . 72 pp ., 17 7. x 13 .5 cm . Book design by Brodsky . This book was produced in conjunction with the important 1928 exhibition of IZORAM (Association of the Amateur Young Worker Artists), held in Leningrad in the Russian State Museum . More a collection of essays by IZO theorists than an exhibition catalog, it includes several (unattributed) examples of exhibited art . In the examples shown, the talent of the amateur artists, and their good grasp of Constructivist principles are indisputable . Such successes were, to a large degree, attributable to the pedagogic skills of talented Moisei Brodsky, who started as a Cubofuturist in Odessa, and through the 1920s extensively worked with the young artists of Leningrad IZORAM (Association of Visual Arts Groups for Young Workers) . IZORAM leaders eventually came under the attack for paying too much attention to art education, and not enough attention to raising the cadre of workers that would produce visual propaganda at the work place . $800–1,200

Lot 42. [CHASHNIK, Ilya (1886–1929)], illustrator. The Art of Leningrad’s Working Youth [IZO Rabochey Molodezhi Leningrada] . Tretyakov Gallery Publishing, Moscow, 1929, 72 pp ., 16 x 13 .3 cm . Text by several authors, including M . Brodsky . Catalog of the Art Exhibition of the Leningrad IZORAM, with two-color decorated wrappers . Some specialists attribute the wrappers to Malevich’s student and UNOVIS member, Ilya Chashnik (with references to V . Krichevsky, Oblozhka, Samolyot, Moscow, 2002) . One of 200 copies [Getty 278; Hellyer 162] $1,500–2,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 22 Books—XXth Century Lot 43. MACZA, Ivan (1893–1974) The Leningrad IZORAM . OGIZ-IZOGIZ, Moscow - Leningrad, 1932 . 42 pp ., 20 7. x 15 cm . The end of the Leningrad IZORAM as envisioned by Brodsky and Punin . Ivan (Janos) Macza, a left-leaning Hungarian avant-garde critic turned a Soviet art functionary, attacks the IZORAM leaders for their “vulgar-mechanistic understanding of the tasks of proletarian art” . An important companion piece to the two previous lots [Getty 498] . $800–1,200

Lot 44. CHEKHOV, Mikhail (1891–1955), and LISSITZKY, El (Lazar Lissitzky, 1890–1941), illustrator. The Path of The Actor [Put Aktyora] . Academia, Leningrad, 1928, 176 pp ., 15 .3 x 11 .4 cm . This memoir of the legendary actor/director/pedagogue, was published shortly before Chekhov had left Russia . The 1928 edition, with covers designed by Lissitzky, had been considered a Holy Grail of sorts by generations of theater books and Academia editions collectors in the Soviet Union . Mikhail Chekhov was Anton Chekhov’s nephew, so it comes as no surprise that his memoirs are well written . Chekhov eventually came to United States, where he continued his acting and teaching career . The list of Chekhov’s students in Hollywood includes Gary Cooper, Marilyn Monroe, Gregory Peck, Clint Eastwood, Anthony Quinn, Ingrid Bergman, Lloyd Bridges, and Yul Brynner, to name a few . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, LLC December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 23 Lot 45. CHERNYSHEV, Nikolai (1885–1973), and GERASIMOV, Sergei (1885–1964), illustrators, text by RESHETOV, Amfian, and RUDIN, Neol. Four From the Garret [Chetvero iz mansardy] . 32 pp ., 20 .5 x 14 7. cm . PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY ALL FOUR CONTRIBUTORS (to the influential art theorist, Mayakovsky’s close friend, and co-founder of LEF, Osip Brik, December 1920) . No more than 100 copies of this book were produced, likely unique with the joint dedication . An unsigned copy is in the MoMA collection [MoMA 283] . An attractive book, lithographed throughout: 16 pp . of manuscript facsimile text (8 pp . in the hand of Amfian Reshetov ; 8 pp . in the hand of Neol Rudin), 8 plates (4 by N . Chernyshev, 4 by S . Gerasimov) . Thin card wrappers, the upper cover blocked in red with lino cut lettering designed by Chernyshev . Of the four contributors, artist Sergei Gerasimov is the best known, although his art had definitely undergone a major transformation in the following years . $10,000–12,000

Lot 46. ECHEISTOV, Georgy (1871–1946), and VLADIMIROVA, Maria, illustrators. Hungarian Gypsy Dance [Tsyganskaya Vengerka] by V . KOVALEVSKY, Ozar, Moscow, 1922 . 15 pp ., 19 .5 x 15 cm . Echeistov’s woodcut on the frontispiece, also two linocuts by Maria Vladimirova [MOMA 382] . Futurist Georgiy Echeistov studied wood carving at Stroganov, and drawing at VKHUTEMAS . His non- Objectivist paintings are being now rediscovered, but most of his work was in the field of book production . $500–700

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 24 Books—XXth Century Lot 47. EHRENBURG, Ilya (1891–1967), and LISSITZKY, El (Lazar Lissitzky, 1890–1941), book designer. My Paris [Moi Parizh] . OGIZ, 20 x 16 .8 cm, hardbound, in dust jacket, (scarce thus) . The Soviet Union’s “cultural ambassador to the West” tries his hand at photographic social reporting . His Paris is not glamorous at all, but Ehrenburg finds dignity and hope in ordinary Parisians . Photographs and text by Ehrenburg, book design by El Lissitzky, whose clear and inventive typography “puts gentle rhythm into the book” (Steidl) . Lissitzky had also designed the jacket, and contributed the photo portrait of Ehrenburg, and several photomontages based on Ehrenburg’s photographs . $7,000–9,000

Lot 48. ESENIN, Sergei (1895–1925). Ritual for the Dead [Radunitsa] . Averianov Publishing, Petrograd, 62 pp ., 19 .8 x 14 .3 cm . The first book published by the poet; exceedingly scarce . Provenance: ex-Shimkevich, Leontieff- Istomin collections, with Leontieff- Istomin’s bookplate . $8,000–12,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 25 Lot 49. ESENIN, Sergei (1891–1925), and ZDANEVICH, Kirill (1892–1969), illustrator. Soviet Land [Strana Sovetskaya] . Sovetskii Kavkaz, Tiflis, 63 pp ., 20 x 14 cm . Color constructivist wrappers by Kirill Zdanevich, one of the first Rayonists, and co-founder of the Futurist Syndicate, and of the 41º group . Esenin had spent much time in the Caucasus in 1924–25, where he developed useful connections with local publishers; most of the poems included in the book had originally appeared in Baku and Tiflis daily newspapers . Soviet Land was one of the last of books the poet saw published . $2,500–3,500

Lot 50. FAZINI, Alexander (1893–1944), illustrator; BAGRITSKY, Eduard (1895–1934), TRET’YAKOV, Sergei (1892–1937), and SHERSHENEVICH, Vadim (1893–1942), contributors. The Seventh Veil [Sed’moye Pokryvalo] . Sport i Nauka, Odessa, 1916, 64 pp ., 22 7. x 20 1. cm . A collection of poems by young avant-garde poets published in Odessa—with a surprising number of contributors destined to reach future national prominence . Wrapper design and four paste-in illustrations by Alexander Fazini (Saul Finesilber), brother of Ilya Ilf, of The 12 Chairs and The Golden Calf fame . Fazini left Odessa for France in 1922, where he became close to the Surrealists of the Paris School; Galerie d’Art Vavin exhibited him alongside Pablo Picasso . The fall of France found him in Paris; in 1942, he was arrested, interned in Drancy, and eventually deported to Auschwitz . $800–1,200

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 26 Books—XXth Century Lot 51. FILONOV, Pavel (1883–1941), illustrator. The Sanatorium [Dom zdorovya] by Nikolai GLEBOV- PUTILOVSKII (1886–1948) . Krasnaya Gazeta, Leningrad, 1930, 96 pp ., 17 1. x 13 cm . Illustrations on both covers after Pavel Filonov, one of the most important Russian avant-garde painters . Rare . Filonov’s name is seldom mentioned in the book graphics context . In the early stages of his career he showed no interest in the field; and after 1929, no Soviet editor would dare to offer him a contract . The Sanatorium represents a rare, and important, exception . For this, credit goes to the author, Nikolai Glebov, a 1905 revolutionary and a party member in good standing with the Leningrad authorities, who also happened to be Filonov’s brother-in-law . Filonov’s design is based on his watercolor “Pobeditel Goroda” (Conqueror of The City) . His portrait of Glebov (1935) is now in the Russian Museum . The “Sanatorium” of the book title refers to jail—Glebov was arrested on several occasions in pre-revolutionary Russia, and in France . He survived those experiences, but he did not survive the gulag—after the 1938 arrest, he never came back . As for Filonov, in 1930s he became virtually unemployable—whatever work he could find had to be contracted through third parties (in many cases, through his stepson P . Serebriakov) . Yet he adamantly refused to adapt his art to the new Socialist reality, or to abandon his theories of Analytical Realism . In this, he cuts a unique figure among his contemporaries . $3,000–5,000

Lot 52. FILIANSKY, Nikolai (1873–1938). Visit to Dneprostroi [Na Dneprostroi] . GIU, Kharkov, 1930 . 24 7. x 17 .2 cm . 32 mezzotinto photo plates . Multicolor covers with bold photomontage design, possibly by Solomon TELINGATER (unconfirmed attribution by consignor) . Well-researched, extensively illustrated book about the keystone project of the Soviet rapid industrialization program . The author, Ukrainian poet and historian Nikolai Filiansky, also pays considerable attention to the history of the Zaporozh’ye region . The book is rather scarce, despite the substantial 10,000 copies printing order . One of the possible reasons is the fate of the author, executed in 1937 . Prior to his arrest, he was the director of the Dneprostroi History Museum . $2,000–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 27 Lot 53. GONCHAROVA, Natalia (1881–1962), illustrator, and BOBROV, Sergei (1889–1971). Gardeners Over The Vines [Vertogradari nad lozami] . Lirika, Moscow, 162 pp ., 18 .2 x 11 .8 cm . Rare “personalized” edition signed in plate by the author and by the artist, number 36 of 50 copies produced in this form . Printed wrappers, monochrome woodcut frontispiece, ten double-page color lithographs by Natalia Goncharova . As an aside, the personalized edition can be identified even without opening the book—the black-printed text to spine is lacking in the standard edition . $15,000–20,000

Lot 54. IL’IN, Nikolai (1894–1954), illustrator. The Battle for Sormovo [V boyakh za Sormovo] by Boris Volin, Boris Riurikov, and Nikolai Biriukov . OGIZ, 1931, Nizhny Novgorod, 52 pp ., 27 .8 x 12 .5 cm . Title page and introduction leaf in red and black, two-color Constructivist wrappers . One of 3,000 copies . Nikolai Il’in designed more than a thousand books through his career . He participated in every important exhibition of Soviet book art abroad through 1920s and early 1930s, experimented with types (as evidenced by this book’s design), and pioneered new printing techniques . Il’in’s early work was influenced by Lissitzky, and decidedly Constructivist in nature . Later, he adapted to the demands of the regime, and by the late 1940s was considered the best Soviet book designer, the “go-to” artist when it came to important orders . The book itself is an agitprop collection produced by a literary brigade sent to the Sormovo Factory to cover the progress of the industrialization drive . Sormovo, a factory of fine revolu­ tionary pedigree, was being vastly expanded to increase the Soviet locomotives production . $1,500–2,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 28 Books—XXth Century Lot 55. IVANENKO, G. (editor). Industrial Party Trial [Protsess Prompartii] . OGIZ— Sovetskoye Zakonodatelstvo, 1931 . 542 pp ., 18 x 25 cm . Tricolor wrappers with letterpress typographic design by renowned graphic artist Vasily ELKIN (1897–1991) . Official record of the 1930 trial in which several important Soviet scientists and economists were accused and convicted of plotting an anti-Soviet coup . This early harbinger of purges to come had set up the show trial model that eventually became an integral part of everyday life in Stalin’s Soviet Union . An important book for students of Soviet history . $1,500–2,000

Lot 56. No Lot

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 29 Lot 57. KANDINSKY, Vasily (1866–1944). Text By The Artist. [Tekst khudozhnika] . IZO NKP, Moscow, 58 pp ., 30 .5 x 21 .0 cm . Tan wrappers with design by Kandinsky, frontis­ piece portrait, numerous illustrations including a mounted duotone with a tissue guard . Reworked Russian version of Kandinsky’s ‘‘Reminiscences” that originally appeared in the Sturm monograph Kandinsky, 1901–1913 (Berlin, 1913) . Includes 25 reproductions of Kandinsky’s paintings [MoMA 181] . $800–1,200

Lot 58. KRIUCHKOV, Dmitrii (1887–1938). Incessant Faller [Padun nemolchnyi] . Petersburgskii Glashatai, St . Petersburg, 1913, 24 pp ., 23 .2 x 15 .2 cm . Dmitry Kriuchkov belonged to the St . Petersburg Ego-futurist Association, but critics considered his poetry to be much closer to Symbolism than Futurism . Symbolist Valery Bryusov thought well of his second book of verse; Ilya Ehrenburg was far less sympathetic, stating that there was nothing Futurist in Kryuchkov’s poems, “save the few unfortunate neologisms and the fact the book has poems printed on inner covers,which seems to be the futurist way” . After the Revolution, Kryuchkov worked as a critic and a translator . He was arrested in 1923 and sentenced to 10 years in jail . After the second arrest in 1937, he was executed . $800–1,200

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 30 Books—XXth Century Lot 59. KRUCHENYKH, Alexei (1886–1968). Live Mayakovsky, Issue II [Zhivoy Mayakovsky (Vypusk II)] . Mayakovsky’s Friends Group, 1930 . 18 pp ., 23 x 18 cm . Self-published (printing run of 300, produced by glass printing process) by Alexei Kruchenykh . With Mayakovsky’s portrait by Ivan KLIUN (1874–1943), after the 1912 portrait by D . Burliuk . Kruchenykh seems to find particular satisfaction in repeating young Mayakovsky’s invectives against other writers from the early Futurist years [MoMA 856] . $1,500–2,000

Lot 60. KRUCHENYKH, Alexei (1886–1968). Ironiada . Moscow, 1930 . 19 leaves, 18 x 20 cm . Illustrations by Ivan KLIUN (1874–1943), and Igor TERENTIEV (1892–1937) . Self-published by Kruchenykh, Cover with lithographed manuscript text, cover designed by Kliun; litho­graphed illustration by Terentiev within the text . A reunion of sorts of Kruchenykh and Terentiev, two old ”zaum” practitioners, and friends since the Tiflis days and the 41° Manifesto . By 1930, Terentiev had migrated from poetry towards experimental theater . Shortly after­wards, he was arrested (1931) . $2,500–3,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 31 Lot 61. KUZMIN, Mikhail (1872–1936). Three Plays [Tri P’esy] . St . Petersburg ., 1907, 74 pp ., 10–10 .5 (uneven) x 9 .5 cm . Publisher not listed, printed by Volnaya Typographiya . Plain white wrappers, covered by polka dot dust wrapper with the paste-on title . Title page illustration by the important Russian artist Konstantin SOMOV (1869–1939) . Note in light pencil on last page left by one of previous owners reads: “1st individual book by Kuzmin—Vignette by K . Somov— printing 600 copies—from Valery Bryusov’s personal library ”. Bryusov’s name is rubber stamped on the back wrapper . An important, and rare, book—every discussion of Russian homoerotic “high literature” starts with the Kuzmin’s Three Plays (especially “ The Dangerous Precautions”), soon to be followed by his Wings, and V . Ivanov’s Eros . It is important to underscore that Kuzmin’s contributions to Russian culture are far greater than just being Russia’s first openly gay writer . $2,500–3,500

Lot 62. LAVINSKY, Anton (1893–1968), illustrator, and BRIK, Osip (1888–1945). Not a Fellow Traveler [Ne Poputchitsa] . GIZ (for LEF Publishing), Moscow - Petrograd, 1923, 36 pp ., 22 x 15 cm . An important example of LEF-influenced book art . LEF’s first issue contained Arvatov’s essay on Lavinsky’s “City of The Future” sketches, declaring them a prime example of Constructivist approach to architecture, so the Brik–Lavinsky collaboration comes as no surprise . Brik’s novelette, with its non-traditional take on marriage and free love in the Communist society, had caused quite a stir when published, but these days, this book is mostly judged by its covers . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 32 Books—XXth Century Lot 63. LISSITZKY, El (Lazar Lissitzky, 1890–1941), illustrator, and BOLSHAKOV, Konstantin (1895–1938). The Spent Sun. [Solntse na izlete] . Tsentrifuga, Moscow, 64 pp ., 23 .5 x 19 cm . Wrappers with bi-color cover design by Lissitzky . One of 480 copies [MoMA 126] . An early (some say the first) example of Lissitzky’s book graphics . Konstantin Bolshakov was an important Moscow Futurist poet . His poems can be found in important anthologies of the period, and many of his books were illustrated by important avant-garde artists . The Spent Sun was just one of three(!) books of poetry produced by Bolshakov in 1916 . Bolshakov had retired from poetry after returning from the Civil War . He did publish several novels, before becoming a victim of Stalin’s purges . $3,000–5,000

Lot 64. LISSITZKY, El (Lazar Lissitzky, 1890–1941), illustrator, and SELVINSKY, Ilya (1899–1968). Notes of a Poet [Zapiski poeta], GIKhL, Moscow and Leningrad, 98 pp ., 17 .5 x 12 .5 cm . Photomontage wrappers designed by El Lissitzky, tipped-in folding insert . One surprising aspect of Lissitzky’s design is that the man on the cover of Selvinsky’s narrative poem is not the author, as one could expect . Rather, Lissitzky chose the portrait of the German Dadaist Hans Arp, set on a background of the Dada periodical 391, that was made several years earlier (see “Graphic Arts Exhibitions, acquisitions, and other highlights from the Graphic Arts Collection, Princeton University Library” blog, May 2010 posting by Julie L . Melby) . Ilya Selvinsky, “a poetic virtuoso of a high caliber” (M . Shrayer, in An Anthology of Jewish-Russian Literature: Two Centuries of Dual Identity in Prose and Poetry An Anthology of Jewish- Russian Literature: Two Centuries of Dual Identity in Prose and Poetry, M .E . Sharpe, 2007), was the leader of an influential Literary Constructivists Workshop (LTsK) . ShortIy after the publication of Notes of a Poet, LTsK came under attack, and was dissolved (1930) . Selvinsky “retired from literature”, and went to work first as a welder, and then as a fur company representative on Kamchatka . He spent several winters north of the Polar Circle, then took part in the historic Chelyuskin Arctic expedition, as a news correspondent . After that, he was allowed to return to poetry . A veteran of WWII, he was one of he first Soviet poets to write extensively about the Shoah . $2,000–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 33 Lot 65. LISSITZKY, El (Lazar Lissitzky, 1890–1941), and LISSITZKY-KUPPERS, Sophie (1891–1978), book design. Soviet Subtropics [Sovetskiye Subtropiki], KOLTSOV, M ., (Mikhail Friedland, 1898-1940), editor . Zhurnalno Gazetnoye Ob’yedinenie, Moscow, 218 pp ., 23 x 39 cm . A coffee table format hardbound book, formally a special 1934 edition of the popular Ogonyok magazine . It is replete with photomontage illustrations, and also features a color map foldout designed by Deineka, and photography (both in color, and black/white) by leading Soviet photojournalists, e .g ., Shoichet, and Zelmanovich . Ironically, the list of contributors, chock-full of names of victims of purges to come (Koltsov, Pilniak, and Vavilov among them), opens with the name of the future NKVD Chief, Lavrenti Beria . Beria at the time was the Communist Party Secretary for the Caucasus region $1,500–2,000

Lot 66. LUNACHARSKY, Anatoly (1875–1933), editor. The Rye-Word. A Futurist Revolutionary Reader [Rzhanoe slovo. Revolutsionnaya khrestomatiya futuristov] . IMO, Petrograd, 1918 . 58 pp ., 27 x 20 cm, wrappers with letterpress illustrations . Authors represented in this Futurist anthology include Mayakovsky, Khlebnikov, Aseev, Burliuk, Kamenskii, and Boris Kushner . Names of contributors do not require elaboration . Lunacharsky was the People’s Commissar of Enlightenment, which bestowed an official imprimatur on the publication . One of 5,000 copies [MoMA 190] . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 34 Books—XXth Century Lot 67. MALEVICH, Kazimir (1878–1935), illustrator, and KRUCHENYKH, Alexei (1886–1968). Piglets [Porosiata]. St . Petersburg, 1913, 15 pp .,19 .6 x 14 .5 cm . Cover with lithographed illustration on pale green paper mounted on front; one lithographed illustration on pale green paper, tipped in . Self-published by Kruchenykh, who in 1913 had formed his own publishing company, EUI . Through 1913, Malevich and Kruchenykh, from whom he learned the technique of lithography, collaborated on several small books . Zina V . (age 11, according to the text) is traditionally listed as Kruchenykh’s co-author . Malevich’s Cubist lithograph mounted on the cover of Piglets is his first known print . It is derived from his 1912 painting “Head of a Peasant Girl” [MoMA 37] . $7,000–9,000

Lot 68. MALEVICH, Kazimir (1878–1935), illustrator, and PUNIN, Nikolai (1888–1953). Series of Lectures by N.N. Punin [Tsikl Lektsiy N.N. Punina] . IZO NKP, Petrograd, 1920, 84 pp ., 21 .2 x 14 cm . Pink letterpress wrappers designed by Malevich . One of no more than 2,000 copies . The complete title of the book is Modern Art, The First Series of Lectures, Given at a Short-Term Course for Teachers of Drawing [MoMA 307] . Nikolai Punin is credited with preserving the collections of Petrograd museums after the Revolution . In 1919–21 he was also in charge of the Petrograd IZO, a position that allowed him to support the avant-garde art causes . He was the organizer of the Petrograd INKHUK, where Malevich had eventually found employment (1922) . “As a critic, he was as important to painting and sculpture of his time, as the better known Formalists were to literature ”. (Sydney Monas, in The Diaries of Nikolai Punin: 1904—1953, University of Texas Press, 1999) . Punin’s influence with the regime had quickly waned, but he remained a highly respected art historian, teacher, and museum curator . In 1935, Punin was arrested, but released on Stalin’s personal orders, reportedly after Stalin had read the petition from Punin’s common-law wife, the great Russian poetess Anna Akhmatova . He was rearrested in 1949, and died in a Gulag camp near Vorkuta . $4,000–6,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 35 Lot 69. MALEVICH, Kazimir (1878–1935). God Is Not Cast Down: Art, Church, Factory [Bog ne skinut. Iskusstvo, tserkov, fabrika] . UNOVIS, Vitebsk, 1922, 40 pp ., 17 x 11 cm . One of 2,000 copies . A slim book, written in 1920, and published two years later . The artist attempts to summarize his philosophy of art . For Malevich, this is an exercise just as important, or even more important, than painting . The resulting collection of theses provides for difficult but thought-provoking reading . Rare, as are all Malevich’s works issued in the provinces [Hellyer 362] . $1,500–2,500

Lot 70. MALEVICH, Kazimir (1878–1935), GAN, Alexei (1889–1942), contributors, and SEMENKO, Mykhailo (1892–1937), editor. New Generation [Nova Generatsiya], no . 2, 1928 . Kharkov, DVU . Special architectural issue of this important magazine of the Ukrainian Futurists . The Nova Generatsiya group, formed in 1927, replaced the defunct Association of Panfuturists (1922–25), and existed under various names until 1931 . The highlight of the Architecture issue is an important essay, “Art and The Problem of Architecture,” submitted by Malevich . Its publication is rather remarkable given the severity of the official criticism of Malevich’s views in 1926 . Malevich, however, considered himself a prophet of the new art, and prophets refuse to be silenced easily . He traveled to Germany, where he persuaded Moholy-Nagy to publish a condensed German translation of Suprematism: The World as Non-Objectivity in the Bauhausbücher series . Upon return to Soviet Union, he found a teaching position in Kiev, where he developed contacts with Ukrainian Futurists . This gave him another chance to express his views on architecture, and on art in general . There is much more to this issue than the Malevich’s essay, but space limitations preclude further discussion . Mykhailo Semenko, the leader of the Nova Generatsiya, was accused of belonging to nationalist underground, and executed 1937 . $2,000–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 36 Books—XXth Century

Lot 71. MALKIN, G. Natural Resources of Siberia [Prirodniye Bogatstva Sibiri] . OGIZ—Moskovskiy Rabochiy, 1931 . 96 pp . + tipped-in map, 17 x 12 .6 cm . Multicolor wrappers with bold photomontage design . An impressive effort of an anonymous artist that would make Gustav Klutsis proud . The book itself was published in the course of the industriali­ zation propaganda campaign, and deals with the Soviet plans for Siberia . $500–800

Lot 72. MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir (1893–1930). 150.000.000 . GIZ, Moscow, 1921, 70 pp ., 18 x 13 .6 cm . The first edition of this epic poem . At the time, Mayakovsky sought to write “only for the masses, and in the name of the masses ”. For this reason, 150 .000 .000 was published anonymously, and poem’s first line reads “150 .000 .000 mastera Etoy poemy imya”— “150,000,000 is the name of the master (that wrote) this poem ”. Lenin, reportedly, was unimpressed, and called the poem “an incomprehensible rubbish” . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 37 Lot 73. MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir (1893–1930), and RODCHENKO, Alexander (1891–1956), illustrator. About This [Pro Eto] . Gosizdat, Moscow, 1923 . 43 pp . (text), 8 photomontage letterpress illustrations, 23 x 15 cm . Pro Eto “is a work of art with remarkable aesthetic and conceptual quality” (K . Romanenko .) The poem combines the deeply personal and the political in a unique way only Mayakovsky was capable of . Rodchenko’s montages complement the poet’s ideas, and are among the most widely recognized images of Russian Constructivism . Remarkably, this was Rodchenko’s first experiment with using photomontage technique in book illustrations . $8,000–10,000

Lot 74. MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir (1893–1930), and LARIONOV, Mikhail (1881–1964), illustrator. The Sun [Solntse] . Krug, Moscow - Petrograd, 30 pp ., 1923, 16 .3 x 12 .3 cm . Color wrappers and eight illustrations by Larionov (7 are full page .) The poem eventually became part of the school curriculum, to be memorized by generations of Soviet students, and went through countless subsequent editions, but never again with Larionov’s illustrations . $1,500–2,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 38 Books—XXth Century Lot 75. MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir (1893–1930), and RODCHENKO, Alexander (1891–1956), illustrator. To Sergei Esenin [Sergeiu Eseninu] . Tiflis: Zakkniga, 1926 . 16 pp ., 17 .3 x 12 .8 cm . Decorated wrappers printed in red and black, with front and back photomontage covers designed by Rodchenko . Two additional Constructivist photomontages in text . Written by Mayakovsky after Sergei Esenin’s suicide . “[His] death grieved me, grieved me in the ordinary sense, as a human being,” Mayakovsky recalled . “It was clear at once how many people who were still hesitating would be brought to the rope or the revolver by those powerful lines--just by the lines themselves? Only with another poem could you fight that one, and you must” (E .J . Brown, Mayakovsky: A Poet in the Revolution) . Sadly, Mayakovsky himself committed suicide in 1930 . $1,500–2,500

Lot 76. MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir (1893–1930), and RODCHENKO, Alexander (1891–1956), illustrator. A Conversation With a Tax Collector About Poetry [Razgovor s fininspektorom o poezii] . Tiflis: Zakkniga, 1926 . 16 pp ., 17 .5 x 13 .2 cm . Upper and lower wrappers in blue, pink and black with photomontage design by Rodchenko . One of 5,000 copies [MoMa 657] . “Poetry / all poetry / is an exploration . / Poetry / is just like mining radium . / To gain just a gram / you must labor a year . / Tons of lexicon ore / excavating / all for the sake of one precious word ”. An important book . $2,000–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 39 Lot 77. MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir (1893–1930), text; LURYE, Artur (Naum Luria, 1891–1966), composer; MITURICH, Petr (1887–1956), illustrator. Our March [Nash marsh] . 1ya Gosudarstvennaya Litografiya, Petrograd, 1918, 12 pp . (including 6 pp . of sheet music), 35 x 34 cm . Thick self wrappers, upper cover color design by P . Miturich . Mayakovsky’s 1917 poem, set to music by Artur Lurye, an avant-garde composer who played an important role at the post-revolutionary music scene before leaving Russia in 1921 . (Lurye had also composed music to the poetry of Anna Akhmatova, and was, apparently, the lyrical hero of several of her poems) . Pyotr Miturich was an important Russian artist, and theoretician, inventor of “spatial graphics” . His futuristic ideas of the period were strongly influenced by his collaboration with his brother-in-law, Velimir Khlebnikov . Later, he was forced to return to figurative art . $5,000–8,000

Lot 78. MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir (1893–1930). Vladimir Ilyich Lenin . Lengiz, Leningrad, 1925 . 95 pp ., 17 x 13 cm . The first separate edition of the poem . Its publication must have been a considerable relief for Mayakovsky, after the delays with getting the first part of the poem published in LEF magazine . The poet’s concerns are clearly evident in his December 1924 letters to Lili Brik . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 40 Books—XXth Century Lot 79. MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir (1893–1930). I Love You [Lyublyu], and Mayakovsky Jeers [Mayakovsky Izdevaetsya. Pervaya knizhitsa satiry] . Two first editions, both appearing in the Moscow Association of Futurists poetry series published in 1922 by VKHUTEMAS; the former being no . 1 in the series (48 pp ., 16 .8 x 13 cm, one of 2,000 copies), and the latter being no . 3 (17 .5 x 11 cm, one of 5,000 copies) . Both books have two-color Constructivist wrappers by an anonymous illustrator, likely associated with VKHUTEMAS [MoMA 426] . Lyublyu, dedicated to Lili Brik, is one of the Mayakovsky’s greatest love poems, rivaled only by the 1923 Pro Eto [About This] . Mayakovsky Izdevaetsya was his only book that did receive a (reluctant) compliment from Lenin . $1,500–2,000

Lot 80. (Leningrad Writers Federation). Vladimir Mayakovsky, a single issue newspaper of the Federation of Soviet Writers, Leningrad Section . [Vladimir Mayakovsky—Odnodnevnaya Gazeta LOFOSP’a], Krasnaya Gazeta Publishing, Leningrad, 1930 . 4 pp ., 55 x 36 cm . Single issue newspaper honoring the memory of Vladimir Mayakovsky, published ten days after the poet’s suicide . $1,500–2,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 41 Lot 81. MELLER, Vadim (1884–1962), illustrator. VECELIUS, V . (Maik Johansen, 1895–1937) . The Adventures of McLayston, Harry Rupert, and Others [Pryhody Mak-Leistona, Harri Ruperta ta inshykh] . DVU (Ukrainian State Publishing House), 1925 . Issues 1–3, 5–10 of the experimental “novel in installments” by the Ukrainian avant-garde writer and linguist Maik Johansen . Vadim Meller rarely found time for book graphics, concentrating instead on painting and designs for theater, but his works as a book illustrator are of the highest quality . Meller’s mastery of print-specific techniques (photomontage, letterpress, and typographic designs) that are rarely used in stage design, attests both to the breadth of the artist’s interests and to the strength of his talent . Interestingly, the McLayston series were produced the same year as Meller’s theater designs for the 1925 Paris Exhibition, where he was awarded a gold medal (shared with Altman, Exter, and Terk) . An amazing group, each book deserves a separate listing . $4,000–6,000

Lot 82. MILLER, Grigory (1898–1958), illustrator, and STORM, Georgy (1898–1978). Karma Yoga [Karma Ioga] . Union of Russian Poets (Rostov Chapter), Rostov, 1921 . 32 pp . + 1 tipped-in lithograph, 22 x 16 .8 cm . Poem by Georgy Storm, who is mostly remembered these days as a historian and writer of historical novels . The illustrator, Grigory Miller, was one of the the founding members of the First Working Group of Constructivists . $2,000–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 42 Books—XXth Century Lot 83. Ogonek Magazine, ”Aviation” Special Issue. The Air Fleet of Our Great Homeland [Vozdushnyi fLot velikoi rodiny] . Moscow, 96 pp ., 29 .5 x 22 .8 cm . Numerous illustrations, some full-page . Thin card wrappers are printed with an overall design in light blue, with lettering on the upper cover printed in red . Special issue of the popular Soviet pictorial magazine, dedicated to the extraordinary progress of the Soviet Air Force and the Soviet Civil Aviation . $1,500–2,000

Lot 84. PERUTSKY, Mikhail (1892–1957). IZO Album [IZO Albom] . Krestyanskaya Gazeta Publishing, Moscow, 1929, 48 pp ., 15 x 22 .2 cm . In the modern idiom, this book could be called An Idiot’s Guide to Starting a Kolkhoz Propaganda Art Group . Publishers found the right man for the job—artist Mikhail Perutsky (1892–1957) was an experienced graphic designer and a talented pedagogue, for many years on the staff of the Moscow Art School . 39 illustrations, very much infused with Constructivist ideas of the late 1920s . Perutsky was associated with the New Artists Society group that also included such artists as Adlivankin and Ochs . $800–1,200

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 43 Lot 85. POLONSKY, Vyacheslav (1886–1932), editor. Modern Masters of Prints and Drawings [Mastera sovremennoi graviury i grafiki] . GIZ, Moscow and Leningrad, 1929, 415 pp ., 26 7. x 19 cm . Deluxe edition of 2,000, in white cloth covers ruled in orange, with original slipcase . Book design by V . Goltsev, covers designed by N . Piskarev . Interesting collection of essays, extensively illustrated, with 7 color plates tipped in . Essay on Mstislav Dobuzhinsky was written by the renowned porcelain artist Yelena Danko . $1,500–2,000

Lot 86. Ayn Rand’s First Book. RAND, Ayn (Alisa Rosenbaum, 1905–1982) . Pola Negri . Kino-izdatelstvo, Moscow - Leningrad, 1925, 16 pp ., 14 7. x 11 cm . Pictorial wrappers, illustrated with publicity stills . One of 4,000 copies . This biography of the silent movie star Pola Negri was published without the byline in Kinoizdat’s “Popular Cinematic Library” [Populyarnaya Kino-biblioteka] series . Shortly after the book publication, Alisa Rosenbaum left for United Sates . See Ayn Rand, Russian Writings on Hollywood , Rand Institute Press, 1999 . $2,500–3,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 44 Books—XXth Century Lot 87. RAND, Ayn (Alisa Rosenbaum, 1905–1982). Hollywood, American Movie-City [Gollivud, amerikanskii kino-gorod] . Kinopechat, Moscow - Leningrad, 1926, 48 pp ., 16 .5 x 13 cm . Preface by B . Filippov . Decorated wrappers, illustrated with publicity stills . Alisa Rosenbaum had submitted this book for publication shortly before obtaining permission to visit relatives in United States . Publishers had no reason to believe she was going to defect, (as a matter of fact, she had officially extended her tourist visa after spending six months in the U .S .), and the book went to print in her absence under her byline . Much later, Ayn Rand claimed that the book had been heavily edited, and published without her permission . This may have something to do with the fact that Alisa Rosenbaum’s book contains numerous passages that would make Ayn Rand cringe . $2,500–3,500

Lot 88. REMIZOV, Aleksei (1877–1957). Sunward [Posolon] . Zolotoe Runo, Moscow, 1907, 82 pp ., 28 .5 x 16 .5 cm . Illustrations inside, and wrappers design by the author . Of all Remizov’s books, he considered Posolon his favorite . He dedicated this collection of fairy tales rooted in ancient Slavic lore to his little daughter . The poetic imagery of Remizov’s tales, and his mastery of the old language, had earned Posolon high praise from Blok, Voloshin, Bely, and other Symbolist luminaries . Philologists and language historians were equally smitten, with Academician Shakhmatov nominating the book as a candidate for the Pushkin Prize . $3,000–5,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 45 Lot 89. RODCHENKO, Aleksander (1891–1956), and STEPANOVA, Varvara (1894–1958), illustrators. Soviet Cinematography [Le Cinema en URSS] . VOKS, Moscow, 1936, 312 pp ., 25 .6 x 19 cm . Illustrations and photomontages by Rodchenko and Stepanova . Red boards, spine lettered in black, with pictorial cover labels on front and back; laminated endpapers . A beautifully produced compendium of Soviet cinema . Extensively illustrated, with film stills, poster advertisements, director biographies and many critical essays on various aspects of film production in the USSR . Unusual book design features include a folding plate with movie screen cut-out revealing a portrait of Lenin showing through on the following page, a cellophane overslip printed in two covers, with Stalin silhouette on it, etc . $2,000–3,000

Lot 90. RODCHENKO, Aleksander (1891–1956), and STEPANOVA, Varvara (1894–1958), illustrators. Soviet Aviation [Sovetskaya Aviatsiya] . State Art Publishers, Moscow - Leningrad, 1939, 38 .3 x 25 .5 cm . An attractive album, produced with no expense spared—gray cloth, the upper cover blocked with an overall design in silver, gilt and red, the flat spine blocked in gilt and silver, pictorial endpapers, cloth inner joints, etc . Illustrated throughout with blue-toned images from photographs, with three mounted portraits of Lenin, Stalin, and Marshal Klim Voroshilov . Rodchenko and Stepanova designed this album to be distributed at the Soviet Pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 46 Books—XXth Century Lot 91. RODCHENKO, Alexander (1891–1956) and STEPANOVA, Varvara (1894–1958), illustrators. USSR in Construction [SSSR Na Stroike], no . 12, 1935 . Moscow, OGIZ-IZOGIZ, 42 x 30 cm . This so-called “Parachute” issue is the key to completing the USSR in Construction collection . It features several canonical designs by Rodchenko and Stepanova that show up in every book on Soviet Avant-Garde art of 1930s . Complete, with the origami-folded centerfold and parachute fold-out intact . $2,000–3,000

Lot 92. RODCHENKO, Aleksander (1891–1956), illustrator. Decorative and Industrial Art of the USSR [L’Art Decoratif et Industriel de L’U.R.S.S.] . GOZNAK, Moscow, 1925 . 96 pp ., 27 x 20 cm . 12 plates (2 in color), 28 pp . of color and black and white advertisements in the back, illustrated wrappers . Catalog published to accompany the Soviet exhibit at the 1925 International Exposition of Decorative Arts in Paris . Covers a wide range of fine and applied arts disciplines—from ceramics and fashion to theater design, and architecture, with A . Lunacharsky, A . Efros, D . Shterenberg, and Ya . Tugenkhold among the contributors . Rodchenko’s design claims a bold, avant-garde cultural image for the young Socialist State, and was awarded a silver medal at the Exposition . $1,500–2,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 47 Lot 93. RODCHENKO, Aleksander (1891–1956), illustrator, and KIRSANOV, Semyon (1906–1972). The Last Contemporary [Posledniy Sovremennik] . Federatsiya, Moscow, 1930 . 96 pp ., 17 7. x 12 cm . Novel in verse by the talented Soviet poet . Kirsanov was later heavily criticized for this book—the 1939 edition of Soviet Literary Encyclopedia describes it as a “relapse into petit bourgeois thinking ”. Illustrated wrappers with an abstract two-color design by Alexander Rodchenko [MOMA 891] . $800–1,200

Lot 94. RODCHENKO, Aleksander (1891–1956), illustrator. FOURNIER, L . Wonders of the Art of Construction [Chudesa Stroitelnogo Iskusstva] . Transpechat, 1926, 232 pp ., 17 .5 x 13 .2 cm . Construction projects through history—from the pyramids and Roman aqueducts, to the Suez Canal and Simplon tunnel, to subways and radio towers . Translation from French, with an additional chapter on notable construction projects in Russia/Soviet Union contributed by Prof . Velikhov . The attractive unsigned Constructivist wrapper design (photomontage, bi-color letterpress typography) is attributed to A . Rodchenko . Rodchenko and Stepanova designed a number of books for Transpechat in 1925–26 . $2,000–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 48 Books—XXth Century Lot 95. [RODCHENKO, Alexander (1891–1956)], designer. STALIN, Joseph . On Questions Of Leninism; Foundations of Leninism [K Voprosam Leninisma, Osnovy Leninisma] . Partizdat, Moscow 1934 . Graphics by G . PISANNIK . Two volumes in miniature 32-mo format (pages 7 .2 x 10 .5 cm), stored in a 10 x 14 x 3 cm cloth box of an unusual “revolving door” design attributed to Rodchenko—similarities with his Uzbekistan are quite pronounced . Each book has a cloth cover covered with a different photo of Stalin . $8,000–12,000

Lot 96. RODCHENKO, Alexander (1891–1956), illustrator. HARWOOD, W .S . The New Earth [Obnovlennaya Zemlya] . Krasnaya Nov’, Moscow, 1924 . 302 pp . (297 + 5 pages of advertisements), 18 7. x 13 .3 cm . Wrappers designed by Alexander Rodchenko . Scarce as such—unlisted in most compendiums of Rodchenko’s oeuvre . This is an abridged Russian version of W .S . Harwood’s The New Earth—A Recital of The Triumphs of Modern Agriculture in America (Macmillan, New York, 1906) . The book was originally translated into Russian by the country’s leading authority on agriculture, Prof . Constantine Timiryazev, in 1908 . In his introduction to the abridged 1924 edition, L . Sosnovsky mentions that he had first heard about Harwood’s book from Lenin, who considered it required reading . Interestingly, in this version, the author’s name is given as A . Harwood, rather than W .S . Harwood . $3,000–5,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 49 Lot 97. RODCHENKO, Aleksander (1891–1956), illustrator, and contributor, with GLEBOV, Anatoly, TERESHKOVICH, Max, and EICHENGOLZ, Elena. Inga. Teakinopechat, 46 pp ., 1929, 13 x 9 cm . Covers designed by Rodchenko, with additional illustrations of Rodchenko’s stage designs within the text . Collection of essays following the production of the play Inga in the Theater of The Revolution in 1929 . Three of those essays were written by the playwright (Anatoly Glebov), the director (Max Tereshkovich), and the designer (Alexander Rodchenko), respectively . Each contributor uses the play as a starting point, and uses it to pursue the topic that interests them the most . Glebov wants to discuss the role of women in the new Socialist society; Rodchenko uses the opportunity to discuss his ideas for designing functional furniture and clothing for the new era (much of the the play takes place in a communal apartment) . Also included is an important essay on Constructivist design by Elena Eichengolz . $2,000–3,000

Lot 98. SELVINSKY, Ilya (1899–1968), and IL’IN, Nikolai (1894–1954), illustrator (attributed). The Lay of Ulyalyaev [Ulyalyaevshina] . 2nd (reworked) edition, GIZ, Moscow - Leningrad, 1930 . 160 pp ., 12 x 18 cm . Hardbound copy with designed Constructivist multicolor dust jacket . Ulyalyaevshina is considered Selvinsky’s most important poem, “written unevenly, and sometimes in poor taste, yet unforgettable, inimitable, and as full of uncontrollable energy as Nature itself” (Evgeny Evtushenko) . The 1930 edition differs considerably from the original 1924 version . Selvinsky, the leader of the Literary Constructivists Workshop group, came under attack the same year, and “retired from literature” . He worked as a welder, and then as a fur company representative on Kamchatka . After spending several winters north of the Polar Circle, he took part in the historic Chelyuskin Arctic expedition, as a news correspondent . After that, he was allowed to return to poetry . $800–1,200

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 50 Books—XXth Century

Lot 99. SHERVINSKA, M., book designer, and CHERNIAVSKY, L., editor. Moscow Theater for Children [Moskovskiy Teatr Yunogo Zritelya] . Cooperative Publishing Society, Moscow, 1934 . 96 pp ., 17 .2 x 25 .5 cm . English language photographic album about the first professional theater for children . Photos contributed by many important Soviet photographers of the period, among them Shoikhet, Rosanov, Mikulina, and Fabusovich . $1,500–2,500

Lot 100. SHUKIN, Yuri, and MAGIDSON, Adriana. Design Techniques for Mass Festivities [Oformlemiye Massovogo Prazdnenstva] . OGIZ—IZOGIZ, Moscow - Leningrad, 1932 . 79 pp ., 21 .2 x 15 cm . Book design by Gennady ROSLOV . In the Soviet Union, even small public events had to be cleared with the authorities, and mass celebrations attracted massive scrutiny . Not surprisingly, designers of such events tended to be highly attuned to the ever- changing official views on what art styles were considered “appropriate” . In this 1932 book, examples of abstract Constructivist solutions are discussed on a regular basis—only to be roundly criticized . Written by two experienced artists credited with staging numerous large-scale celebratory events, Design Techniques provides an interesting reading, and clearly dates the moment when Constructivism had officially fallen out of favor . As such, it should be of interest to the students of the evolution of Soviet art . $800–1,200

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 51 Lot 101. STENBERG, Georgy (1900–1933), and STENBERG, Vladimir (1899–1982), illustrators. 7 Days MKT [7 Dney MKT], issue 18 . 18 .25 x 12 .35” . This issue of the weekly newspaper of Tairov’s Moscow Chamber Theater (Kamerny Theater) covers the production of Alexander Ostrovsky’s classic play The Storm (Groza) . Illustrated by Stenberg brothers, and Konstantin Medunetsky . Of special interest, as it deals with one of Tairov’s most important productions of 1920s . $1,000–1,500

Lot 102. STENBERG Georgy (1900–1933), and STENBERG Vladimir (1899–1982), illustrators. APUSHKIN, Yakov (1899–1989) . Chamber Theater [Kamerny Teatr] . Kinopechat, Moscow - Leningrad, 1927 . 64 pp ., 17 .5 x 13 .5 cm . Monograph on Tairov’s Chamber Theater by the playwright, poet, and theater critic Yakov Apushkin . The involvement of renowned Constructivist artists Georgi and Vladimir Stenberg flows naturally from their earlier work with Tairov . The Stenbergs were set designers for several of Tairov’s productions . $800–1,200

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 52 Books—XXth Century

Lot 103. STEPANOVA, Varvara (1894–1958), book designer. KAGANOVICH, Lazar (1893–1991) . From Merchant Moscow to Socialist Moscow [Ot Moskvy Kupecheskoy k Moskve Socialisticheskoy] . IZOGIZ, Moscow 1931 . 22 pages of b/w illustrations in multicolor portfolio, with photos contributed by RODCHENKO, IGNATOVICH, LANGMAN, and other leading Soviet photographers . In 1931, Lazar Kaganovich, Stalin’s right hand man, had made a speech outlining an ambitious program of “Socialist reconstruction of Soviet cities ”. Stepanova’s album shows the effects of reconstruction on the Soviet capital . Each page is designed to illustrate a statement from Kaganovich’ s speech . A powerful example of Constructivist techniques used to promote the agenda of change . $6,000–8,000

Lot 104. STRAKHOV-BRASLAVSKY, Adolf (1896–1979), illustrator. Prospectus for an International Design Competition for a Monument to T.G. Shevchenko in Kharkov [Programa mizhnarodnoho konkursu na proekt pam’yatinka T. Shevchenkovi v m. Kharkovi] . Kharkov: [Proletaryi], 1930 . 101 pp ., 24 .8 x 17 .8 cm, with 15 plates bound in at back as a supplement . One of 1,500 copies . Text in Ukrainian, Russian, German and French [MoMA 908] . Adolf Strakhov worked extensively as posterist (winning a gold medal in Paris in 1925 for his 1924 Lenin poster) and as book designer/illustrator, with over 250 books to his credit . He was also a renowned sculptor . $2,000–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 53 Lot 105. TELINGATER, Solomon (1903–1969), illustrator. FEINBERG, Ilya . 1914. A Documentary Pamphlet [1914-i dokumentalniy pamflet] . MTP, Moscow, 92 pp ., 25 x17 .5 cm . Silver stamped cloth covers, multicolor pictorial dust jacket . 4 color plates and numerous black plates with illustrations in photomontage style, many with guard tissues in red letterpress . This copy comes with the desirable dust jacket depicting the warring countries as dinosaurs battling across a map of the world . One of the pinnacles of Soviet Constructivist book art . Solomon Telingater’s designs for 1914-i are full of flair and innovation . When the book was originally sold in Soviet stores, buyers had to pay extra for the copy in a dust jacket . This is still true today—copies with the dust jacket command much higher prices . $4,000–6,000

Lot 106. TELINGATER, Solomon (1903–1969), book design. Moscow Worker Publishing House: Catalog of Publications, 1922–28 [Katalog Knig Izdatelstva Moskovskiy Rabochiy, 1922–28] . Moskovskiy Rabochiy, 331 pp ., 22 .5 x 15 cm . Constructivist bicolor wrappers, letterpress Constructivist designs in the text body, colored thumb index . No matter how routine or mundane the contents, Solomon Telingater’s book designs are always full of flair . Of course, true Constructivists would never consider the utilitarian nature of the underlying text a detriment . $2,500–3,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 54 Books—XXth Century Lot 107. [TELINGATER, Solomon (1903–1969), book design, and Khlebnikov, Alexandr (1897–1979), photography.] Ball Bearings [Podshipniki] . N .d ., 240 pp ., 24 .5 x 17 cm . Trade catalog of Soyuzpodshipniksbyt (State Ball Bearings Distribution Trust), a thick book that provides detailed listings of company products . A deluxe edition, hardbound, upper board with silver lettering and an embossed figurative design . Book sections are separated by silver color tab dividers with black on silver printed photographic images, and index pictograms . The inside covers and outer front and end pages provide an exquisite example of collaboration between the photographer and the graphic artist . They feature photographic montages, in which ball bearings elements are treated like atoms from which complex molecules could be built . The message to the viewer is that the company’s products are important—they are the basic construction elements of any complex tool or machine . Moscow photographer Alexander Khlebnikov had won a number of major statewide competitions, and was a friend of Rodchenko and Stepanova . Like his teacher B . Podluzhsky, Khlebnikov sought to treat photography as an applied art, and is considered one of the pioneers of Soviet advertising photography . The book was published without any printer data with regards to the book designer and photographer, yet to this describer, the consignor’s attribution of this book to Solomon Telingater seems stylistically justified . Telingater continuously experimented with unusual materials in book design, was partial to tabbed constructs and picto- grams, and loved to work on “useful” books that seemed to inspire his (by late 1930s well-hidden) Construct- ivist instincts . Importantly, such books were safe to play with—no art policeman would spend time inspecting trade catalogs, and clients could afford an investment into better quality book materials (consider, for example, Telingater’s “ Quality Steel , also produced for an industrial customer) . A beautiful book, worthy of an attribution to the oeuvre of a great master . $15,000–20,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 55 Lot 108. TERENTIEV, Igor (1892–1937). Treatise on Complete Indecency [Traktat o sploshnom neprilichii] . 41°, Tiflis, 1920, 15 pp ., 22 x 16 .8 cm . Cover with letterpress typographic design on front; letterpress text includes typographic designs [MoMA 256] . Rare signed presentation copy of this “zaum” book, with a dedication on the front page in author’s hand: “To D . P . Gordeev, / “arkheolukh” and friend / Terentiev, 21 April 1920, Tiflis” . The Traktat “rivals Kruchenykh’s pamphlets for its bold and original typographical features” (V . Terras) . When artist and poet Igor Terentiev, an important member of the 41° group, and later Malevich’s colleague in VKHUTEIN, had shifted his interests toward theater, one of his first theater experiments was staging the Traktat as a play . Terentiev had some success as a playwright, and experimental theater director, but his theater career came to an abrupt end with an arrest in 1931 . After his second arrest in 1937, he was executed . $6,000–8,000

Lot 109. URITSKY, A. Experiments in Improving the Quality of Print Publications while Saving Paper [Opyty Po Uluchsheniyu oformleniya Pechatnoy Propagandy I Ekonomii Bumagi] . Gizlegprom, Moscow, 1932 . 12 pages plus three four page fold-overs, 22 x 29 .5 cm . A very interesting book . Using examples picked up from real-life publications, Uritsky explains how to condense magazine and newspaper ads, leaflets, and posters without sacrificing their readability and effectiveness . The author succeeds in presenting his findings in concise, readable form . Not surprisingly, his solutions reflect considerable Constructivist influence . $3,000–5,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 56 Books—XXth Century Lot 110. VOLOSHIN, Maximilian (1877–1932). No . 9–10 Iverni, Tvorchestvo, Moscow, 1918 . 136 pages roughly cut, as issued), 16 .4 x 12 cm . signed presentation copy of this important collection of Voloshin’s poems, with a lengthy poetic dedication in Voloshin’s hand, dated 1924 . While Voloshin’s works were virtually unavailable to the reading masses for much of the Soviet period, the Voloshin museum in his house in Koktebel had never stopped functioning . Thanks to the efforts of the dedicated staff, Voloshin’s name had stayed in the collective memory of Soviet intelligentsia . These days, his poetry has considerably gained in popularity, and Russians continue to flock to his museum in Koktebel to pay homage to this gentle man, and important poet and critic . $2,000–3,000

Lot 111. VYALOV, Konstantin (1900–1976), illustrator. Negro Operetta—USSR Tour [Negrityanskaya Operetta—Gastroli v SSSR] . Gostsirk, 12 pp ., 26 .4 x 22cm . Black, red and white covers with photomontage design . Numerous additional photomontage illustrations within the text . Special issue of Tsirk (Circus) magazine dedicated to the 1926 Soviet Union tour by an all-black musical company that featured star dancers (Greenlee and Drayton, Baby and Bobby Goins, Chocolate Dandies), and Sam Wooding Orchestra . The tour was organized by the Soviet Central State Circus Office, Gostsirk, and this “special issue” magazine apparently doubled as an expanded review program . It features generally positive reviews by Stanislavsky, Tairov, Yutkevich, and other famous Soviet art figures . Konstantin Vyalov studied at VKHUTEMAS with Shterenberg, and was one of the founders of OST . He also worked extensively as a posterist, and in book design, achieving considerable acclaim in both fields . $1,500–2,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books—XXth Century 57 Lot 112. ZDANEVICH, Ilya, (1894–1971), illustrator, and KRUCHENYKH, Alexei (1886–1968). Milliork . 41°, Tiflis, 32 pp ., 15 x 22 .5 cm . One of approximately 250 copies . A Futurist book through and through, Milliork combines poems and prose in transrational “zaum” language with several essays, among them the important “Painting in Poetry” that introduces the important concept of word pictures . Distinctive cover with letterpress typographic design on front by Ilya Zdanevich . Needless to say, typographic elements play an important role in this book [MoMA 268] . $6,000–8,000

Lot 113. ZDANEVICH, Kirill (1892–1969), illustrator, and KRUCHENYKH, Aleksei (1886–1969). Uchites Khudogi . Tiflis, 1917, [26] leaves, 23 .5 x 18 .5 cm . Paper cover with lithographed manuscript text and illustration mounted on front; 16 lithographed illustrations; lithographed manuscript text includes manuscript designs by Kruchenykh . One of approximately 250 copies . Uchites Khudogi (customarily translated as Learn, Artists, or Learn, Arters, although one can’t ever be sure when translating from ”zaum”) is considered a striking example of the Kruchenykh–K . Zdanevich collaboration . “The boundaries between text and illustrations are blurred by the introduction of pictorial elements into some of Kruchenykh’s texts and of verbiage or graphemes into some of Kirill Zdanevich’s illus­ trations . In several of the latter, it is difficult to decide what is an abstract shape and what is a letter” (G . Janecek, in Zaum: The Transrational Poetry of Russian Futurism) [MoMA 52] . $8,000–12,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 58 Books—XXth Century Books on Architecture

Lot 114. ZDANEVICH, Kirill (1892–1969), illustrator. CHERNYAVSKII, Kolau (1892–1947) . Letters. Verse [Pisma. Stikhi] . Zarya Vostoka Publishing, Tiflis, 1927 . 30 pp ., 22 .5 x 14 .5 cm . One of 1,000 copies . Classic Cubist cover design by Kirill Zdanevich . Kolau (Nikolai) Chernyavski was one of the signers of the 41º Manifesto, along with Kruchenykh, I . Zdanevich, and Terentiev . $2,000–3,000

Lot 115. CHERNIKHOV, Yakov (1889–1951). The Art of Graphic Representation [Iskusstvo nachertaniya] . Knigoizd-vo Akademii Khudozhestv, Leningrad, 1927, 77 pp ., 17 .3 x 13 cm, with decorative wrappers . Chernikhov had published four books between 1927, and 1933 . Among the four, Isskusstvo Nachertaniya is probably the most difficult to find . $3,000–5,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books on Architecture 59 Lot 116. CHERNIKHOV, Yakov (1889–1951). The Construction of Architectural and Machine Forms [Konstruktsiya arkhitekturnykh i mashinnykh form] . Published by the Leningrad Society of Architects, Leningrad, 1931 . 232 pp . + 40 plates, 29 .5 x 21 cm . Chernikhov is at his best in this important book, exhibiting a rare combination of analytical and artistic skills . He sets out to explain how simple conceptual tools derived from a systematic study of the fundamental properties of constructed forms could be helpful in designing artifacts as diverse as machines, and buildings . When used by Chernikhov, these scientific methods result in designs that are full of fantasy and imagination . $2,000–3,000

Lot 117. SA Magazine—Complete Run, 1926–30. Sovremennaya Architectura (Modern Architecture) . Bound complete run of this influential Constructivist publication noted both for its contents, and for its graphics . Enthusiasts characterize SA as “a publication of great historical and theoretical importance” . It was edited by Moisei Ginzburg, author of the Constructivist architecture manifesto, Style and Epoch, and architect of the experimental Narkomfin House . Discussions covered an unusually wide range of architectural and planning issues; contributors included leading Soviet and foreign architects, from A . Vesnin to Le Corbusier, Gropius, and Mies van der Roe . Under Ginzburg, magazine pages were also opened to futuristic works (notably, of Ivan Leonidov), to interesting student projects, and to in-depth coverage of such unusual topics as color in architecture (special issue) . SA had also attracted talented Constructivist artists, so these days, SA magazines are considered an outstanding example of Constructivist graphic design . The distinctive grid pattern of SA covers is the work of Alexei Gan, magazine’s chief artist, Another frequent contributor was Varvara Stepanova; Rodchenko occasionally contributed his photographs . $16,000–20,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 60 Books on Architecture Lot 118. 1928 Architectural Competition. Drawing Templates For Workers Clubs [Tipoviye Kluby] . TsKZhD Publishing, 180 pp ., tipped-in foldover schematic drawings, 35 x 34 cm . Large format monograph, hardbound, gilt lettering on the front . Results of the 1928 architectural competition held by the Railway Workers Union . Participants were asked to design prototype Workers Clubs, differing in seating capacity (500 to 1,500 people) and building materials . Larger clubs had to include a theater and a movie theater, a library, a gymnasium, large auditoriums and spaces for group studies, even a childcare center . The Railway Workers Union expected to use the winning designs as templates for Railway Workers clubs around the country . The winning prototypes are shown in considerable detail . The list of winners features many names familiar to students of Soviet architecture—Golosov, Zarubin, Velikovsky, Rozenfeld, M . Ginzburg (he placed second in the 1,500-capacity category with an “Architektonische” design), Kokorin, and so on . $1,500–2,000

Lot 119. GINZBURG, Moisei (1892–1946). The Habitat [Zhilishe] . Gosstroyizdat, Moscow, 1934 . 190 pp ., 22 x 29 .5 cm . In dust jacket, rare thus . Moisei Ginzburg, the leading theoretician of Functional Constructivism, formulates his ideas on organizing the living space (zhilishe, habitat, Germ . Wohnung) for the masses . Provenance: this copy comes from the library of an important Soviet architect, Academician Georgy Orlov (1901–1985) . $2,500–3,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books on Architecture 61 Lot 120. LISSITZKY, El (Lazar Lissitzky, 1890–1941), illustrator. DOKUCHAEV, N . and NOVITSKII, P . Architecture of VKHUTEMAS, 1920–27 [Arkhitectura. Raboty arkhitecturnogo fakulteta VKHUTEMAS, 1920–27.] . VKHUTEMAS, Moscow, 1927, 16 + 48 pp ., 24 .2 x 17 cm . Thin card wrappers, pictorial dust-jacket printed in red and black to a design by El Lissitzky . A compilation of architectural projects executed by the students of Moscow VKHUTEMAS, 65 illustrations . Lissitzky’s design is widely considered one of the pinnacles of Constructivist book art . This is not a recent trend—Gustav Adolf shows the book in his 1930 essay on book design . Rare [MoMA 702] . $10,000–15,000

Lot 121. LISSITZKY, El (Lazar Lissitzky, 1890–1941), illustrator, and ARKIN, David (1899–1957), editor. Modern Western Architecture [Arkhitektura sovremennogo zapada] . Izogiz, Moscow, 187 pp ., 27 x 19 cm . Dust jacket and photomontage illustrations in the text are by El Lissitzky . The book is also important from the historic perspective—it provided Soviet architectural students a rare opportunity to study program papers of several leading Western architects . Credit for the publication goes to David Arkin (1899–1957), a LEF theorist in the 1920s, and later an eminent art critic and historian . The copy being offered originally belonged to prominent Georgian architect Z .A . Kurdiani; in 1933, he gave it as a present to another renowned architect, Georgy Sheleikhovich . Dated dedication is on the inside cover . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 62 Books on Architecture Lot 122. POMAZANOV, Pyotr, book covers designer, and contributor. Projects of School and Preschool Buildings [Proekty Zdaniy dlya Uchrezhdeniy Sozialnogo Vospitaniya] . Narkompros— MONO, Moscow, 26 pp ., 40 x 26 cm . Large format book published by Narkompros (Education Ministry) . Edited by V . Karmanov; V . Panfilov, and K . Popov . Front cover design by Pyotr Pomazanov, an influential Soviet architect, whose credits included such large-scale projects as the general development plan for the Moscow’s Sokol district . $1,500–2,000

Lot 123. SIDELNIKOV, Nikolai, illustrator (dust jacket, covers). WEINZWEIG, A ., editor . Industrial Districts Design [Planirovka Promyshlennykh Raionov] . Gosstroyizdat, Moscow, 1934 . 64 pp ., 23 x 30 cm . A book of great visual appeal . Sidelnikov’s unorthodox choice of semitransparent tracing paper for the dust jacket brings out the industrial blueprint look . The artist is deservedly considered one of the most important Soviet graphic artists, his works being exhibited next to those of Lissitzky, Rodchenko, and Telingater . The book itself deals with the issues facing regional planners involved in large-scale industrial projects brought to life by the Five Year Plans . Notably, environmental concerns are happily ignored . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Books on Architecture 63 Lot 124. Soviet Architecture Magazine for 1932. Soviet Architecture, nos . 1–6 (1932) [Sovetskaya Arkhitektura, nos . 1–6 (1932)], Nikolai Miliutin (1899–1942), editor . GTTI, Moscow, 1932, 30 x 22 cm . Complete 1932 run of an important bimonthly magazine aimed at the professional audience of architects and municipal planners . It was edited by Nikolai Miliutin (1899–1942), who had held a number of important government positions through 1920s, including that of the Commissar of Finances of Russian Federation, before becoming deeply involved with the problem of urban planning . To Miliutin’s credit, he allowed a variety of opinions, opening the pages of his magazine to competing architectural groups . Of special interest is the in-depth coverage of designs for the Palace of Soviets submitted for this most important architectural competition of 1932 . About half of the no . 5–6 double issue is allocated to the coverage of 1932 German Architectural Exhibition in Moscow . $1,000–1,500

Lot 125. VESNIN, Alexander (1883–1959), and other contributors. Housing for Workers—Sample Projects [Rabochie Zhilishcha. Primernye Proekty] . Gosudarstvennaya Tipografiya, Leningrad, 1924 . Oblong folio (28 .6 x 37 .5 cm), 18 pp . + 31 plates (out of 32), 20 of those printed in two colors . Text by Silents-Gorovits and A . Ivanov . Designs by A . Vesnin, L . Vesnin, Kokorin, Kolli, Grinberg, Ivanov, Ivanitskii, Korshunov, Norvert, and Chernyshev . The front wrapper design is the work of Alexander Vesnin, arguably the most important Constructivist architect of the period . Last plate and lower wrapper missing . This well-thought-through book fleshes out the Constructivist concept of communal living, and brings together many leading architects of period . Exceedingly scarce, rarely offered in any condition . $3,000–5,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 64 Children’s Books Lot 126. DEINEKA, Alexander (1899–1969), illustrator. BARTO, Agnia (1906–1981) . May Day [Pervoe Maya] . GIZ, Moscow, 16 pp ., 29 .5 x 22 cm . A scarce example of young Deineka’s foray into the field of children’s books graphics . One of the most important Soviet figurative painters, Deineka began exhibiting in 1924, but in 1926, he was still relatively unknown, and probably welcomed an opportunity to earn some money by illustrating a book . His breakthrough came with the success of Defense of Petrograd (1927) . Agnia Barto wrote many popular children’s poems . $1,000–1,500

Lot 127. ERMOLAEVA, Vera (1893–1938), and SVINENKO, Nikolai, illustrators. History of One Camp [Istoriya Odnogo Lagerya] by V . Petrov, OGIZ- Molodaya Gvardiya, Moscow - Leningrad, 1931, 108 pp ., 22 7. x 17 .4 cm . A children’s story about a group of children in a summer camp, of interest primarily because of the illustrations . A member of Union of Youth, and later of Unovis, Vera Ermolaeva first got involved with children’s books in 1918, when she organized the Segodnya artist collective in Petrograd (a few of Segodnya children’s books are offered in this sale) . She moved away from the field for several years, and worked with Malevich first in Vitebsk, and then in Leningrad GINKHUK . After GINKHUK was ordered closed, she went back to illustrating children’s books . This seemingly safe occupation did not save her from being arrested, and she died in a gulag . $800–1,200

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Children’s Books 65 Lot 128. IL’IN, Nikolai (1894–1954), illustrator, and KASSIL, Lev (1905–1970). The Black Book and Shvambrania [Konduit i Shvambrania] . Academia, 1935, 352 pp ., 18 x 11 1. cm . signed presentation copy with a lengthy 1962 dedication by Kassil on the front page . Shvambrania is one of the most beloved books in Soviet children’s literature—Soviet astronomers had even named a minor planet after it . Attractive “Academia” hardbound edition, whimsically designed by the book illustrator of the highest caliber, Nikolai Il’in, who delights in the free spirit of Kassil’s book, and matches it by artistic escapades of his own . No dust jacket, but the packet of maps of the imaginary country of Shvambrania that is normally missing is safely tucked behind the color cloth strap attached to the back cover . $500–1,000

Lot 129. IVANOVA, Vera, illustrator. MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir . I(nternational) Y(outh) D(ay) [MYuD] . GIZ, 1930, 16 pp ., 17 1. x 12 7. cm . Through the 1920s, Mayakovsky produced poems for children with the same workmanlike efficiency that he used to produce ROSTA wallpapers . Vera Ivanova contributes an elegant book design that balances pulsing letterpress typography of every text page with a clean, economic black and white lithograph on the opposite page . $800–1,200

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 66 Children’s Books

Lot 130. KUSTODIEV, Boris (1878–1927), illustrator. KRAVCHENKO, Anna, editor . About Lenin for Children [Detyam o Lenine] . GIZ, Moscow, 1927, 63 pp ., 22 .5 x 26 .8 cm . Second printing . Scarcer children’s book illustrated by a major Russian artist . Reportedly withdrawn from the libraries in 1930s, as it mentioned too many Bolsheviks that had fallen from grace . $1,500–2,500

Lot 131. KOZLINSKY, Vladimir (1891–1969), illustrator, and OLESHA, Yuri (1899–1960). Three Fat Men [Tri Tolstyaka] . Pravda Publishing, Moscow, 1935, 212 pp ., 21 7. x 14 .4 cm . A perennial children’s favorite . Olesha, the immensely talented author of Zavist (1927), and Ni Dnya bez Strochki (published posthumously), had been forced into virtual silence by the regime after 1936 . Even Tri Tolstyaka (first published in 1928), a “revolutionary fairy tale” hailed by Lunacharsky himself and staged by Stanislavsky in the Moscow Art Theater, had for a while disappeared from the libraries . In 1935 though, it was still considered fit to print, as evidenced by this elegant edition . The book had quickly regained its popularity after 1956, and has been reprinted many times since then . $1,200–1,600

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Children’s Books 67 Lot 132. LANCETTI, V., illustrator. KASSIL, Lev (1905–1970) . Planetarium [Planetariy]. Molodaya Gvardiya, Moscow 1931, 32 pp ., 21 .5 x 17 .3 cm . Remarkable Constructivist children’s book illustrated by the Moscow artist and book illustrator V . Lancetti, and written by the talented Lev Kassil . Deals with a range of educational topics, from history to space travel, geography, and modernist architecture . Must be seen in its entirety to be properly appreciated . $1,500–2,000

Lot 133. LISSITZKY, El (Lazar Lissitzky, 1890–1941), illustrator. DOLGOPOLSKI, Tzadok . Grandfather’s Curses [Dem Zeydns Kloles] . Central Yididsh Commissariat, Moscow, 1919, 32 pp ., 14 .3 x 38 cm . Oblong stapled pamphlet . Partially uncut . Wrappers and two illustrations by Lissitzky . Rare Yiddish children’s book illustrated by Lissitzky . Dolgopolski’s one-act play was published as part of the Jewish Theater Library series . See Tradition and Revolution: The Jewish Renaissance in Russian Avant-Garde Art, 1912–1928, Ruth Apter-Gabriel ed ., Jerusalem 1987 . $7,000–10,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 68 Children’s Books Lot 134. LIUBAVINA, Nadezhda, illustrator. DUBNOVA, Sofia . Mother [Mat’] . Segodnya, Petrograd, 1918, 4 pp ., 20 .4 x 15 cm . Carton paper, hand-colored linoleum cut illustrations on every page, number 41 of only 125 hand- colored copies made . Nadezhda Liubavina participated in Union of Youth exhibitions, and belonged to the same circle of young Futurist poets and artists as Vera Ermolaeva . When Ermolaeva set out to organize the Segodnya artists collective (1918), Lyubavina became a regular contributor . Her name is also associated with the Peoples Art School in Vitebsk (of Chagall and Malevich fame), where she headed the Preparatory Studio (1919) . Liubavina’s promising artistic career was cut short by marriage -- reportedly, in early 1920s she had married an Indian professor and left for India . Sophia Dubnova-Erlich (1885–1986), daughter of the famous Jewish historian, Simon Dubnov, had published her first poem in 1904 at the age of 19 . She published her last book of poems in New York seventy(!) years later . $2,000–3,000

Lot 135. LIUBAVINA, Nadezhda, illustrator. VENGROV, Natan (1894–1962) . To Oneself [Sebe Samomy] . Segodnya, Petrograd, 1918, 4 pp ., 20 x 15 cm . Brittle gauffre paper, single color linoleum cut illustrations on every page . Attractively illustrated book in standard “Segodnya” format . Liubavina was an active member of the Segodnya artist collective . Poet Natan Vengrov (Moisei Weingrove) eventually became an influential Soviet literary critic and editor . $600–1,200

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Children’s Books 69 Lot 136. PETROV-VODKIN, Kuzma (1878–1939). Petrov-Vodkin, Kuzma (1878–1939) . Aoiia, Gryadyschii Den, St . Petersburg, 1914 . 116 pp ., 25 .2 x 19 cm, decorated wrappers, numerous illustrations inside . A children’s book about the adventures of two children who fly away in a balloon, written and illustrated by the great Russian painter . The full title is Aoiia: Prikliucheniya Andriushi i Kati v vozdukhe, na zemle i pod zemlei (AOIIA: The Adventures of Andriusha and Katia in the Sky, on Earth and Underground) . $800–1,200

Lot 137. POPOVA, Lydia (1903–1951), illustrator, and VENGROV, Nathan (1894–1962). In The Fields [Na Pole] . GIZ, 1930 . 6 pp ., 14 .5 x 11 .5 cm . A colorful children’s book elegantly illustrated by the talented Lydia Popova, who worked almost exclusively as a book illustrator . The unusual foldover wrappers serve as visual bookends to images in the text . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 70 Children’s Books Lot 138. SUNDERLAND, I., illustrator, and MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir. We Are Strolling [Guliaem] . Priboy, Leningrad, 12 pp ., 27 x 19 .3 cm . Popular children’s book with lithographed illustration on front and 13 lithographed illustrations in the text . Sunderland’s style is remarkably close to that of Lebedev . Interestingly, Mayakovsky wrote the poem while in Paris (June 1925); he mentions sending it to the publisher in a letter to Lili Brik [MOMA 693] . $3,000–5,000

Lot 139. SUVOROV, Pyotr (1901–1968), illustrator. SCHWARZ, Oleg . Jamboree [Slyot] . GIZ, Moscow, 1930 . 32 pp ., 17 .5 x 21 .6 cm . Children’s book about the First International Meet of Young Pioneers, the Comintern version of the Scouts World Jamboree . Multicolor photomontage wrappers, several interesting photo-mechanical illustrations and large number of photos within the text . Pyotr Suvorov (1901–1968) specialized in children’s books graphics, and for a while held the position of Art Director for Detgiz, the children’s book branch of the State Publishing Trust . He also wrote several influential textbooks for artists working in the book graphics field The( Art of Lithography , 1947; Decorative Patterns , 1963) . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Children’s Books 71 Art Books—Lithographs Lot 140. Three War-Time Children’s Books. IVANOV, A . How We ... [Kak My...] . GazetIzdat, Nalchick, 1942, three books, 6 to 11 pp ., 11 x 14 .5 cm on average . These were produced locally in Nalchik, in the Caucuses, shortly before the town fell under German control . Titles are How We Helped to Catch a Spy, How We Stopped a Fascist Motorcyclist, and How We Destroyed a Group of Fascist Bandits . Illustrations are by KESH; the name is, likely, an abbreviation used by a group of artists . An unusual group . $800–1,200

Lot 141. BAKST, Leon (Lev Rosenberg, 1886–1924). The Doll Fairy [Feya kukol] . 14 x 9 .5 cm . Complete set of 12 postcards designed by L . Bakst, with the original envelope and descriptive leaf in Russian and French; issued to benefit the St . Eugenia Red Cross Society and lithographed in color by A . Il’in . A desirable set, rarely offered with the original envelope . Costumes shown were prepared for the special presentation of the Feya Kukol ballet for the Royal family that took place in Tsar’s private Hermitage Theater in February 1903 (music by Joseph Bayer, choreography by Legat brothers, with Mathilde Kshessinskaya in the main role, set design and costumes by Bakst) . The Feya Kukol production established Bakst’s reputation as an outstanding theater artist, which only grew with time . $1,500–2,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 72 Art Books—Lithographs Lot 142. BOGAEVSKII, Konstantin (1872–1943). Autolithographs [Avtolitografii] . GIZ, Petrograd and Moscow, 1923, 62 x 41 cm . Printed paper folded portfolio with 20 illustrated numbered plates, plus 1 title leaf, 1 contents leaf and 1 colophon leaf (each 410 x 620 mm) . Plate 9 is reproduced on the verso of plate 7 . Bogaevskii, who studied in Imperial Academy of Arts under Kuindzhi, was a member of Mir Iskusstva and of the Union of Russian Artists . In early 1900s, he returned to his native Theodosia in Crimea, and the main theme of his works became the landscapes of an imaginary land he saw in his dreams . His highly symbolic art naturally appealed to the Symbolists, who “discovered” him through the essays of his great champion (and neighbor for most of the year), poet and art critic Maximilian Voloshin . $2,000–3,000

Lot 143. BULGAKOV, Fedor (1852–1908). Album of Russian Painting [Albom Russkoi Zhivopisi] . A .S . Suvorin . 24 .5 x 32 cm . An interesting publisher’s sammelband, comprised of: Albom dekabrskoi vystavki 1890 g. [Album of the December Exhibition in 1890] and three illustrated monographs on the well-known artists Semiradskii, Aivazovskii, and Sudkovskii . Combined in one volume, with a cover titled Kartiny russkikh khudozhnikov [Pictures of Russian Artists] . Journalist and art historian, Fedor Il’ich Bulgakov contributed to leading papers of his time, including Slovo, Russkii Kur’er, and Nov’ . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Art Books—Lithographs 73 Lot 144. DENSHIN, Aleksei (1893–1948), and CHEKHONIN, Sergei (1878–1936, wrappers design). The Russian Folk Toy—Clay Dolls from Vyatka [Russkaya narodnaya igrushka. Vypusk 1. Vyatskaya lepnaya glinyanaya igrushka] . Moskovskoe Khudozhestvennoe Izdatelstvo, Moscow, 1929 . 23 .5 x 32 cm folio, 16 lithographs on 8 sheets, partially uncut . Edited by S . Abramov, with an introduction by A .Bakushinsky . Artist and author Alexei Denshin was an expert on folk toys . Despite the “Issue 1” notice on the wrapper and title page, a second volume was never produced . One of 5,000 copies . $1,000–2,000

Lot 145. GLUSCHENKO, Mykhailo (b. 1909). Portraits [Portreti] . RUKh, Kharkov, 1932, unpaginated, 36 single-side plates; 6 pp . index/ introduction, 30 1. x 23 cm . With introduction by Prof . Burachek, who declares that Gluschenko’s portraits represent new style in portraiture, attuned to the demands of the Proletarian State art . Book design by G . Pustovyit . Portraits of prominent Kharkovites by the talented Ukrainian graphic artist . Gluschenko’s Modernist roots are undeniable . His style is sometimes reminiscent of that of Annenkov, and is far removed from the art aesthetics of his popular namesake and contemporary, Mykola Gluschenko . $1,500–2,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 74 Art Books—Lithographs Lot 146. Rare Lithographs Folio, Goncharova and Larionov GONCHAROVA, Natalia (1881–1962), and LARIONOV, Mikhail (1881–1964) . 16 Drawings by N. Goncharova and M. Larionov [16 Dessins m-e N. Gontcharoff et Michel Larionoff], 1913 . A portfolio of 16 lithographs published in 1913 (Polyakov includes two smaller-size lithographs glued to the front of the portfolio into the count and comes up with a total of 18) . Goncharova and Larionov prepared four new lithographs for this publication, namely Zhatva and Deva na zvere by Goncharova, and Katsapskaya Venera and Devochka s ptichkoy by Larionov . The rest came from the remainder sheets left from the previous publications, the result being that not only individual lithographs within the folio vary in paper thickness and sizes, but that contents may change slightly from one folio to another . The key four lithographs, however, do appear in every folio . See A . Borovkov, Zametky or russkom avangarde . Moscow 2007, pp . 128–29 . An exceedingly rare folio, only few copies had been recorded . $20,000–30,000

Lot 147. GONCHAROVA, Natalia (1881–1962). Julie Sazonova’s Marionette Theater—Paris Premiere, Paris, 1924 . 31 x 23”, affiche . Goncharova’s initials can be found under the marionette figure in the center of the sheet . Goncharova and Larionov were deeply involved in Julie Sazonova’s attempt to organize an experimental Russian marionettes theater in Paris . Larionov wrote two librettos, and staged two plays for the enterprise, including the pantomime “Karagez, the Guardian of the Honor of his Friend”, in the style of the Turkish shadow theater . Goncharova took part in designing the sets for Karagez . Her set of shadow masks for “Karagez” is now in Tretiakov Gallery in Moscow . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Art Books—Lithographs 75 Lot 148. LARIONOV, Mikhail (1881–1964). Cricket. Pochoir in colors, stamped with the artist’s signature lower right, ca . 1917–19 . 32 .5 x 49 .8 cm . Larionov was one of the central figures on the pre-WWI Russian avant-garde art scene . He was a founding member of the Jack of Diamonds (1909–1911) and Donkey’s Tail (1912–1913) art groups . As the leading artist (along with his wife Natalia Goncharova) and chief theoretician of Rayonism, he is credited with creating Russia’s first near-abstract art movement (1913) . This work dates to his Paris period . $800–1,200

Lot 149. KANDINSKY, Wassily (1866–1944). Overcast Day [Pasmurny Den’] postcard, Moscow Artists Collective Publishing, 1905, 14 x 9 cm . Very early—if not the first—postcard featuring a painting by Kandinsky . Paper adherences at top, otherwise fine-very fine, well preserved . Rare . Overcast Day was first shown during the Moscow Artists Collective exhibition in the Historic Museum (March 1905) . The Moskovskiye Vesti newspaper reported at the time: “This is an exhibition very much attuned to the latest art trends ”. The same article specifically mentions “original engravings and gouaches by Kandinsky” among the Exhibition highlights . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 76 Art Books—Lithographs Lot 150. KUZNETSOV, Pavel (1878–1968). Turkestan. Pavel Kuznetsov’s First Series of Drawings with the Artist’s Introductory Essay. [Turkestan. 1-ya seriya risunkov Pavla Kuznetsov so vstupitelnoi stat’yoi khudozhnika] . GIZ, Moscow and Petrograd, 32 pp ., 22 .8 x 17 .3 cm, lithographed wrappers (detached, but present) . Impressions of Kuznetsov’s trip to Central Asia back in 1909 . The trip had affected the artist profoundly, prompting him to change his style, and to simplify his compositions . A beautiful set, one look at Kuznetsov’s work is worth thousands of words . “It came naturally to Kuznetsov to depict a harmonious world” (E . A . Nekrasova; see Leonardo, vol . 14, no . 2, 1981) . Kuznetsov’s influence on younger artists of the period is often overlooked, but should not be underestimated . $1,500–2,000

Lot 151. KUZNETSOV, Pavel (1878–1968). Mountainous Bukhara [Gornaya Bukhara] . GIZ, Moscow, 40 .3 x 29 .8 cm . Suite of 12 colored and numbered autolithographs + frontispiece plate, title plate, preface plate with text on recto and contents on verso, and one unnumbered preliminary plate . In original decoratively printed paper folding portfolio . One of 2,000 copies . Collection of lithographs based on drawings made in Bukhara in 1909 . There is natural peace and beauty in Kuznetsov’s paintings and lithographs . Looking at them produces the same effect as opening The Quiet Eye for the first time, which is probably all one has to say here; but a very short note about these series may be in order . Back in 1909, Bukhara was a particularly exotic destination in the eyes of the Russian viewers . Formally, it was not even the part of Russia, but rather a protectorate, governed by the Amir . Kuznetsov was not looking for exotics, but he was clearly affected by the beauty of Central Asia, with its deserts, mountains, and ancient cities, and had returned there several times through his long artistic career . Kuznetsov’s Asian travels had led him to an important artistic breakthrough . Paintings made in Bukhara and Samarkand, and immediately after his return, retain the rich colors and harmonious rhythms of his Crimson Rose and early Blue Rose period, but completely forgo the complexity of form . This move to simplicity foretells the change soon to be undergone by many avant-garde artists . $4,000–6,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Art Books—Lithographs 77 Lot 152. PETRIZKY, Anatol (1895–1964). Anatol Petrizky—Theater Designs [Anatol Petrizky Teatralni Stroi], introductory essay by V . Khmury . Ukrainian State Publishing House, 1929 . 26 pp . of text, 56 plates of illustrations . 34 7. x 26 1. cm . Petrizky’s costume designs and stage sets for ballets and operas . A beautifully produced album, with parallel text in Ukrainian and German . About half of the plates are mounted color lithographs, many with gold or silver metallic inks, mounted on gray card with tissue guards (a few tissue guards removed) . Illustrations date to Petrizky’s Constructivist period, and include his acclaimed 1922 sketches for Goleisovsky’s ballet Eccentric Dances (selected by Stephen Bury for Breaking the Rules: The Printed Face of the European Avant-Garde 1900—1937 exhibit in British Library, 2007–08) . In the 1930s Petrizky was forced to move away from the avant-garde, choosing instead to seek inspiration in Ukrainian folk art . This assured him a long and successful career in Soviet arts: Peoples Artist of the Soviet Union, winner of State Prizes for his stage designs in 1949 and 1951) . $5,000–7,000

Lot 153. YUON, Konstantin (1875–1958). Russian Provincial Life—10 Lithographs [Russkaya Provintsiya -10 avtolitographiy] . Berendei, Moscow, 1922 . 12 pp ., 42 x 32 cm . Folio of large-size Yuon’s lithographs reflecting the artist’s keen interest in Russian antiquities and Russian provincial life . A lavish edition for the resources-starved 1922 Moscow . Small printing of only 250 copies . $3,000–5,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 78 Art Books—Lithographs Lot 154. YUON, Konstantin (1875–1958). Sergiev Posad. Knizhnoye Tovarishestvo, Moscow, 1923 . 15 black and white plates, 29 .5 x 45 cm . publishers green wrappers printed in red . Sergiev Posad is an ancient town on the Moscow’s Golden Ring, site of the historic Troitse-Sergieva Lavra monastery—an ideal locale for Yuon to demonstrate his considerable talent . “Yuon finds such points of view that familiar doesn’t seem so familiar anymore” (Abram Efros); in the end though, “his Sergiev Posad is more real than the town itself” (Tatiana Smirnova) . $2,000–3,000

Lot 155. ZHAROVA (NAUMOVA) Lydia (1902–1986). Ten Linocuts [10 graviur na linoleume] . Moscow, 1919 . An exceedingly rare book, with only 30 copies produced . Signed by the artist in ink . Artist Lydia Zharova (also known under her married name, Lydia Naumova) eventually became a stage and costume designer for the film industry, working on such important films as Sergei Eisenstein’s “Ivan the Terrible” . $8,000–12,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Catalogs of Art Exhibitions 79 Lot 156. Goncharova’s Solo Exhibition, 1914. Goncharova—Vystavka Kartin Natalii Sergeevny Goncharovoy. 1900—1913 . Dobychina, St . Petersburg, 1914 . 38 pp ., 6 .9 x 19 cm . Catalog of the Goncharova’s solo exhibition at the Art Salon of N . Dobychina (St . Petersburg, 1914) . Lists 249 exhibited works covering the 1900–13 period, with 27 illustrations (pp . 11–37) . This important exhibition had cemented Goncharova’s reputation as an artist “who was open to artistic developments in Western Europe, yet blended them with native Russian influences, producing a unique style of her own” (A . Tverskaya) . $2,000–3,000

Lot 157. Kazan Avant-Garde: 1st Rider Group Exhibition. SHIKALOV, Nikolai . Pervaya vystavka graficheskago kollektiva Vsadnik . Kazan, [1920] . 24 pp ., 20 .6 x 16 .6 cm . Sugar-paper wrappers, the upper cover with an overall linocut design by Illarion Pleshchinsky, includes eight linocuts by Maria Andreevskaya, Vera Vilkovisskaya, Nikolai Shikalov, and Dmitri Fedorov . One of 500 copies . After the Revolution, Kazan ARKHUMAS (Architecture and Art Works), formerly the venerable Kazan Art School, became an important center of avant-garde art outside the two Russian capitals . The Vsadnik graphic collective (1920–24) was unique in that its program specifically emphasized the importance of prints as a graphic medium . A very scarce book . $2,500–3,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 80 Catalogs of Art Exhibitions Lot 158. Saratov School of Painting Exhibition, 1923. Vystavka kartin Saratovskoi shkoly zhivopisi . Saratov, April 1923 . 8 pp ., 17 .8 x 13 .2 cm . Unbound as issued, the upper cover lithographed with a Suprematist design . Rare exhibition catalog of no more than 100 copies . Lists 144 works by 27 artists . The term “Saratov School of Painting” is associated with such illustrious names as Borisov-Musatov, Kuznetsov, and Martiros Saryan . The city of Saratov, on Volga River, had a proud fine arts tradition, associated with the Bogolyubov Art School . $1,000–1,500

Lot 159. 1st All-German Art Exhibition, Moscow 1924. 1 Vseobshaya Germanskaya Khudozhestvennaya Vystavka . Mezhrabpom, Moscow, 1924 . 40 pp ., 21 .8 x 15 .2 cm . The name of the book illustrator is unknown (one sees it occasionally attributed to Lissitzky, but this may be a case of wishful thinking) . Catalog of an important exhibition that was shown in Moscow, Petrograd, and Saratov . The 1924 German Art Exhibition was organized by Workers International Relief (Internationale Arbeiter Hilfe, Mezhrabpom) . Virtually every left-leaning German art group was well represented, with Dix, Griebel, Grosz, Klee, Kokoschka, Kollwitz, Moholy-Nagy, Nolde, Pechstein, and Schwitters among the participants . Truly a major exhibition . $1,500–2,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Catalogs of Art Exhibitions 81 Lot 160. Important Literary Magazines John Reed Club Exhibition, 1931. American Artists of the John Reed Club [Dzhon Rid Klub— Amerikanskiye Khudozhniki] . Glavlit, Moscow, 1931 . 48 pp ., 17 .2 x 13 cm . Catalog of the John Reed Club Artists exhibition in the Museum of New Western Art, Moscow, December 1931 . Lists 96 works by 21 (mostly Jewish) left-leaning American artists, a few illustrated in the text . The decidedly Constructivist book design (bicolor foldover wrappers, extensive use of typographic designs within the text) is the work of M . Il’in . Additional information about the Moscow exhibition, and its participants can be found in Complex Identities. Jewish Consciousness and Modern Art by Matthew Baigell and Milly Heyd (editors), Rutgers University Press, 2001 . $2,500–3,500

Lot 161. ARS, Symbolists’ Magazine. ARS, no . 2, 1918, and no . 1, 1919 . GORODETSKY, Sergei (original editor), 1919 issue edited by A . Petrokovsky and A . Flrensky . Cover designs by M . KALASHNIKOV for the 1918 issue, and B . RYABOV for the 1919 issue . Published by A . Antonovskaya, Tiflis, 76 pp . and 92 pp . respectively, appx . 22 .5 x 18 cm . A Russian language magazine with a Latin name that was published in (then independent) Georgia in 1918-19 . Altogether, three issues were produced, two being offered here . A decidedly Symbolist production, with Symbolist Sergei Gorodetsky at the helm, ARS was clearly modeled after the “World of Art” and “Appolon” from earlier, happier times . An essay on Anna Akhmatova is followed by an article attempting a Freudian interpretation of Tatiana’s dream in “Evgeny Onegin”, and then by musings on “Hoffmann and Rachmaninoff” . Even the Futurist artist Sigismund Valishevsky is on his best behavior with several elegant, non-controversial sketches . There is something sad about this valiant attempt to reverse the flow of time, and to recapture the ivory tower atmosphere of the Symbolist literary salons of prewar Russian capitals . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 82 Important Literary Magazines Lot 162. AVANGARD ALMANAKH, the complete run. Avant-Garde Almanac [Avangard Almanakh], No . a (Jan . 1930) and No . b (April 1930), Geo Shkurupij (1903–1937), editor . Derzhavne Vidavnitstvi Ukraini, Kyiv, 1930 . Each issue 98+2 pp ., appx . 28 x 22 .5 cm . A short-lived, but important magazine of Kiev Futurists . Highlights include Malevich’s last published essay to espouse the Suprematist approach to art; first publication of excerpts from Dovzhenko’s screenplay for his famous film “Earth”; N . Ushakov’s essay on Velimir Khlebnikov and his influence on Soviet Futurists; a well illustrated essay on Soviet and German Constructivist book graphics; a very unusual experimental poem of Yu . Palishuk . If not for space limitations, this short list could be expanded for quite a while . A fascinating magazine in terms of contents, with interesting graphics to match . Both magazines are autographed by the editor, the important Ukrainian Futurist poet and writer Geo Shkurupij . The self-proclaimed “King of the Futurist prairies” had only few years to live—he was arrested in 1934 on trumped up charges of being a member of the Ukrainian nationalist underground, thrown into jail, and executed three years later . $8,000–10,000

Lot 163. Gostinitsa Dlya — Imaginists’ Magazine. Gostinitsa dlya puteshestvuiuschikh v prekrasnom [Guesthouse for The Travelers in The Beautiful] . nos . 1–4 , 1922–23 . Thick paper wrappers, illustrated upper covers with varying but linked designs, 34 .4 x 26 .2 cm . The (only) poetic magazine of an important Imaginists group (1918–27) that included such important poets as Esenin and Mariengof . It had a print run which varied from 1,500 (nos . 2 and 3) to 2,000 (nos . 1 and 4) . Numbers 1–2 were edited by N . Savkin; numbers 3–4 by the Imaginist collective . The list of contributors is dominated by group members, but also includes Osip Mandelshtam . Rare . $5,000–7,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Important Literary Magazines 83 Lot 164. Lyubov K Trem ... Meyerhold’s Magazine. The Love for Three Oranges, Dr. Dappertutto’s Magazine. [Lyubov k Trem Apelsinam. Zhurnal Doktora Dapertutto], Nos . 1–7, Petrograd, 1914 . Complete run for 1914 (seven issues in five magazines) . Each issue is 100–200 pp ., mostly 18 x 13 .5 cm, a few slightly larger . With colorful wrappers designed by the artist Yu . Bondi, who was also the stage designer for Meyerhold’s 1914 production of Blok’s Balaganchik . Meyerhold’s legendary magazine covered all aspects of Russian experimental art, from poetry to theater theory . It attracted a spectacular group of contributors, replete with famous literary names—Akhmatova, Balmont, Blok, Z . and V . Gippius, Radlov, Sologub, and Kuzmin, to name a few, along with important critics . The magazine title came from the name of the Carlo Gozzi play Meyerhold had translated into Russian . As for the Hoffmanesque “Dr . Dappertutto” pseudonym, by 1914 it was well known to the public—Meyerhold had been using it since 1910 when staging plays outside his main contract with the Imperial Theaters . $1,500–2,000

Lot 165. YUGO-LEF, magazine of LEF South. Yugo-LEF, nos . 1–4, Odessa, 1924, 12–16 pp . per issue, 24 x 16 cm . NEDOLYA, L ., editor, and KIRSANOV, Semyon (1906–1972), key contributor . Bi-color covers with letterpress lettering and typographic designs on front and back; additional typographic designs are spread through the text . Designs: N . Danilov (he also wrote theater reviews for the magazine), and N . Sokolov (Odessa artist and book designer, not to be confused with the namesake posterist) . A rare complete run for 1924; even single issues of Yugo-LEF are difficult to come by . This short-lived magazine was published in 1924–25 by Southern region artists subscribing to the LEF doctrine . In running the magazine, its editor L . Nedolya heavily relied on the 19-year-old redaction secretary, future major Soviet poet, Semyon Kirsanov . In addition to contributing poetry, Kirsanov was also responsible for much of the advertising, and advertising Kirsanov-style provides for entertaining reading [MoMA 593] . $8,000–10,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 84 Books and Magazines—Large Groups Lot 166. Chizh and Yozh Magazines. 80+ issues. Popular and innovative magazines for children, Chizh (The Siskin) and Yozh (The Hedgehog) were published in Leningrad . The collection being offered includes 78 issues of the former and 6 of the latter, issued between 1929 and 1935 in various sizes . Chizh was a monthly publication for younger school children, Yozh was published biweekly for a somewhat older audience . The two magazines largely shared the same creative and editorial staff, and for a while provided a unique employment outlet to otherwise unemployable avant-garde writers, two notable examples being OBERIUT Absurdist writers Harms and Vvedensky . Evgeni Schwartz and Yuri Olesha were regular contributors . Among the outstanding artists of Chizh and Yozh one must mention Charushin, Lebedev, and Vera Ermolaeva . One must also not forget Vladimir Sterligov, whose name these days is uttered in one breath with the names of Malevich, Filonov, and Kandinsky—although in all fairness, Sterligov’s seminal works were painted after WWII, and are not directly related to his Yozh/Chizh period . Chizh and Yozh were not immune to the vagaries of Soviet reality . In 1931, a number of Chizh artists and writers were arrested, accused of anti-Soviet tendencies, and sentenced to administrative exile (among them Harms and Kerensky) . 1934 brought Kirov’s assassination followed by purges and arrests all over Leningrad; these claimed V . Ermolaeva (died in camps in 1938), Sterligov (sentenced to 5 years), and his student Basmanov . $10,000–12,000

Lot 167. Soviet Booklets on Silent Movie Stars (55 pieces). Fifty-five booklets or short monographs (some duplication) from the mid-1920s, mostly produced by Kinopechat, Moscow and Leningrad, 16 pp . (on average) . Size varies from 14 x 11 .2 cm to 17 x 12 7. cm . Quite a few with wrappers executed in photomontage technique, by A . Dombrovskii, M . Getmanski, K . Vyalov, N . Sokolik, and others . Partial list of subjects: Richard Barthelmess, Wallace Beery, Jackie Coogan/Baby Peggy, Priscilla Dean, William Desmond, Richard Dix, Douglas Fairbanks, Greta Garbo, Corinne Griffith, Liana Haid, William S . Hart, Emil Jannings, Buster Keaton, Alexandra Khokhlova, Alisa Koonen, Barbara La Marr, Harry Lidtke, Adolf Menjou, Harold Lloyd, Thomas Meighan, Ivan Mozzhukhin, Mae Murray, Raymond Navarro, Mary Pickford, Harry Piel, Jenny Porten, Charles Ray, Paul Richter, Milton Sills, Norma Talmadge, Richard Talmadge, Conway Tearle, Alice Terry, Ernest Torrance, Conrad Veidt, Erich Von Stroheim, Paul Wegener, and Pearl White . The Greta Garbo book by Izmail Urazov (1926) may well be the very first monograph on the elusive Swedish actress . For additional Kinopechat books, see the entries for Ayn Rand . $2,000–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Posters—Pre-1914 85 Lot 168. LANSERE, Evgenii. (1875–1946), Russian Portrait Exhibition, St . Petersburg, 1905 . Lithograhed in color, 17 75. x 25 75”. . Vintage poster by the renowned World of Art artist and sculptor, prepared for the famous 1905 exhibition in Tauride Palace organized by Sergei Diaghilev . The exhibition featured almost 3,000 portraits, mostly from private collections, and attracted 45,000 visitors . Rooms of the Tauride Palace were decorated in the style of the historical periods of the portraits they contained . Bakst and Bilibin, along with several other World of Art members, took place in designing the exhibition rooms; Lansere contributed the poster design . Exhibition success had emboldened Diaghilev to proceed with further ventures; it is possible that without it, there would be no Ballets Russes . $1,000–1,500

Lot 169. MEDVEDEV, M. Victorson Brand Cigarette Cases. A . Markus, St . Peterburg, c . 1905 . Lithograph in colors, 26 .5 x 15 .5” . Elegant poster in “art modern” style, often mentioned in discussions of Russian commercial posters . A . Shkliaruk attributes this poster to the artist M . Medvedev, who produced several posters for Markus Lithograph Works . See Reklama v Plakate , by A . Snopkov, P . Snopkov, and A . Shkliaruk, Kontakt Kultura, Moscow . $3,000–5,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 86 Posters—WWI Lot 170. BRAILOVSKY, Leonid. (1867–1937). Dolls To Benefit Soldiers’ Children And Orphans. 1914, Lithograph in colors, 18 .5 x 13 .25” . Elegant poster by the renowned Russian artist and architect, Leonid Mikhailovich Brailovsky, the last elected member of Russian Imperial Academy of Arts (1916) . $1,500–2,000

Lot 171. KOROVIN, Konstantin (1861–1939). Zhertvuyte… [Donate…] . A .A . Levenson, Moscow, 1914 . Lithograph in colors, backed on linen, 112 x 90 cm . A 1914 poster prepared for a charity clothing drive sponsored by the All- Russian Land Union by an important Russian artist and stage designer . Korovin often worked in the manner of Impressionists, but for this poster, he turns for inspiration to the archetypal image from Russian antiquity, that of Dmitri Donskoi, the first Russian national hero figure . The viewer is left with the feeling that ignoring the drive is really not an option, and that participation is a civic duty of every citizen . A highly desirable, often reproduced poster (see e .g ., Baburina, Russian Posters of WWI) . $5,000–7,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Posters—WWI 87 Lot 172. LENTULOV, Aristarkh (1882–1943). Text by Vladimir MAYAKOVSKY. Surrender of the Austrians to the Russians at Lvov [Sdal avstriets russkim Lvov] . Sedogniashnii Lubok, Moscow, 1914 . Lithograph in colors, 14 .5 x 21 .5” . Segodniashnii Lubok (Today’s Lubok) was organized by the Moscow publisher Gorodetsky to produce propagandistic posters and postcards in support of Russia’s war effort . It stands out from similar publishers that had sprung out all over Russia at the start of WWI by the quality of the artists and poets it attracted—Kazimir Malevich, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Artistakh Lentulov, Ilya Mashkov, David Burliuk, and Vasilli Chekrugin among them . The look of their posters was inspired by old mass-produced woodcut prints, “lubki” . This was a deliberate decision, an attempt to produce posters accessible to uneducated masses, and to appeal to the nationalist sentiment—folk art forms were considered purely Russian, and unspoiled by Western influences . Based on the war events described, the poster can be dated to September 1914 . $1,500–2,000

Lot 173. LENTULOV, Aristarkh (1882–1943). Text by Vladimir MAYAKOVSKY. British at Heligoland [Anglichan u Gelgolanda ...] . Segodniashnii Lubok, Moscow, 1914 . Lithograph in colors, 15 .5 x 19 .5” . Mayakovsky’s verses refer to the Battle of Heligoland Bight, and to the damage inflicted on the German light cruisers SMS Heben and SMS Breslau, and concludes with a warning to the Turks that they may be looking for trouble . These references can be used in dating the poster . Despite Mayakovsky’s propagandist claims, the safe arrival of the Breslau and Heben in Constantinople was an enormous political success for the Germans, possibly the proverbial last straw that finally convinced the Turks to enter the war . $1,500–2,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 88 Posters—WWI Lot 174. MALEVICH, Kazimir (1878–1935). Text by Vladimir MAYAKOVSKY. French Allies... [U Soyuznikov Frantsuzov...] . Segodnyashnii Lubok, 1914 . Lithograph in colors, 15 .5 x 19 .5” . “I have come up with some popular prints that are purely folk . . if the words sound a little crude, . . not to worry, for this is exactly what folk art is” wrote Malevich to his friend, Futurist composer Matyushin about his work for Segodniashnii Lubok . This quote is indicative of the approach taken by all Segodniashnii Lubok artists and poets . Malevich’s exaggeration (giant French soldier, miniature Germans) is deliberate, aimed at assuring even the illiterate viewer that the war is going well for the Allies . It is complemented by Mayakovsky’s folksy verses: “Our French Allies have filled the truck with captured Germans—And our British brothers have a barrel full” . $3,000–5,000

Lot 175. MALEVICH, Kazimir (1878–1935). Text by Vladimir MAYAKOVSKY. Ah, How Terrifying... [Ekh i grozno] . Segodniashnii Lubok, Moscow, 1915 . 22 x 14 75”. . “Ah! How terrifying and how forceful was the fat German walking on Vilna— but at the battle of Ossovets he was sheared like a sheep” . Poster dates to early 1915, when German offensive in the direction of Vilna had grounded to a halt due to their failure to capture the strategically important Ossovets fortress . It is indirectly attributed to Malevich by Andrew Nedd in Picture This: World War I Posters and Visual Culture (Studies in War, Society, and the Military), Pearl James, editor, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 2009 . Behind the deliberate crudeness of Mayakovsky’s versed captions lies the futurists’ belief that aesthetic concepts of Russian elite are completely different from those of uneducated masses . Mayakovsky of ROSTA windows had undoubtedly benefited from these early experiments with trying to reach mass audiences . $2,000–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Posters—WWI 89 Lot 176. (VFT). Anonymous Artist German is smoking ... [Nemets kurit trubku ...] . VFT Publishing, Petrograd, 1914 . Production of Lubok-style posters in the early days of the war was by no means limited to the Today’s Lubok publication, or to Moscow . The Lubok poster shown was the first in the series published in Petrograd under the VFT (later VT) publishing brand . It was likely published in October 1914, when newspapers were filled with reports on German efforts to persuade Turkey to enter the war . Caption reads “German is smoking a pipe, the Turk is nibbling” . Turkey did enter the war on Oct . 28, 1914 . $1,500–2,000

Lot 177. (VFT). Anonymous Artist. Our Side Is Gaining Strength [A Nashego-to Polku] . VFT Publishing, no . 3, printed by Ananiev, 1914 . The poster (reproduced by Nedd in Picture This) pitches seven original members of the Entente against Germany, Austria, and reluctant Turkey . Of interest is the way the artist chooses to minimize the importance of Japan as an ally . Even ten years after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, anti-Japanese sentiment ran pretty high . $1,500–2,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 90 Posters—WWI Lot 178. (VFT) Anonymous Artist. Onward to Bloody Battle. [Na boi Krovavy] . VFT Publishing, Petrograd . This Lubok-style poster is no . 4 in the series published in Petrograd under the VFT Publishing brand . It makes fun of the antiquated Turkish fleet and artillery . Russian public opinion held Turkey to be a weak opponent, especially in the aftermath of the Balkan wars of 1912–13 . $1,500–2,000

Lot 179. ZVORYKIN, Boris (1872–1935). Moscow for Heroic Belgium and Suffering Poland. Moscow, A . A . Levenson, 1914 . Lithograph in colors, 20 .5 x 13 .5” . Two days charity drive to benefit war victims in Belgium and Poland . An often-reproduced poster by an important Silver Age artist . It begs a comparison with the posters produced at exactly the same time, and in the same city by the artists of Today’s Lubok . Just like Malevich and Lentulov, Zvorykin wants to appeal to the Russian national feeling, and turns to an old art form for an inspiration, but instead of the “low art” Lubok, he chooses the high art of the icon, selecting the universally understood archetypal figure of Saint George slaying the dragon . Zvorykin’s is probably an ideal one-time solution, but it is unclear if it could be extended to run an ongoing commentary on the war, the way the Today’s Lubok artists did . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Civil War Posters 91 Lot 180. Invaluable Poster Reference Book. POLONSKY, Vyacheslav (1886–1932) . Russian Revolutionary Poster [Russkii Revoliutsionnyi Plakat] . GIZ, Moscow, 192 pp ., 35 x 27 cm . Red cloth with decorative black and red covers [MoMA 576] . An early study of Russian Revolutionary posters featuring over 850 posters produced between 1917 and 1925 . 54 lithographs, numerous black and white letterpress reproductions . An invaluable reference for a serious collector, replete with information not found in modern publications . Polonsky was editor-in-chief of the influential literary magazine Novy Mir [The New World] from 1926 to 1931 . $2,500–3,500

Lot 181. LAVINSKY, Anton (1893–1968). Text by MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir (1893–1930). ROSTA Windows, no . 568 . 18 x 15” . “Peasants: Scores of Red Army Soldiers had fallen for your freedom . They gave all they got, you too should give back a little” . Four-part series, verses by Vladimir Mayakovsky, art by Anton Lavinsky . ROSTA Windows posters were produced on regular basis in 1919–21 . A powerful tool of Revolutionary propaganda, they reflected the headlines of the day, and were displayed across Russian cities in the windows of the Russian Telegraph Agency . In a country with high levels of illiteracy, they reached an unusually wide audience, far beyond that of regular news readers . While the historic and cultural importance of the ROSTA windows posters had been long recognized, very few of these posters survived . This is a rare opportunity to obtain a set associated with two important names in the history of Soviet avant-garde art . $6,000–8,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 92 Civil War Posters Lot 182. DENI, Victor (Victor Denisov, 1893–1946). This Will Never Happen! Litizdat RSFSR, 1920, 21 x 14” . Often-reproduced Soviet-Polish War period poster by the renowned master . Full caption reads “Peasants! Polish Landlords Want To Enslave You / THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN!” . $600–800

Lot 183. MOOR, Dmitry (Dmitry Orlov, 1883–1946). People’s Court, 1919, 14 x 20”, lithographed in color . Illustrated and discussed by Stephen White in Bolshevik Poster . $600–800

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Pre-WWII Posters and Cards 93 Lot 184. Anonymous Artist. I.V. Stalin, an accordion-folding postcard booklet with one blank page reserved for stamps and address . IZOGIZ, 1929 . Front page features “I . Stalin / 5 in 4” poster by Deni, followed by eight pages of photomontage illustrations . $700–1,000

Lot 185. Anonymous Artist. Klim Voroshilov, an accordion- folding postcard booklet with multiple “pages” of photo­ montage illustrations, and a blank page reserved for stamps and address . IZOGIZ, 1929 . Kliment (Klim) Voroshilov was considered a Civil War hero, and at the time was the People’s Commissar of Navy and Military affairs . $700–1,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 94 Pre-WWII Posters and Cards

Lot 186. Anonymous Artist. Be on Guard. 1929, Lithographed in color, 41 x 27” . $600–800

Lot 187. Anonymous Artist. Komsomol Must Be In The Lead On Every Stalin’s Initiative. $400–500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Pre-WWII Posters and Cards 95 Lot 188. AZORRIIS Collective. Join The Friends of Children Society. Published by the Azerbaijan Chapter of the Friends of Children Society, Baku, 1931, 32 x 21” . Bilingual (Russian/Azeri) photomontage poster produced by AZORRIIS—Azerbaijan Association of Revolutionary Art Workers . In the aftermath of the Civil War, Soviet cities were inundated by millions of street children . Special commissions were created to address the problem; a vast system of state homes for street children was slowly built over years . Much of the funds for these “children colonies” came from the general population through state-sponsored Friends of Children Societies . $600–800

Lot 189. ELISEEV, Konstantin (1890–1968). Imperialists Can’t Stop The Victorious March of The 5-Year Plan. 1930 . Lithographed in color, 40 x 27” . $600–800

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 96 Pre-WWII Posters and Cards Lot 190. IZO Collective of Ukrainian Proletcult. Remember—Children Can Become Besprizorniks... 40 .5 x 26 .5 cm, published by the Central Commission for Children Assistance under the Ukrainian Council of Ministers, 1931 . Photomontage/letterpress typography poster, addressing the members of the Friends of Street Children Society, with slogans reading “Remember—Children Can Become Besprizorniks Just Next To Their Home”, “Mutual Assistance Is A Must For Friends of Children”, and so on . In the early 1920s, Soviet cities were inundated by millions of street children (“besprizorniki”, literally meaning children living without adult supervision) . Special government commissions were created to address the problem; meanwhile, general population was encouraged to help by joining Friends of Children Societies . Elegant Constructivist designs underscore the high quality of the anonymous work that was coming out of IZO collectives in late 1920s and early 1930s . Many IZO collectives attracted talented artists as group leaders, ensuring high quality of collective art . The poster shown is reproduced in Baburina . $600–800

Lot 191. OVSYANNIKOV. XIV Anniversary of October Revolution, 1931, OGIZ-IZOGIZ, Moscow, 26 .5 x 19 .5” . Attractive photomontage poster . $600–800

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Pre-WWII Posters and Cards 97 Lot 192. RODCHENKO, Alexander (1891–1956). Dobrolet (Moscow–Nizhny Novgorod in 2.5–3 hours), 1923 . Lithograph in colors, 27 x 20” . Backed on linen . This is the most desirable of all Soviet aviation posters, on the want lists of scores of aviation enthusiasts . Dobrolet (Dobrolyot would be a more accurate transliteration) was the first Soviet airline, organized in 1923, after the Council on Labour and Defence had created a Civil Aviation Council . Red Air Fleet had lent the new company several Junkers, Vickers, and de Havilland planes . Moscow–Nizhny, and Moscow–Kharkov–Kiev–Odessa were the first two internal routes served by the new company (see R .E G. . Davies, A History of The World Airlines, AMS Press, New York p . 37), so Rodchenko’s is one of the first posters associated with Soviet Civil Aviation . $8,000–12,000

Lot 193. RODCHENKO, Alexander (1891–1956). 9 unused photographic postcards, comprised of Listening In [Radioslushatel] single card, and Physical Culture and Sport [Fizkultura i Sport] set of eight, all issued in 1932 . Listening In is a famous photograph, first used by Rodchenko in 1929 for the cover of a Radioslushatel magazine . The card shown was printed by IZOGIZ in “Moscow” series (no . 98) . The sport set photographs are from the 1932 May Day sports parade in Moscow . Rodchenko fully recognized the importance of mass sport events as a propaganda tool (a lesson powerfully brought to the world’s attention in 1936 by Leni Riefenstahl), and frequently used them in his montage compositions . $2,500–3,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 98 Pre-WWII Posters and Cards Lot 194. SHOROKHOV. Railway Transport Plans for 1933. Published by Drafting And Technical Propaganda Section of Central Asian Railway, Tashkent, 1933, 24 x 34” . Scarcer regional poster printed in the course of the 1933 industrialization campaign . While printed in Uzbekistan, it was intended for use in Kazakhstan . The text is in the Kazakh language . $400–500

Lot 195. SHUBINA, Galina (1902–1980). Stalin’s Bountiful Harvest. 32 .5 x 23 .5” . “Soviet Land Became The Land of Sun and Light / Kolkhoz Fields Are Yielding Stalin’s Bountiful Harvest” . A one-lithograph sheet distillation of Shubina’s “We Live in Utopia” approach to political poster art . Galina Shubina (1902–1980, Meritorious Artist of Russian Federation) attended Petrograd VKHUTEIN, studied graphics under Mitrokhin, and took classes with Konashevich, Radlov, and Petrov Vodkin . It is difficult to imagine, looking at her often melancholic, mannered graphics of the Leningrad period, that in the 1930s she would move to Moscow and start producing political posters . Yet she was quite successful in that field, winning a number of poster competitions through 1930s–50s . $400–500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Pre-WWII Posters and Cards 99 Lot 196. SHUBINA, Galina (1902–1980). Constitution Day, 1940 . Iskusstvo, Moscow - Leningrad, 1940, 23 x 34” . A 1940 poster by Galina Shubina, executed in bright and happy manner typical for the artist . $400–500

Lot 197. SHUBINA, Galina (1902–1980). Give The Red Army Our Best. OGIZ- IZOGIZ, Moscow, 40 x 27” . A poster produced in the course of the “Cadres Are The Deciding Factor” campaign . English translation of the title is approximate . One of the better Shubina posters of the period . $400–500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 100 Pre-WWII Posters and Cards Lot 198. SHUBINA, Galina (1902–1980). Long Live The May Day. OGIZ-IZOGIZ, Moscow, 1937, 37 x 24 .5” . Large size poster by Galina Shubina, in her usual cheery manner . In this case, the discrepancy between the image of the happy citizenry celebrating the 1937 International Workers Day, and the reality of fear and bloody purges that had convulsed the Soviet Union that year is truly jarring . $400–500

Lot 199. SHUBINA, Galina (1902–1980). Everybody Must Vote. IZOGIZ, Moscow, 1939, 33 .5 x 23” . “Everybody Must Vote in Elections for The Supreme Soviet of Russian Federation! Those who want our collective farms to continue to flourish . . will vote for the Bolsheviks . ”. . $400–500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Pre-WWII Posters and Cards 101 Lot 200. VOLOSHIN, A. Warmest Greetings To The Heroes Of Sedov Polar Expedition. 24 .5 x 36 .5” . Rescue of the crew of the Icebreaker Sedov that was trapped by the ice and converted into a Drifting Polar Station . The crew stayed aboard for 812 days . $400–500

Lot 201. XM (Artists Collective, LENIZOGIZ Art Works). Trial By Peers At The Workplace Is An Important Aid in Meeting Plan Quotas. IZOGIZ, Moscow - Leningrad, 1931, 41 x 27 .5” . Well-executed photomontage poster . Cyrillic script XM is an abbreviation for KH(udozhestvennye) M(asterskiye) = Art Works . The lack of individual signatures on posters is typical of the brigade approach to production, in vogue in 1930–31 . Workers guilty of laziness, tardiness, absentee­ism, or hooliganism are brought to shame by the assembly of their peers . Such staged interventions were supposed to straighten up the guilty worker, and teach the rest of participants not to stray from the straight and narrow path . $1,200–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 102 WWII Posters Lot 202. Anonymous Artist. Hit the Enemy Through The Bolshevik Style Harvesting Campaign. Iskusstvo, Leningrad - Moscow, 1943, 27 .5 x 19 .5” . One almost expects a dull poster to match the words-mangling slogan, but the anonymous artist comes up with an interesting, highly original, graphic solution . $400–500

Lot 203. Anonymous Artist. We Will Destroy The Enemy And Defend The Motherland. Iskusstvo, Moscow, 1942, 41 x 23 .5” . Issued to mark the 25th Anniversary of the October Revolution . $400–500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 WWII Posters 103 Lot 204. Anonymous Artist. We’ll Meet The Goals Set By Comrade Stalin. Iskusstvo, Leningrad, 1943, 34 .5 x 23” . The full caption reads “We Will Meet The Goals Set By Comrade Stalin! Hitler’s Army And Its Leaders Will Be Destroyed!” $400–500

Lot 205. Anonymous Artist. Forward, For The Motherland And Stalin. 23 .5 x 36” . $400–500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 104 WWII Posters Lot 206. Anonymous Artist. The Front Thanks The Heroic Youth. WWII period poster . $400–500

Lot 207. Anonymous Artist. On Westward, To Liberate The (Occupied) Soviet Land. 21 .5 x 28 .5” . $400–500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 WWII Posters 105 Lot 208. EFIMOV, A. For Motherland And Comrade Stalin. Iskusstvo, Leningrad, 1941, 27 .5 x 21 .5” . A well-executed poster, signed into production during the second week of the war . Shortly after, A . Efimov signed up as a volunteer . He served on the Leningrad Front through the Siege of Leningrad, and participated (as a posterist) in the war-time exhibition held in still-besieged Leningrad in May 1943 . $400–500

Lot 209. KAZANTSEV, Alexander. Revenge! Fascism Brings Hunger, Poverty and Bankruptcy. Iskusstvo, Leningrad, 1941, 35 x 23 .5” . An iconic poster that finds its way into every major exhibit of Soviet War posters, the 2010 exhibition in the Russian National Library in Moscow being the most recent example . Kazantsev’s posters are limited to the war period; he rarely, if ever, ventured into this field before, or after the war . A well respected painter, he became a professor at the Vera Mukhina Arts Academy in Leningrad . $400–500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 106 WWII Posters Lot 210. KOCHERGIN, Nikolai (1897–1974). Long Live Our Victorious Army—Death To German Occupants. Iskusstvo, Leningrad - Moscow, 28 .5 x 21” . Nikolai Kochergin’s first posters date to 1919 . During the Civil War he managed a poster-producing workshop in Kharkov, and organized the ROSTA Satirical Display Windows local branch in Baku . His body of work in the visual propaganda field also includes 1930s work for IZOSTAT that has only recently attracted serious interest . (See SOVIET IZOTYPE lots in this auction .) Kochergin was also a highly regarded book illustrator and stage designer . $400–500

Lot 211. KOCHERGIN, Nikolai (1897–1974). On To Berlin. Iskusstvo, 1945, 34 x 22” . The full caption reads “Forward—To The Final Defeat Of German Invaders” . Victory is almost certain, and there is less tension in this Kochegin poster than in his works from the beginning of the war . Yet his design shows no traces of celebratory anticipation, just the desire to see the war to its end . $400–500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 WWII Posters 107 Lot 212. KOCHERGIN, Nikolai (1897–1974). Increase Your Effort Tenfold When Working For The Front. Iskusstvo, 1941, 21 x 27 .5” . This August 1941 poster is actually associated with two important artists—Nikolai Kochergin designed it, and Vladimir Lebedev was the art editor . Lebedev’s involvement comes as no surprise, given that this poster was printed at DetGiz printing plant . Kochergin’s composition brings to mind the widely used Civil war era metaphor, that of a worker grabbing a bayonet to defend the Revolution; this is not surprising, as Kochergin’s artistic career started back in 1919 . $400–500

Lot 213. KOCHERGIN, Nikolai (1897–1974). Forward, For The Motherland And Stalin. Voyenno Morskoye Izdatelstvo NVMF, Leningrad, 1941 . 23 x 35 .5” . This Kochergin poster was produced for the publisher associated with the Red Fleet—which explains the design . In the Soviet Union, naval infantry (“morskaya pekhota”) is part of the Navy, not a separate branch of the Armed Forces, like the U .S . Marines . $400–500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 108 WWII Posters

Lot 214. KOKOSH, A. Hitler Germany And Its Vassals Are Facing A Catastrophe. Iskusstvo, Leningrad, 33 x 22 .5” . Caption comes from the Stalin’s Revolution Anniversary Day speech (1943) . Leningrad artist A .D . Kokosh was the member of the “Boyevoi Karandash” group, a collective of Leningrad posterists that had produced hundreds of popular posters during the war . Kokosh’s name regularly appears among the participants of Leningrad artists exhibitions between up till 1947, but disappears from the lists afterward . $400–500

Lot 215. KORETSKY, Victor (1909–1988). Red Army Warrior, Save Us! OGIZ, Moscow, 1943, 29 x 33 .5 cm . A popular, often-reproduced poster . Archetypal images of an imperiled mother with child, or of an innocent child in danger, were widely used by Soviet posterists through WWII, but Koretsky’s work stands out . $400–500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 WWII Posters 109 Lot 216. KSENOFONTOV, Timofei. Glory To The Soldiers Of Leningrad and Vokhov Fronts. Iskusstvo, Moscow - Leningrad, 1944, 34 x 24” . Poster commemorating the end of Siege of Leningrad; in January 1944, Soviet forces of Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts went on offensive, and forced the German 18th Army into retreat . T . Ksenofontov worked mostly as a book illustrator before and after the Patriotic War . During the war, he stayed in besieged Leningrad, and produced a number of powerful posters; his best-known poster is probably “Whoever Cometh Onto Us With A Sword, Will Die By The Sword” . Many years later, Ksenofontov made an appearance in “Muses Did Not Stay Silent”, a remarkable 1973 documentary about the Leningrad art life during the Siege . $400–500

Lot 217. LAKTIONOV, Alexander (1910–1972). Gunners, Destroy The Fascist Vultures. Iskusstvo, Leningrad, 21x14” . Alexander Laktionov, a student of Grabar and Brodsky, was a prominent Soviet artist . His paintings are widely represented in the collections of major Russian museums, and are periodically exhibited abroad . Laktionov produced but a few posters . As such, they are sought by collectors . $400–500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 110 WWII Posters Lot 218. MAGNUSHEVSKY, P.D. Allied Success in Africa and Italy . Iskusstvo, Leningrad, 1943, 35 x 26” . “Mighty strike of Allies topples Rommel and il Duce; von Arnim follows the lead and sheepishly gives up” . Leningrad Tass Windows series poster by P .D . Magnushevsky, verses by L . Shetinin . In 1922, Magnushevky, still a student, took part in Stage Designs Exhibition in Petrograd, along with such artists as Altman, Annensky, Benua, Petrov-Vodkin, and Tatlin . He stayed in Lenngrad through the Siege, and in 1943 was appointed to the team of Leningrad artists and architects ordered to design new monuments to great Russian military leaders of the past—Alexander Nevsky, Peter the Great, Suvorov and Kutuzov . The project, apparently, had never come to fruition . Magnushevsky also worked as a book illustrator . $800–1,200

Lot 219. PINCHUK, Veniamin (1908–1987). We Will Show No Mercy In Revenging The Suffering. Iskusstvo, Leningrad, 1943, 28 x 21” . An important poster, frequently mentioned by Russian art critics when discussing Patriotic War posters produced in Leningrad . Veniamin Pinchuk (1908–1987, Peoples Artist of the Soviet Union since 1969) is best remembered as a sculptor and portraitist . Had he had the desire, he clearly could have become a highly successful poster artist . The quote at the bottom is from Stalin’s speech, and reads “Show no mercy in revenging the bood and tears spilled by our wives and children, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters” . $400–500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 WWII Posters 111 Lot 220. SEMYONOVA, Galina. We’ll Respond to The Enemy Hit With A Devastating Triple-Force Hit of Our Own. Iskusstvo, Leningrad, 1941, 24 x 18 .5” . Talking about fast responses, this poster was signed into production in June 1941—the war was just a week old . $400–500

Lot 221. SITTARO, Alexei. Blood For Blood, Death For Death. Iskusstvo, Leningrad, 1941(?) . 35 .5 x 23 .5” . Leningrad artist Alexei Sittaro turned to posters with the start of the Patriotic War . Among his poster works, “Become The Civil Guard Member” seems to attract the most attention; but the “an eye for an eye” genre poster shown has its own merits, including the much wider color palette . Sittaro regularly participated in art exhibitions of Leningrad artists, and worked as an artist in youth magazines along with Lebedev since late 1920s . Interestingly, on this poster, Lebedev is listed as the art editor . $400–500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 112 WWII Posters Lot 222. SOKOLOV, V. TASS WINDOW #1478. Workers of Chemical Industry ..., lithographed on paper, Moscow 1945 . TASS Windows played a major role in Soviet poster art of WWII . These large size posters, stenciled and produced in relatively small runs (1,000 copies at most; some are thought to be unique) were the direct descendants of the ROSTA Windows of the Civil War period . TASS Windows were mostly numbered, from No . 1 to No . 1485, and ended shortly after the war . Sokolov’s poster dates to the end of the TASS Windows run, when war-related themes were replaced by the theme of reconstruction . It contains a call on workers of the chemical industry to increase production . $500–700

Lot 223. VANDYSHEV, Ignaty (1891–1964). Glory to Stalin’s Falcons! Iskusstvo, 28 x 21 .5” . Did a comic book hero jump into a time machine to save humanity from the Nazi peril? Even the caption to this amazing poster is suggestive of superhero ethos . A philosopher would probably posit that heroic myth imagery is universal; but both the war- time Soviet artists and the creators of “Captain America” would undoubtedly tell you that any resemblances are purely coincidental . Ignaty Vandyshev studied art in Moscow in 1920s, where he attended VKhuTEIN , and became the member of AKhR . He left Moscow for the provinces in 1930, and had spent most of his life in Chelyabinsk (Ural Region) . During the Patriotic War, he produced posters for the “Boyevoi Karandash” association of Leningrad posterists—some of the Karandash artists were evacuated to Chelyabinsk, so the association had a branch there . $400–500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 WWII Posters 113 Lot 224. WWII Georgian Poster. Allies Land in Sicily. Tbilisi, 1943, 27 .5 x 18”; text in Georgian . Last minute addition, so we had no chance to research this poster . The rifle and pen symbol at the top is indicative of the influence that Boyevoi Karandash publications exerted on regional posters production . Additional information will be posted on the website as it becomes available . $800–1,200

Lot 225. WWII Georgian Poster. Battle of Kursk. Tbilisi, 1943, 27 .5 x 18” . Last minute addition, with text in Georgian, so we had no chance to research this poster . Dated July 1943, with tanks playing prominent role in the picture . Almost certainly, related to the Battle of Kursk, that ranks next to the Battle of Stalingrad as the key battle of the Patriotic War . Additional information will be posted on the website as it becomes available . $800–1,200

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 114 Artwork, Sketches Lot 226. Anonymous Artist. We Are Beating The Vultures... Artwork for a WWII poster, watercolor and ink on paper, mounted on linen, ca . 1943 . $2,000–3,000

Lot 227. Anonymous Artist. Revolutionary Moscow Greets The III Comintern Congress. Watercolor on paper, 1921 . Submission for the student poster design competition held in VKHUTEMAS (Higher Art and Technical Studios), the hotbed of the Soviet avant-garde movements . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Artwork, Sketches 115 Lot 228. Anonymous Artist. Revolutionary Moscow Greets The III Comintern Congress. Watercolor on paper, 1921 . Submission for the student poster design competition held in VKHUTEMAS . $1,000–1,500

Lot 229. ANTONOVSKY, Boris (1892–1934). The Great Depression. 19 .5 x 16” . Pencil on paper, 1930 . Preparatory sketch for a political caricature . Boris Antonovsky was one of the most popular Soviet caricaturists of his time . He published his works in various humor magazines and regular newspapers since 1909 . He worked as a book illustrator, and produced several cartoon films . Many of his political satires were published in the Krokodil . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 116 Artwork, Sketches Lot 230. ANTONOVSKY, Boris (1892–1934). Best Friends. (American Captalists Approve Of Japanese Imperialsm). 1930, 14 x 21” . Preparatory sketch for a political caricature . $1,000–1,500

Lot 231. Dolgorukov, Nikolai (1902–1980). To Avoid Car Accidents, Check Your Breaks More Often. Artwork for a traffic safety poster, 31 x 22 .5 cm . Gouache, pencil and photomontage . Signed by the artist on right margin and dated . An appealing and unusual combination of Constructivist compositional aesthetics and traffic safety advocacy . $5,000–7,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Artwork, Sketches 117 Lot 232. Golubets, N. Sverdlov Square Subway. Gouache on paper affixed to thick paper, c . 1934, 66 x 43 cm . Signed lower right . Construction of the Moscow subway . In an imagined cross-section view, the work continues day and night underneath the surface, as the denizens of the great city go about their business, oblivious to the enormous engineering project happening beneath them . $2,000–3,000

Lot 233. KLINCH, Boris (Garry Petrushansky, 1892–1946). A Commission I Am Not Afraid Of.[Vot takoi by komissii ya ne poboyalsya]. 36 x 27 cm . Pen, ink, watercolor and photo collage on stiff card . Signed lower right with signature partially obscured . Boris Klinch is considered the pioneer of the Soviet satirical photomontage . His best works are compared with those of Heartfield, whom Klinch credited with arousing his interest in political photomontage) . The artwork being offered was prepared for the caricature in the satirical magazine Krokodil, no . 2 [January], 1933 . Klinch later reused the “cloning” concept in his acclaimed montage Nikita Izotov (1934) . $4,000–6,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 118 Artwork, Sketches Lot 234. KLUTSIS, Gustav (1895–1944). Constructivist sketch, ca . 1921 . Pen, ink on paper, and mounted . Provenance: collection of Nina Lapidus, Riga . Eary work of Gustav Klucis, very different from the photomontages he is best remembered for . Klucis taught, wrote, and produced political art for the Soviet State all his life, and in the end the State destroyed him . His art, however, had outlived the State . $6,000–8,000

Lot 235. KLUTSIS, Gustav (1895–1944). Constructivist sketch, ca . 1921 . Pen, ink on paper, and mounted . A companion piece to the previous lot . Provenance: collection of Nina Lapidus, Riga . $6,000–8,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Artwork, Sketches 119 Lot 236. PAVLOV, Semen (1893–1941). The Plant. Coal and sanguine on paper, c . 1931, 13 x 18 .5” . Pavlov attended Arts Academy in Petrograd (1917–22), where he studied under Kardovsky, Petrov-Vodkin, and Shukhaev . He was one of the founding members of the Leningrad branch of AKhRR (1924), and taught in VKhUTEIN, and later in VKhUTEMAS . He was considered an outstanding master of coal and sanguine drawings . $1,000–1,500

Lot 237. PAVLOV, Semen (1893–1941) The Pipes. Coal and sanguine on paper, c . 1931, 18 .5 x 13” . $1,000–1,500

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 120 Artwork, Sketches Lot 238. [STENBERG2] Torgsin Club—Main Entrance. Gouache on composition board, 48 x 65 .5 cm . Dated 28 December 1932 lower right . Sketch for an unrealized architectural and interior design project for the Culture and Recreation Club for the workers of Torgsin system . The Stenberg brothers, Georgy (1900– 1933), and Vladimir (1899–1982) practiced in a range of media . They were sculptors, posterists, book illustrators, theater designers, architects, and draftsmen, as in this example . Their versatile design work ran the gamut from clothing to rail carriages . $5,000–7,000

Lot 239. [STENBERG2] Torgisn Club. Gouache on composition board, 48 x 65 .5 cm . Dated Dec . 27, 1932 . Sketch for the unrealized Culture and Recreation Club for the Workers of Torgsin Trust . $5,000–7,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Artwork, Sketches 121 Lot 240. [STENBERG2] Torgsin Club—Recreation Room. Gouache on composition board, 48 x 65 .5 cm . Dated Dec . 20, 1932 . Sketch for the unrealized Culture and Recreation Club for the Workers of Torgsin Trust . $5,000–7,000

Lot 241. VALISHEVSKIY, Sigismund (1897–1936). Aphorisms of the Wise Khan [Aforizmy Mudrogo Khana] . A handwritten “book” on six pages, signed (in several places) “Ziggy”, with humorous, part-”zaum” dedication “Solely for Ilia and Kyrill—Please write!!! Why or whyyyyyyyyy don’t you write? June 1917—zang, tum, tumb!!!” . A 20-year-old Futurist decides to emulate Kozma Prutkov . Aforizmy is an inside Futurist joke of sorts, and involves a constipated khan being tortured by questions about German Symbolist painters . Artist Sigizmund “Ziggy” Valishevsky was an active member of the Futurists Syndicate, and in 1918–20 collaborated with both the Zdanevich brothers and Kruchenykh on several books . $2,000–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 122 Artwork, Sketches Lot 242. ZDANEVICH, Kirill (1892–1969). Concept sketch for a book cover. The book in question was, likely, the Russian-language edition of Tiflis by the Georigan writer Demna Shengelaya . Shengelaya (1897–1980) is considered one of the best Georgian writers of his generation; a 1930s Soviet encyclopedia described him as “master of language, a fellow traveler steadily getting closer to Proletarian ideology” . The same article classifies Tiflis, written in 1927, as “a jerk back to Symbolism” . $3,000–5,000

Lot 243. ZDAVENICH, Kirill (1892–1969). My “Fruddy” Kruchenykh [“Prug” Kruchenykh.]. Irregularly shaped collage (appx . 19 .5 x 31 .5 cm), ink and color paper on carton; signed . Caricature of Zdanevich’s close friend, poet-futurist Alexei Kruchenykh (“KRUCH”) . Note the “Jabberwockian” inscriptions [e .g ., the use of a portmanteau word “Prug”, likely made up by merging words PRiyatel (buddy) and drUG (friend)] . Interest in wordplay and “zaum” was shared by all Futurists, and not limited to Futurist poets! $8,000–12,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Photography 123 Lot 244. Two Important Books on Photography. (1) TROSHIN, Nikolai (text and photos), DEINEKO, Olga, book design . Fundamentals of Composition in Photography. Nikolai Troshin (1897–1990) was an avant-garde painter, graphic artist and illustrator; Troshin was the Artist-in-Chief of the USSR in Construction series . His wife, Olga Deineko (1897–1970), also was an accomplished artist and book designer . (2) MOHOLY-NAGY, Laszlo (1895–1946) . Painting Or Photography. Very scarce Russian translation of Moholy Nagy’s influential book Malerei, Fotografie, Film. Preserves most of the photgraphs, and letterpress graphics of the original . $1,000–1,500

Lot 245. KLINCH, Boris (1892–1946)—photomontages. Chapayev . Presentation album produced by the Propaganda Section of the Central Archives Directorate (TsAU), Moscow, 1935 . 58 photo pages, 28 x 22 .5 cm each, in a decorative red calico presentation folder with silver lettering reading “To the Delegate of the VIIth Congress of Soviets” . Edited by N . Maltsev and I . Kutyakov . Called a photoalbum by its creators, this is really a book about the popular Civil War commander Vasily Chapaev in 58 photomontage “pages” . A monumental effort on the part of Boris Klinch . Klinch is mostly remembered for satirical photomontages, but he did produce some powerful “positive” propaganda as well (“Nikita Izotov” being an often mentioned example) . $2,500–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 124 Photography Lot 246. RODCHENKO, Alexander (1891–1956). John Heartfield [Dzhon Gartfild] . Photocollage on exhibition mount, 1939, 24 x 30 cm . With A .M . Rodchenko studio address and telephone number stamped on verso, and a lengthy note in red pencil in the artist’s hand with the date: “The photo was done at the flat of the writer S . M . Tretyakov . Here I first met and photographed John . The entire evening Heartfield silently showed his works ”. John Heartfield (Helmut Herzfelde, 1891–1968) was one of the leaders of German Dadaism . A member of the German Communist Party, he transformed his photocollages into a political medium, using his art to promote his ideas . In 1931–32, Heartfeld traveled to the USSR to give lectures; over 300 of his works were exhibited in Moscow . It was during this visit that the meeting with Rodchenko and Tretyakov must have taken place . A 1931 photograph of Heartfield by Rodchenko taken from a different angle is now in the Stiftung Archiv der Akademie der Künste, Berlin (John-Heartfield-Archiv, No . 589) . In 1933, Heartfield was forced to flee Germany . His satirical collages aimed at Hitler and the Nazis produced in exile (first in Czechoslovakia, and later in England) had won him the worldwide recognition, no longer limited to the audiences sharing his ideology . A unique document of a historic meeting between the two great masters of the photomontage . $20,000–30,000

Lot 247. SHTERENBERG, Abram (1894–1979). Seated Portrait Photo of Lili Brik, signed in the mount by photographer . 13 .5 x 8 .3 cm . Vintage gelatin silver-print on carte-postale paper, tipped onto folding paper mount, the mount signed in brown ink by the photographer . Abram Shterenberg came to Moscow to live with his brother, painter David Shterenberg, in 1926 . He worked as a photojournalist, but soon became known as an outstanding portrait photographer . Experiments with soft-focus lenses, extreme close-ups, and special printing techniques eventually led to accusations of formalism . He then returned to photojournalism, continuing to work as a TASS news agency photo correspondent for many years . Mayakovsky’s muse Lili Brik was also the subject of one of Rodchenko’s most famous photographs, used to the great effect on the cover of Mayakovsky’s Pro Eto (1923) . $2,000–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Photography 125 Lot 248. SHTERENBERG, Abram (1894–1979). Full-length Portrait of Lili Brik, signed in the mount by photographer . 13 7. x 8 .3 cm . Full-length portrait photograph . Vintage gelatin silver-print, tipped onto paper mount, the mount signed in brown ink by the photographer . Likely taken at the same time as the seated portrait of the previous lot . $2,000–3,000

Lot 249. SHTERENBERG, Abram (1894–1979). Children in the USSR [Deti v SSSR], Prague, 1933 . Hand-made album of 12 vintage photographs mounted on card and bound by string with photo­collage front cover (24 .9 x 34 .9 cm), captions hand written in Czech . Provenance: Prague University stamp on verso of front cover . Rare, if not unique, hand-made album of Shternberg’s photographs of young Soviet children in a state-run summer camp . The assignment allowed Shternberg the photojournalist to practice his skills as an artistic photographer . $5,000–7,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 126 Photography Lot 250. SoyuzPhoto Reporters Collective May 1, 1933 in Moscow, [1 Maya 1933 v Moskve] . SoyuzPhoto . 60 photographs, each 17 .5 x 23 .5 cm, housed in a gilt-lettered blue textured paper portfolio . Seldom offered complete suite of vintage press photographs . 1933 International Labor Day festivities in Moscow seen through the eyes of better Soviet photographers, with Blokhin, Debanov, Evzerikhin, Kudoyarov, Olefin, Shternberg, and Shoikhet among the contributors . There are shots of workers, children, dancers, musicians, soldiers, and sailors . Much of the coverage concentrates on Red Square, with the military parade and demonstration streaming past enormous images of Lenin and Stalin . The multitudes cheer and wave their banners, tanks roll by, and fighter planes fly overhead . $8,000–12,000

Lot 251. Russian Strong Men. Collection of early twentieth century photographic postcards of bodybuilders, weightlifters and wrestlers, attractively mounted and matted (cards shown were taken out of mounts for photographing, and then placed back into mounts) . 19 invidually mounted gelatin carte postale photographs (1 hand colored), and 4 paired carte postales . Altogether 27 cards, each measuring 13 .5 x 8 .5 cm . Semi-nude photographs of athletes were popular in pre-revolutionary Russia . As one catalog describer of such cards put it, “While French postcards were famous for their cheescake, Russians supplied the beefcake” . Athletes were usually posed as classical statuary, largely due to the influence of the father of modern bodybuilding, George Sandow, who promoted “the Grecian Ideal” as the perfect physique . Russia being a conservative country, classical arrangements also had a benefit of toning down the homoerotic content of these pictures . $2,000–3,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Photography 127 Lot 252. Leo Tolstoy, and people around him. Group of 49 old photographs set in an old (near contemporary) photo album, tucked in, two per page, in a passé-par-tout-like setting . These smallish photographs are clearly not a work of a professional—some are out of focus, other are very similar to each other, as if the photographer was not sure of the first shot, and gave it another try . They are of immense interest though, as they were clearly taken by a person close to the Tolstoy household, and provide an intimate view of life in Yasnaya Polyana . There are images of the writer lying down on a couch, on a horse surrounded by a group of kids, posing for a photographer alone and with his wife, etc . An exciting group, that likely contains images previously not known to specialists . The photographs reportedly came from a family related to Vladimir Chertkov (1854– 1936), one of Tolstoy’s closest associates . Occasional fading, a few photographs with damage to margins or cut down . This had probably occurred decades ago, when the photographs were extracted from their original settings, and moved into the current album . $15,000–20,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 128 Soviet Pictorial Statistics and Isotope Lot 253. SOVIET ISOTYPE: Pictographic Stencils. Collection of approximately 250 pictographic stenciled cutouts from 1930s, with pictograms related to industry, transportation, agriculture, education, architecture, politics, sports, and recreation . Viewers familiar with Isotype pictograms will immediately trace some of designs back to Gert Arntz (1900–1998) . Arntz had spent much time between 1931 and 1934 in the Soviet Union, working with the artists of IZOSTAT (Institute of Pictorial Statistics; created in 1931, with direct input from the creator of the Vienna Method, and Isotype, Otto Neurath) . IZOSTAT survived several years as a standalone organization, and many of the pictograms in this collection were, undoubtedly, designed independently of Arntz . IZOSTAT’s first leader, I . Ivanitsky, was a firm believer in Neurath’s Vienna Method (as evidenced by his 1932 book), and in many ways, early IZOSTAT works closely followed the Vienna Method prescriptions . Extensive use of pictograms in early IZOSTAT designs are an important area of commonality . To help the viewer in acquiring the numeric information, Neurath emphasized clarity and simplicity over the visual flourish . He declared flat schematic symbols to be vastly preferable to potentially misleading realistic images, and was against the use of perspective in design . To a large degree, this view was shared by the IZOSTAT workers . There were, however, forces at work that had eventually led to a divergence between Neurath and IZOSTAT . Neurath rejected any design elements that could distract the viewer, but his Soviet colleagues could not afford such purism . The official mission of IZOSTAT was to produce effective visual materials for government campaigns that involved large amounts of statistics . Soviet campaigns invariably included a strong propaganda component that could not be ignored . Thus, IZOSTAT designs from the very beginning included propaganda images superimposed on the formalized educational diagrams . With time, the propaganda components came to dominate the design . With the ascent of Social Realism as the predominant art style, IZOSTAT teams had to further tone down any design elements that could be considered formalistic . The end result was that all work on pictogram development came to a standstill . Due to their temporal nature, original stencils used to produce “formalistic picstats” had all but disappeared . A rare chance to acquire (and then to play with) an early isotype “playset” . $28,000–35,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Soviet Pictorial Statistics and Isotope 129 Lot 254. (SOVIET ISOTYPE) KOCHERGIN, Nikolai (1897–1974), possibly with ARNTZ, Gert (1900–1998), illustrators; IVANITSKY, Ivan, editor. To Catch Up With And Surpass in 10 Years ... 70 Picture Diagrams [Dognat i Peregnat v 10 let ... 70 kartinnykh diagramm] . IZOGIZ, 1931 . Clothed box (11 x 15 x 3 cm) with bronze typeset on top, holding 70 postcards (pictorial diagrams), and an introductory brochure . The first documented use of the Vienna Method of Pictorial Statistics in the Soviet Union, actually predating the formation of IZOSTAT . The Dognat i Peregnat set was, most likely, produced with the direct participation of the Method’s inventor, Otto Neurath, and of his leading artist Gerd Arntz, who in 1931 traveled from Austria to the USSR to train Soviet designers and statisticians in the Method, which heavily depended on a collaborative team approach . An important set . Nikolai Kochergin was a talented stage designer and book illustrator, with extensive experience in the field of propaganda graphics since the Civil War years (head of Kharkov Poster studio, later with ROSTA workshop in Baku) . $6,000–8,000

Lot 255. (SOVIET ISOTYPE) KOCHERGIN, Nikolai (1897–1974), illustrator. War Preparations Under the Guise of Disarmament—An Album of Diagrams [Pod Maskoi Razoruzheniya—Voina, Albom Diagramm] . Leniizogiz–Izostat, Leningrad, 1933 . 31 pp ., 30 x 23 .5 cm . A tour de force for Nikolai Kochergin . His designs are characteristic of the evolution that the Wiener Bildstatistik method had undergone in the Soviet Union—Neurath’s rules are generally complied with as far statistical data goes, but diagrams also include strong visual images intended to emotionally impact the viewer . $5,000–7,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 130 Textiles Lot 256. SOVIET TEXTILE DESIGNS, LATE 1920s. One of a kind collection of 52 textile samples attractively mounted for the display . Stylistically, these textiles date to the “early ornamentalist” period (second half of 1920s) . While few samples display abstract geometric shapes, the majority of designs are constructed of pictogram-like symbols—people, machines, planes, trains . When used for clothing, such patterns would establish the wearer’s image as a person full of energy, and in tune with the country at work . To this describer, they bring to mind the names of such textile artists as Gruin, Lapshina, Lotonina, and Matveeva . The Constructivist influence is obvious in this collection, as should be expected—many younger artists of the Moscow and Ivanovo textile factories came from VKHUTEMAS and VKHUTEIN, where the Textiles Department was run by Varvara Kulagina . Another famous avant-garde artist, Lyubov Popova, also lectured at VKHUTEMAS, and became the head of Design Studio at the First State Textile Print Factory in Moscow . Popva was known to say that not one of her artistic successes ever gave her such deep satisfaction as the sight of a peasant woman and a worker buying lengths of her material . The description worthy of the quality of this collection would require a lengthy essay, and the services of a dedicated specialist, but its importance is practically self-evident . Participation in fabric design was an important phenomenon of the Soviet artistic life of the 1920s, and this is a unique opportunity to obtain a quality collection in the field where even individual samples rarely come to market . A few samples are shown, but personal examination is strongly recommended . $28,000–35,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Miscellany—Late Offerings 131 Lot 257. Four Theater Programs From the Silver Age. Theater and concert programs illustrated by major World of Art artists— Alexander GOLOVIN (1863–1930), Ivan BILIBIN (1876–1942), and Boris ZVORIKIN (1872–1935): • Two 1903 programs by GOLOVIN for the Moscow: one for the January 24, 1903 performance of Berlioz’s opera Les Troyens a Carthage with sets by Konstantin Korovin and ballet choreography by Petipa (4 pp ., 24 1. x 18 7. cm, decorative design to 1st and 4th page), another for the 1903 performance of A . N . Ostrovskii’s comedy Volki i Ovtsy (4 pp ., 22 1. x 17 .3 cm, slightly trimmed, decorative design to 1st and 4th page) . • 1910 program of liturgical music performance designed by BILIBIN (35 .4 x 26 cm broadside, three- color design on one side, text in red and black on another) . • 1910 program by ZVORIKIN for a benefit performance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera Sadhu with sets designed by Roving at Bolshoi Theater in Moscow (8 pp ., 29 .5 x 24 .2 cm, with colored decorated wrappers) . $1,500–2,000

Lot 258. Isadora Duncan in Russia. Promotional booklet published in anticipation of 1905 Isadora Duncan’s performances in Moscow—a compilation of enthusiastic reviews of her performances in Europe and St . Petersburg by a range of critics, notably Valerian Svetlov and Maximilian Voloshin (22 pp ., 22 1. x 11 .9 cm) . Also a ticket to, and a program from, Duncan’s first performance in Moscow during her 1907 tour . A fascinating group . $800–1,200

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 132 Miscellany—Late Offerings Lot 259. 1930s Memorabilia. Two interesting cultural relics of the Soviet life in 1930s: (a) Shock Worker’s Certificate of Merit [Gramota Udarnika], 1933 . 16 x 23 cm illustrated certificate, in hard cover folio; (b) Things The Metro Rider Should Know [Chto dolzhen znat passazhir Metropolitena], Moskovsky Rabochy, 1935, 64 pp ., 6 .2 x 13 cm booklet in foldover carton covers . An interesting last minute addition . The design of the “Certificate of Merit” clearly exhibits Constructivist influences . The artist’s name is given as S .F . Sokolov . Our quick search through available resources brought up the biography of an artist named Sergei Fedorovich Sokolov, who in 1933 held an important position in Moscow, and could had been entrusted with designing an important certificate with a printing of 1,000,000(!) . This identification comes with a caveat though—this Sergei Sokolov was the leader of the Association of Realist Artists (OKhR) . As for the “Moscow subway” miniature booklet, it really deserves a separate listing . It is printed in two colors, features unusual typography, and includes photographs of the above-ground pavilions, and of the underground platforms for every Metro station . The foldover upper wrapper opens to reveal the system map . (There is also the required photograph of Stalin, and an interesting group photo of the trio in charge of construction—Kaganovich, Khrushev, and Bulganin) . Moscow Metro was the source of deserved pride for the regime that had spared no resources in its construction, and the booklet reflects the same attitude . $500–700

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Miscellany—Late Offerings 133 Lot 260. Kruchenykh, Alexei (1886–1968), contributions from Khlebnikov, Velimir (1885–1922) Mutiny I [Myatezh Kniga I], Tiflis (?), 41°, 1920 . Thin colored typographed wrappers, 16 sheets (eight unstitched double sheets) of varying size, mostly 17 .5–18 x 22 .5–23 cm . Hectographed text handwritten by Kruchenykh, one page of hectographed typewritten text . Several pages incorporate drawings by K . Bykov, one page is best characterized as Kruchenykh’s word picture . The book was produced at the time of paper scarcity, apparently from whatever paper Kruchenykh had managed to scrounge at his office (he was working as a draftsman for Erzerum Railway at the time) . One page with a “zaum” poem features a small pasteup with a hectographed “zaum” word; it is unclear to this describer if this represents an author’s correction . Rare—less than 10 copies recorded. Hectographic books were produced by Kruchenykh in a decidedly non-traditional way that presented a clear (and in part deliberate) departure from the Gutenberg tradition . They were unordered, somewhat random assemblages with text components occasionally reused in books of a different title, showing no continuity of style within the assembly . They were comprised of sheets of varying quality within the same book, some clear, others barely readable . The shape of script, graphics and rhythm changed seemingly at random; yet the creator was clearly paying attention to the overall composition, making sure that reader’s attention would not wane . Among the hectographic books by Kruchenyklh, Myatezh I clearly stands out in terms of content, as if the port had made a deliberate attempt to expand the potential audience for his work . There are several zaum pieces included, but most of poems, while experimental in nature, are more accessible to a general reader . The highlight of the book is the tongue-in-cheek “Vzyatiye Neba” (Controlling the Universe), by Khlebnikov-Kruchenykh (1920), in which “budetlyane” (neologism translating as people of the future, the Futurists) take control of the Solar system . As the first step, new Masters of the Universe order the planets to stay in their orbits; this, act proves the Futurist superiority over mere mortals, because “controlling the planets” is a much larger undertaking than ruling the people . An important book . “Kruchenykh’s works have the appearance of sloppiness and disorder . Their aura as artworks is paradoxically hidden in an overtly anti-market stance that makes them all the more valuable today … By returning to the book its gestural physicality, by deconstructing its rigid linearity, Kruchenykh opened the mind to the post-Gutenberg era that is upon us ”—Gerald. Janecek, in “Krychenykh contra Gutenberg”,in The Russian Avant-Garde Book: 1910–1934, edited by Deborah Wye, Margit Rowell . The Museum of Modern Art, New York 2002 (referred to as [MoMA] through the catalogue) . $30,000–40,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 134 Late Arrivals Lot 261. KORF, Modest (1800–1876). The Coronation of Tsar Nicholas I. [Vosshestvie na prestol imperatora Nikolaya I-go]. St Petersburg, 1857 . One loose lithograph illustration . Third edition (first edition for the general public) . 236 pp ., 24 .5 x 16 cm . An authorized account of the conditions and events that led up to the death of Tsar Alexandr I and the coronation of Nicholas I . The book was “compiled, by special command of the Emperor Alexander II, by His Imperial Majesty’s Secretary of State, Baron M . Korff ”. English , French and German translations appeared in 1857 . Not in Fekula . $3,500–5,000

Lot 262. PALAUZOV, Spiridon (1818–1872). The Rumanian Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia— Political History. [Rumynskiya gosnodarstva Valakhiya i Moldaviya v istoriko-politicheskom otnoshenii]. A .E . Kozhanchikov Publishing, St . Petersburg, [1859] . 296 pp ., 23 .8 x 15 cm . Two frontispieces with tissue guard . Publisher’s full light brown calf bordered in gilt . Some wear to boards, endpapers and end leaves with toning to margins, institutional stamps to a few chapter headings . Russian historian of Bulgarian origin, Nikolai Palauzov was primarily interested in the history of the Balkans . He served under Paskevich during the Russian occupation of Danubian Principalities (1853–566) that had led to the Crimean War . $3,500–5,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 Late Arrivals 135 Lot 263. CHELIEV, Egor (1771–1837). Commentary for the Plan of the Metropolitan City of Moscow. [Izyasnenie k prozhektirovannomu planu stolichnago goroda Moskvy] published by Avgust Semen, Moscow, 1824 . 101 pp ., 22 1. x 13 .5 cm . One hand-colored stipple-engraved portrait, large folding engraved map of Moscow (60 .5 x 60 cm) . Near- contemporary brown morocco, covers with outer gilt roll-tooled border surrounding a large neo-gothic panel blocked in blind, the flat spine divided into six compartments by gilt fillets and a roll tool, lettered in the second compartment, the others with simple gilt repeat tooling, original orange glazed-paper wrappers bound in . Moscow had suffered considerable damage during the Patriotic War of 1812; surveyor, architect and builder/inventor Egor Cheliev played an important role in rebuilding the city after the 1812 fire . His Commentary was originally issued in Russian in 1818–19, and was followed by the updated and expanded bilingual Russian/French edition of 1824 that includes an esssay on the history of Moscow . $7,000–9,000

Fall Auction Mercer and Middlesex Auctions, Llc December 2, 2010 An Auction of Russian Books, Posters and Other Collectibles

December 2, 2010 at 1:00 pm Cherrystone Auction Galleries 119 W. 57 Street, 3rd Floor New York, NY 10019

Pre-auction viewing at Cherrystone Auction Galleries November 30–December 1, 9 am–4 pm. Viewing on December 2 will be limited and must be arranged in advance. Phone: +1.609.632.1692 Fax: +1.609.235.9667 email: [email protected] Website: www.memiauctions.com