Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair, 16-18 November 2018
1 www.bookvica.com F O R E W O R D
Dear friends and collegues,
Bookvica team is happy to present to you our new catalogue for the upcoming Boston International Antiquarian Book fair 2018! Our focus is once again on the life of the USSR in 1920s-1930s when new ideas have found its embodiment in the life of the Soviet man. The study of a Soviet man begins with Architecture - where new families lived and worked, what new cities looked like, what furniture they used, what transport they used, etc. A lot of attention was paid towards bringing up a new generation so section Children was another of our focuses with 6 books about and for Soviet children. A big section is dedicated to art for masses and early Soviet culture - workers clubs. agitation and propaganda newspapers, book illustration and typography, etc. Books on Soviet Fashion and Samizdat books are taking us a bit further in time but one can learn a lot from them about early Soviet period. Soviet theatre in 1920s-30s was at its peak, so we gathered a few interesting books of that period with numerous photographs. Art Theory section explores a complicated yet booming art life of the country - from avant-garde and constructivism to purism. Our traditional sections include Literature (p. 65) and Science (p.27) with some classical works by Darwin, Lobachevsky, Tsiolkovsky, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and others. There are special sections dedicated to Ukrainian books, Women, and Shakespeare in Turkish in the end of the catalogue, don’t miss it!
Bookvica team November, 2018
2 I ARCHITECTURE
01 [SOVIET WORKER MUST REST] Doma otdykha: Sbornik statei i materialov [i.e. Pensions: Collection of Materials and Articles]. Moscow; Petrograd: Gosizdat, [1923]. 225, [5] pp.: ill., 4 pl. 27x18 cm. In original printed wrappers. Very good. Partially uncut. Tears and small losses of the spine and extremities of the wrappers, signature on the t.p. (ink), damp stains on margins of pages.
Only copy in the First edition. One of 3000 copies. Very rare. British Library This edition is an amazing evidence of labour hygiene that according to the Worldcat. was initiated in a new country - annual two week vacation for which government was determined to create a public system of sanatoriums and pensions. Sanatoriums and pensions (‘doma otdykha’ literally means houses of rest) were a distinctive feature of the USSR from the very beginning of its existence and for other socialist countries. They were designed to provide rest for workers. Initially the sanatoriums were much more medical institutions than resorts. Employees got vouchers to go there, often free of charge. The emphasis was made on the fresh air, sports and educational activities. Extraordinary numerous photographs of the exterior, interior and people and their activities are gathered in this edition as well as materials, statistical data, approximate list of inventory for sanatorium of 100 people, schedule, sport exercises, food, walks and excursions, lectures and other educational and entertainment activities. Highlight of this edition is the article by Nikolai Semashko (1874-1949), People’s Commissar of Public Health from 1918 until 1930; he was one of the organizers of the health system in the Soviet Union and promoter of such sanatoriums and ‘right for rest’, social and private hygiene, etc. In the end of the book there are design projects of sanatoriums which come with the last article on constructing such facilities by Moscow architect Dmitry Chelishchev (1879-1964). This is an excellent evidence of the time: not only it provides a
ARCHITECTURE 3 data on a very speci c eld of architecture but also a glimpse at the life in early USSR. $950
Cover. No 01
Photograph. No 01
Design project. No 01
ARCHITECTURE 4 Photographs. No 01
02 [SOVIET MODEL HOUSING] Tipovye proekty i konstruktsii zhilishchnogo stroitel’stva, rekomenduemye na 1930 [i.e. Model Projects and Housing Designs Recommended for 1930]. Moscow: Gos. tekhnich. izd-vo, [1929]. 156 pp.: ill. 35x26 cm. In original constructivist wrappers. Professional restoration of the spine and margins of wrappers, occasional foxing, otherwise a very good clean copy.
Worldcat First edition. Rare. One of 12100 copies. located copies A rare collection of project designs for model housing of Early in collections of Getty and experimental Soviet era which came to an end in 1930s. Columbia El Lissitzky, M. Ginzburg, I. Gurevich and other designers and University. architects were involved in creation of project and text materials for this album. Album design by E. Nekrasov. The Stroikom of RSFSR published this album of the most
ARCHITECTURE 5 valuable model projects to facilitate specialists of all sorts with materials and to help them avoid spending time and money on unsatisfactory projects and also “to present the most rational constructions of the time” which is why this album is so interesting to study nowadays. The first part of the album is dedicated to plans ofmodel projects of one, two, three and four bedroom apartments. A part of these projects were considered innovative and praised by foreign architects like Bruno Taut and Le Corbusier during their visit (according to introduction). Even though these projects were seen as very perspective, the ideal was a commune house devoid of any signs of Western bourgeois society and corresponding to the ideology of the new Soviet society (commune house even featured on the front cover). Only a few such houses were built at that point so there were not much data and the authors included such project in this album to provide information and initiate a conversation about reconstruction of Soviet housing based on such commune houses. El Lissitzky wrote a part on furnishing of houses. Lissitzky understood that with designing the furniture one must take in account a real Soviet consumer and his possibilities, so he turned his attention to furnishing apartments taking in consideration that most of families lived in one bedroom at that time. This situation demanded a new approach to designing furniture for masses. “The very change in the type of housing, - wrote L. Lissitzky, - already determines the change in the type of furniture ... it is impossible to mechanically pile up one or two rooms with what was intended for 6 rooms. Our one dwelling is intended to perform a number of functions - food, work, rest, and it should be equipped accordingly to it”. Lissitzky also commented on future reconstruction of day to day life of a Soviet man: “The next stage is the transition from the individual living cell to the commune housen and setting the challenge of equipping a whole collective with furniture”. This was said in 1929 and next year in Dresden he presented a life size project of a living cell in commune house. The second part of the album includes technical information on general rationalisation of constructions, stairs, intermediate floors, windows, doors, walls, etc. supplemented with numerous schemes, photographs, charts. $2,500
ARCHITECTURE 6 Cover. No 02 Design project. No 02
No 02
ARCHITECTURE 7 No 02
ARCHITECTURE 8 03 [URBAN RENEWAL IN 1930s] Rekonstruktsiya gorodov SSSR: (Al’bom) / Gosplan SSSR [i.e. Reconstruction of USSR Cities: (Album) / State Plan of the USSR]. Moscow: Standartizatsiya i ratsionalizatsia, 1933. [240] pp.: ill. 15,5x21,5 cm. In original constructivist cardboards. Illustrated endpapers. Very good, vertical crease of the front and back boards, tears and small losses of the spine, darkening of the spine and front endpapers, owner’s signature on the free leaf of the front endpaper (pen), darkening of the title page.
Worldcat locates First and only edition. One of 4000 copies. Book design by N. Il’in. copies at NYPL, Columbia, Yale, This album illustrates the achievements in the field of Stanford. construction and public utilities in the first Five-year plan: it gives the most typical and interesting objects in various parts of the USSR, photos and plans for the reconstruction of cities. The album was released as an annex to the two-volume eponymous book. The book includes short introduction on plans of construction and renewal in USSR, sections on city planning, construction of living and public housing, green plantations, renovation and improvement of the streets, city transport, power supply, water supply, sewerage, bath and laundry. Each section is opened with short description of the current state of this issue and planned changes. The significance of the album is in its plans and photographs with captions. The most interesting are newly built houses and clubs of workers like house on Novinsky boulevard in Moscow (on the pillars after Corbusier’s system), workers’ clubs in Moscow (one of them by K. Mel’nikov) and Kramatorsk (Donbass), commune housing on Khavskaya Street in Moscow (in front of Shukhov tower) and in Baku, mechanical laundry in Ivanovo, design projects of bath/laundry in Dnepropetrovsk and in Murmansk, design projects of a hotel in Kharkiv machinery for cleaning streets, yard trash cans, pipe laying, fire fighters and power supply system, Moscow metro construction, trams and river trams, dispensaries,a newly built hospital in Moscow and Kuzbass, department store, etc. The album itself has an interesting constructivist design made by Nikolai Il’in (1894-1954), graphic artist who started to work with books in the early 1920s in Nizhny Novgorod. Later in Moscow he worked at Detgiz and became the main artist of Goslitizdat. As a book designer and printing expert, Il’in successfully solved the problem of
ARCHITECTURE 9 creating a whole image of the book as one. He designed many books and magazines with expressive and diverse covers, fonts of various styles. He also worked on the creation of new typographic fonts. $1,200
Cover. No 03
No 03
ARCHITECTURE 10 No 03
ARCHITECTURE 11 No 03
ARCHITECTURE 12 04 [POST CONSTRUCTIVIST SCHOOLS] Shkoly gotovy! Kak my borolis’ za vypolnenie postanovleniia SNK SSSR i CK VKP(b) o novom shkol’nom stroitel’stve [i.e. Schools Are Ready! How We Fought for the Implementation of the Resolution of the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the CPSU (b.) on the New School Construction]. Moscow: Sovet RK i KD Kirovskogo raiona, 1935. In original cardboards with gilt lettering on the front cover. Very good.
No copies located First and only edition. One of 300 copies. Extremely rare. in the Worldcat. This is a triumphal report of the fulfilled plan of school construction in the transitional stage between avant-garde and Stalinist architecture. In 1935 a new plan required the construction of 72 Moscow schools for several months. It was implemented thanks to the early socialist emulation which grew up in the Stalinist era. The five schools were built in Kirov district (on Balchug island and the nearest area) and the creation of these buildings is presented in the book. Two of them are recognized as the evidence of post constructivism. The architects looked for the new images retaining the constructivist forms and combining it with the portals and columns. The first school was designed by architect Leonid Grinshpun (1906-1981), contributed to the construction of Russian State Library and pavilions of VDNKh. The young architect created the experimental plan placing the main entrance on the corner of asymmetric building. In the middle of 1930s the plans lacking symmetry were almost disused in the urban construction and Grinshpun’s design was criticized. The book permits us to compare the drawing itself and the result of building. Another school is the only listed post constructivist memorial building in Moscow. Designed by Ivan Zvezdin (1899-1979), it was called Moscow Suburban Experimental School. The details of design were realized as the architect wanted, but in general his idea was never completely embodied. Zvezdin also planned the gym, stadium and workshops: the gym appeared in almost 20 years, but the innovative workshops didn’t. The report looks really democratic, each school construction was analyzed by different people describing the progress at their site, who helped them and what prevented them from increasing the labor capacity. They paid attention to sabotages of the former kulaks and
ARCHITECTURE 13 actions taken against them. Each construction story has a turning point when the disorganized teams rallied, overcame a material shortage and had met the deadline. There are numerous portrait photographs of contributors, the littered areas that were before the construction, the impressive facades and the interior of schools. $1,250
Cover. No 04
Illustrations. No 04
ARCHITECTURE 14 05 [SOVIET ARCHITECTURE: GINZBURG, KHIGER AND SEMENOV] Voprosy arkhitektury: Sbornik statei [i.e. Architecture Issues: A Collection of Articles]. [Moscow; Leningrad]: Izogiz, 1935. 208 pp.: ill. 30x21,5 cm. In original printed wrappers. Damp stains on wrappers, tears of the spine and small losses of the bottom of the spine, a few marks in text (pencil). Otherwise a very good and internally clean copy.
A valuable piece of a historical evidence on Moscow reconstruction of 1935, Ginzburg’s constructivist project of Moscow-Donbass Highway and Khiger’s civil housing critics (communal houses). Worldcat locates First and only edition. One of 6000 copies. Illustrated throughout copies in NYPL, with black and white photographs, plans and drawings. Wrappers and Getty, Columbia and Cornell title page by I.F. Rerberg (1892-1957), master of the Soviet wrapper Universities. design. The collection was published by the Union of Soviet Architects (the union was formed in 1932 after the demolition of all other architectural unions). It’s interesting that in the preface it is stated that a few statements from the authors are controversial (regarding historical aspects) but they were not removed to generate a healthy creative discussion. The edition is divided into two sections - a historical part includes works on Egyptian architecture, sculpture in architecture, architecture and planning of Versailles Park, but most valuable articles in the second part on architectural reconstruction of Moscow (by Vladimir Semenov), architectural design of Moscow-Donbass Railroad (by famous Soviet architect Moisei Ginzburg), problems of civil housing on Soviet architecture (by Roman Khiger, architecture critic and writer). “Moscow must become the best city in the world” - that was the intent of a massive reconstruction planned in 1935. It was the first complex reconstruction plan of Moscow. Semenov was one of the architects responsible for the General plan. In his article he describes the problems, tasks and aims, gives statistical data but the most interesting part is a short analysis of 7 competition projects by Le Corbusier, Ernst May, Hannes Meyer, Nikolai Ladovsky and others. For every project a plan is given. For example, Le Corbusier’s plan was rejected because he wanted to redo the existing radial-circular system of the city and create a new one according to his urban views, and the main point of the General plan was to keep the existing system and improve it.
ARCHITECTURE 15 Cover. No 05
None of the competition’s projects announced earlier was recognized as sufficiently convincing to become the basis of the future real plan for the reconstruction of Moscow. Semenov and another responsible for the final plan architect Sergei Chernyshev were consulted by many eminent architects, including constructivists Nikolaev, Vesnin brothers, Kolli. The city’s shape was improved and became more clean by the end of the decade, and that look was unchanged for many decades. This article is very important as one can see what Moscow could have been looked like and what it was supposed to look like according to architect of the General plan, what they had in mind when planning the new look of the capital. Simple yet striking designs by Moisei Ginzburg for Moscow- Donbass Railroad stand out in this edition. In the article the architect stated that was a completely new task for Soviet architecture. Ginzburg with such architects like Vesnin brothers, Golosov, Nikolaev, Ladovsky (all from the Union) started to work on the project in 1933. The most difficult thing, he said, is the achievement of integrity and architectural unity of all structures. The article provides wonderful constructivist designs of stations, technical departures, apartment houses, roadblocks, road houses, dorms (communal houses), dining rooms. Khiger gives a detailed analysis of civil housing starting from pre-Revolutionary buildings and discussing reconstructive period of the second half of 1920s - search for a new forms of housing due to a new socialist alteration of the day to day life. $1,500
ARCHITECTURE 16 No 05
ARCHITECTURE 17 06 [CONSTRUCTING MOSCOW BRIDGES] Simonov, E.D. Mosty i naberezhnye stolitsy [i.e. Bridges and Embankments of the Capital]. Moscow: Moskovskii rabochii, 1938. 64 pp.: ill., 2 pl. 19x12 cm. In publisher’s printed wrappers. Very good, a couple of small tears of the spine and of the front cover near the spine.
Not found in the First and only edition. One of 4000 copies. Rare. Worldcat. This is a very interesting edition which contains results of the reconstruction of Moscow bridge system in 1936-38. In 1937 ten bridges were simultaneously being built in Moscow. The black and white photos and statistics of that massive construction are gathered in this edition. The book can also serve as an evidence of the end of architectural experiments - post-constructivist and Soviet art-deco - and the rise of Stalinist architecture. ‘‘Neither the American nor the German bridges have such width. Only one Parisian bridge reaches a width of 40 meters, but the roadway has only 20 meters. The new bridges of Moscow are the widest in the world. Each of them has its own independent artistic appearance. Colorful granite facing, cast iron products - such are the details of the architectural design of the new bridges. Over five kilometers of railings and over 300 masts were installed on them’’. $950
Cover. No 06
ARCHITECTURE 18 No 06
ARCHITECTURE 19 07 [THE ART OF GLASS IN ARCHITECTURE] Smirnov, B.A., Shelkovnikov, B.A., Levinson, E.A., Entelis, F.S. Khudozhestvennoe steklo i ego primenenie v arkhitekture [i.e. Art Glass Worldcat located and Its Use in Architecture]. Moscow; Leningrad: Gosizdat, 1953. 168 pp.: copies in Yale, ill. 30x20 cm. In original publisher’s boards. Very good, minor soiling UCB Library, University and Soviet bookshop’s stamp on the rear pastedown. of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, Duke First and only edition. One of 6000 copies. With addition of ‘Table of University, Getty, Technical Capacities in Manufacturing of Art Glass’ (9 pp.) and numerous NYPL, Columbia, Harvard, Thomas illustrations and photographs of art and architectural glass use in J. Watson Russian and USSR. Library (MET), The Corning An account on manufacturing art and architectural glass - Museum of techniques, history, and modern use in Russia, including Moscow metro Glass, American stations. University Library. $650
Cover. No 07 Photograph. No 07
ARCHITECTURE 20 No 07
ARCHITECTURE 21 08 [DESIGN BY VARVARA STEPANOVA] Moskovskii metropoliten [i.e. Moscow Metro]. Moscow: Izogiz, 1953. [126] pp.: ill. 30x22,5 cm. In original grey cloth with the red lettering and stamped emblem. Two minor ink stains on the top edge and back cover, previous owner’s note on the free leaf of front endpaper, otherwise very good.
First and only edition. One of the last book designs by constructivist artist Varvara Stepanova (1894-1958) in collaboration with leading Soviet photographers. This album summed up the results of the first and the most opulent period of Moscow metro construction which occurred under Stalin. In 1953 Soviet metro system consisted of five lines and 40 stations, some of them were presented for the first time. There are overall 170 full color and monochrome photographs by Georgi Petrusov (1903-1971) and Ivan Shagin (1904-1982), the well-known photojournalists of wartime. They both were contributors to the magazine ‘USSR in Construction’ and adopted Rodchenko’s composition techniques. Ivan Shagin is considered as one of the main Soviet experts on color photography. Their works include images of the glorified Circle line stations, these designs reflect the victory of Soviet people in World War II. The last pages show the new stations Arbatskaia, Smolenskaia, Kievskaia, Paveletskaia opened on April 5, 1953. This is an interesting edition richly illustrated with general views of stations, exterior and interior in the details. The captions describe the ideas developed in these designs and the materials that were used. $1,000
Cover. No 08
ARCHITECTURE 22 Photographs. No 08
ARCHITECTURE 23 09 [SOVIET IKEA] Mebel’ i oborudovanie novykh kvartir: (Al’bom sostavlen po materialam Vsesoiuznogo konkursa na mebel’ provedennogo Gosstroem SSSR v 1958 g.) [i.e. Furniture and Furnishing New Apartments: Album Based on Materials of All-Union Competition in Furniture Designs Held by Gosstroi of USSR in 1958]. Moscow: [Gosstroi], 1960. [8] pp., 68 leaves with designs Worldcat locates in illustrated folder with laces. Folder with Soviet bookshop’s stamp, an only copy in rubbed and soiled, otherwise very good. The Berlin State Library. First and only edition. Very rare. One of 5000 copies. Folder designed by V.A. Briun, art directors - Briun and E.I. Matveenko. This album includes designs of furniture sets recommended for mass production. Numerous designs of furniture and furnishing Soviet apartments in 1960s divided in sections of one, two and three bedroom apartments as well as kitchens and built-in wardrobes. Album was compiled by architects based on All-union competition of furniture designs held in 1958. A small brochure has a list of organizations which provided samples of new furniture mastered by furniture enterprises since 1959. A remarkable and exemplary evidence of a new era in Soviet people lives, the Khrushchev Thaw. $1,700
Cover. No 09
ARCHITECTURE 24 No 09
ARCHITECTURE 25 No 09
ARCHITECTURE 26 II SCIENCE
10 [FIRST RUSSIAN ORIGIN OF SPECIES] Darwin, Ch. O proischozhdenii vidov... / Perevel s anglijskago S.A. Rachinsky [i.e. On the Origin of Species / translated from English by S.A. Rachinsky]. St. Peterburg: Glazunov, 1864. XIV, 399, [1] pp. + 4 pp. of advertisements + 1 plate. 8vo. Contemporary quarter leather binding with gilt stamped title on the spine. Foxing, rubbing of the binding, tears of the edges of the spine, writings on the verso of half-title (pen).
Very rare in the West. The earliest references to Darwin’s theory in Russian periodicals appeared in 1861, but this book was the first by Darwin to be printed in Worldcat doesn’t Russian translation and it sold out within a year (1200 copies). This first locate copies edition was followed the next year by a second and it went through five in US libraries and only one further editions in the 19th century. in Museums- In Russia, Darwinism had a profound influence not only on gesellschaft in Zurich. the different sciences, but also on philosophy, economic and political thought, and the great literature of the period. Both Tolstoy and Dostoevsky referenced Darwin in their most important works, as did numerous other thinkers of the period. Sergey Rachinsky, professor of plant physiology at St. Petersburg University, began translating the Origin in 1862 and wrote an important article on the theories presented in it while working on the translation. The article and this translation of the Origin into Russian were responsible for the positive reception and rapid, widespread adoption of the Darwinian theory of evolution by natural selection in Russia. $3,500
SCIENCE 27 Title page. No 10 Scheme. No 10
11 [LOBACHEVSKY’S FIRST APPEARANCE IN PRINT] [Lobachevsky, N.I.] O rezonance ili vzaimnom kolebanii vozdushnykh stolbov [i.e. On the Resonances or Reciprocations of Columns of Air] // Kazanskiy vestnik. IX. Kazan: University Press, 1828. Pp. 213-224. 21х12.5 cm.
Very rare. No copies in libraries according to Worldcat. This publication is a retelling of the article by Charles Wheatstone printed the same year in Quarterly Journal of Science, Literature and the Arts. Lobachevsky mentioned the author as a third person, emphasising the important parts and letting out the unimportant ones. In this article the laws of resonance were applied to the different musical instruments and other objects. This among with other texts led to invention of concertina by Wheatstone in 1828. Among the interesting notes by Lobachevsky we read: ‘I don’t know why the author says that Englishmen and Germans use the similar notation. I had to change the titles in English original to German system that I used when I studied the music’. In the same periodical ‘On the Basics of Geometry’ was printed 5 months later. $7,500
SCIENCE 28 Cover. No 11 Title page. No 11
12 [LOBACHEVSKY’S GEOMETRY] [Lobachevsky, N.I.] Pangeometriya [i.e. Pangeometry] // Uchionye zapiski, izdavaemye Imperatorskim Kazanskim Universitetom. Kazan: University press, 1856. 4to. Contemporary owner’s wrappers. Fine.
First edition of the last work on non-Euclidean geometry by the ‘Copernicus of Geometry’. Nikolay Lobachevsky (1792-1856) without a doubt was one of the brightest minds that came out of Russian scientific field in the last 300 years. His groundbreaking critics of Euclid principles came out in a small university paper in Kazan in 1829-30. Although now it’s obvious that that particular theory was Lobachevsky’s main scientific achievement, he was writing papers and books on other topics: algebra, pure mathematics, trigonometry, astronomy, etc. All in all according to Kagan’s bibliography Lobachevsky has written 5 works on non-Euclidean geometry in his lifetime, all of them in periodicals. This work sums up the theory how it was seen by Lobachevsky. Originally called ‘imaginary geometry’ he invented a new term that was used in the book - ‘pangeometry’. By writing it he made the main gene-
SCIENCE 29 ralization: the standard, well-known Euclidean geometry is just the particular case of greater Pangeometry. By putting it into this context Lobachevsky opened the window of possibility of the existence of other geometric theories. He also perfected the geometry he constructed, completely exempted it of Euclid’s 5th postulate. Extremely rare. No copies in US libraries according to Worldcat. $15,000
Cover. No 12 Title page. No 12
13 [THEORY OF PROBABILITY] Bunyakovsky, V.Y. Osnovania matematicheskoy teorii veroyatnostey [i.e. Foundations of the Mathematical Theory of Probability]. St. Petersburg: v tipogra i Imperatorskoy Akademii Nauk, 1846. [4], XVII, [3], 478, [2] pp. , 1 table. Modern half leather. Very good, foxing throughout. First edition. Rare. Viktor Yakovlevich Bunyakovsky (1804-1889) was a celebrated Russian mathematician of Ukrainian descent. He got his Bachelor degree from the Sorbonne in France where he read the latest works on the theory of probability before returning to St. Petersburg. The Department of Probability Theory was created at St. Petersburg University as early as 1830, and Viktor Bunyakovsky became the rst Head of the Department.
SCIENCE 30 In writing this book, Bunyakovsky wanted to adapt Laplace’s theory for a general audience—because the classic study, Le Theorie Analitique des Probabilites (1812) was ‘’intelligible only for a few readers’’. Here Bunyakovsky developed Russian terminology for the theory of probability much of which is still used today. According to O. Sheynin, Bunyakovsky transferred the analytical theory of probability to Applied mathematics. He also connected the theory with statistics, e.g. to the statistical control of quality, the eld to which he would contribute later in his life (O. B. Sheynin, On V Ya Buniakovsky’s work in the theory of probability, Arch. Hist. Exact Sci. 43 (3) (1991) p. 205). The book had great success in Russia at the time because of its practical emphasis, its use of multiple examples and the analysis of how probability works in everyday life. For example, Bunyakovsky dedicated around 60 pages of this text to the treatment of election results, to the study of testimonies and decisions passed by tribunals. Bunyakovsky also examined demographic and social issues in his book such as the increase of the population; he compared various methods of compiling mortality tables. The book is listed in the catalog of Nikolay Berezin Ruskie knizhnie redkosti (i.e. Rare Russian Books, 1902) No 77 with the note: ‘’a quite signifcant work in the eld of mathematics, containing not only theoretical but some very useful practical applications to different elds. Sold out a long time ago and according to Volf’s catalog (1880) is rare and can be priced up to 25 roubles.’’ $3,000
Cover. No 13 Scheme. No 13
SCIENCE 31 14 [SPACESHIP DESIGNED AND CALCULATED IN 19th CENTURY] Two works in one binding: Tsiolkovsky, K.E. Samostoiatel’noe gorizontal’noe dvizhenie upravliaemogo aerostata (novye formuly soprotivleniya vozdukha i dvizheniya aerostata) [i.e. Independent Horizontal Movement of Aerostat. New Formulas of Windage and Flights of the Aerostat]. Odessa: Tsentralnaia tipo-litogra ya, 1898. 22 pp.
Tsiolkovsky, K.E. Prostoe uchenie o vozdushnom korable i ego postroenii [i.e. Simple Study of Air Ship and Its Structure]. 2nd edition. Kaluga: tipo- litogr. Gubernskogo pravlenyia, 1904. XV, 105 pp., 3 folding lithographic plates with 18 plans. 25x16 cm. Contemporary half leather binding. Very good. Private stamp ‘Nikolai Alexeevich Salakhanov’ on the second title page.
Both first editions. Extremely rare works by the pioneer of the space science. The ‘Simple Study’ is the rst separate edition, before that it was published in the periodical ‘Obschedostupniy tekhnik’ [i.e. Public Tekhnician] without biography and graphics. The ‘Independent Horizontal Movement’ is an imprint from the periodical ‘Vestnik opytnoi ziki i elementarnoi matematiki’ [i.e. Herald of Experimental Physics and Elementary Mathematics] which is considered to be the rst Russian popular science magazine. The imprints like that were usually limited to 100 copies. The ‘Independent Horizontal Movement’ consists of calculations regarding thrust force. They created the way to calculate the formula of escape velocity in the work ‘Exploration of Space by Reactive Devices’. The ‘Simple Study’ includes the rst biography of Tsiolkovsky written by himself. Here he complains about lack of attention to his work from science community. Tsiolkovsky was trying to promote his space ideas starting from 1880s but he was not taken seriously at the time. It was understandable as he never was attending the university and all his knowledge came from the studies in Chertkov library and conversations with Nikolay Fyodorov, the founder of Russian cosmism whom he met in the library as well. During the 1890s Russian physical and technical community
SCIENCE 32 was aware of Tsiolkovsky’s efforts but the general consensus was that the works are too theoretical and can’t be applied to reality. Stoletov, Mendeleev, Zhukovsky were patronizing Tsiolkovsky one way or another. One of the elements that was scaring off the science community was the author’s philosophy that he was always putting next to the calculations and formulas. One of the main qualities of aerostat for Tsiolkovsky was the capacity to carry big groups of people. That correlated with Fyodorov’s ideas about populating other planets. On plan #18 Tsiolkovsky draw the different possible aerostats comparing them with the Pyramid of Cheops, Eiffel Tower and an ocean liner. The biggest aerostat is 4 times bigger than the pyramid. The assumptions like this cost Tsiolkovsky his reputations, in 1896 the periodical ‘Razvedchik’ [i.e. Scout] called his ‘fanatic scientist who can’t stop pushing his ideas about aerostat’. In the preface Tsiolkovsky mentions this but also writes about the support of local engineers in Kaluga that gave him hope. The ‘Independent Horizontal Movement’ is a summary of all Tsiolkovsky’s ideas to the date, written in the usual popular scienti c manner with mandatory cosmist ideas included. $4,500
Plan. No 14
SCIENCE 33 III ART THEORY
15 [CHICHAGOVA ON CONSTRUCTIVISM] Korabl’. Literaturno-khudozhestvennyi dvukhnedel’nik [i.e. The Ship. Literary and Art Two Weeks Magazine]. #1-2, 1923. Kaluga: Korabl,. 1922- 1923. 58 pp. 34x26 cm. In publisher’s wrappers. Tears of the spine, loses of the lower margin of the front wrapper and a few pages, few marks in text (pencil), three lines are painted over on p.12 (pen). First and only, very rare provincial edition. One of 3000 copies. Worldcat locates The first issue of “The Ship” was published on October 1, 1922 a copy at Amherst by the editors of Kaluga newspaper ‘Kommuna’. Presented here is the College Library. last issue of the magazine (#7-8 or #1-2 of 1923), and it included works by B. Pil’niak, Sel’vinsky, V. Briusov, B. Pasternak, V. Khlebnikov, I. Gruzinov, V. Kamensky and others. One of the most interesting and valuable material of the issue was a program and key constructivist piece by Olga Chichagova (1886-1958), famous Russian artist and book designer, who studied at VKHUTEMAS under Rodchenko and where she together with her sister Galina formed their own constructivist style. The article is dedicated to constructivism in which she stated the purpose of young constructivist’s activism - formation of a new man: “In essence, constructivism denies art as a product of bourgeois culture. Constructivism is an ideology that emerged in proletarian Russia during the revolution, and how any ideology can be viable and not built on sand, only when it creates a consumer for itself; therefore, the task of constructivism is the organization of communist life through the creation of a constructive person”. The issue also features chronicle of art life - exhibitions, new books, tours of poets and writers, theatre performances; reviews and critical articles. For example an interesting article by I.G. Sviridov on the constructivist production of “Tarelkin’s Death” which was staged in 1922 at GITIS by Meyerhold with co-director S. Eisenstein and widely criticized in press. $900
ART THEORY 34 Cover. No 15 No 15
16 [THEORY OF ART TO THE MASSES] Tarabukin, N.M. Opyt teorii zhivopisi [i.e. An Experiment in the Theory of Painting]. Moscow: Vserossiiskii proletkul’t, 1923. 69, [2] pp. 22x16,5 cm. Original publisher’s covers. Careful restoration of the spine and a couple of margins of the pages, owner’s signature on the t.p. (ink).
First book. First and only edition. One of 3000 copies. The program theoretical work by art critic Nikolay Tarabukin (1889-1956), one of the ideologists of Proletkult, who at the time taught at VKHUTEMAS. Taraburkin is also associated with LEF, he was one of the theoreticians of the ‘art for the masses’, alongside with Gan and Chuzhak. Tarabukin wrote several key texts in 1920s that defined his revolutionary approach towards new art. He as many authors of the time was searching for understanding of patterns that form the art. But Tarabukin’s work in this field was capital. He first wrote this book in 1916. The publisher asked Favorsky to write a review in which he stated that there were no literature on this subject in Russian. He also noted as a strong point of the work its integrity, for the sake of which “the reviewer does not recommend the publisher to change anything
ART THEORY 35 Cover. No 16 in the work”, except for a polemical tone in relation to the problems of contemporary art. Obviously, this last chapter of the book was written by Tarabukin at the beginning of the Soviet era (analysis of the cubists and futurists in the context of the cultural tradition). Constructivist cover by Mikhail Sokolov (1885-1947). Together with Tarabukin Sokolov had developed an art school in Tver. They both were involved in proto-constructivist book design in Tver. Sokolov combined teaching at the studios in Tver (1920-1922) with his graphic work. In his drawings, the artist refers to the tools of the avant-garde movement, cubicized forms and displacement. He was counted as formalist by critics and had to struggle. In March 1938, Sokolov was sentenced to seven years in labour camps in Siberia. Overall Tarabukin’s work should be considered one of the most important works on theory of art (and leftist art in particular) of the early Soviet era. $2000
ART THEORY 36 17 [NEW SOVIET STYLE] Ioffe, I.I. Novyi stil’ [i.e. New Style]. Moscow; Leningrad: Izogiz, 1932. 156, [4] pp.: ill. 17,5x13 cm. In original printed wrappers. Very good, small tears and tiny losses of the spine, minor restoration of the spine.
Worldcat locates First and only edition. One of 3000 copies. Rare. paper copies at Getty, Columbia, Jeremiah Ioffe (1891-1947), Soviet art historian and critic, Harvard libraries. belonged to a bright intellectual era in Soviet history. He was working alongside with K. Malevich, N. Punin, Y. Tynyanov and others. He witnessed the end of such phenomenons as Russian avant-garde and formalism and repression of huge layers of Russian cultural field. He was one of the significant art theoreticians of his time, and his works of the 1920s-30s stand competition with western works of that period. His legacy was practically banned after his death. In this monograph Ioffe tried to analyze the current state of culture, style and new art methods, two subjects that were particularly interesting for Soviet scientists in the end of 1920s. The focus of the book is on a new Soviet style, and author uses IZORAM works to explain his points of view. IZORAM (Art Workshops of Proletariat Youth) existed in Leningrad from 1928 to 1931. This coalition included nearly 80 amateur art groups. The ideologist and the official head of the movement, which envisioned the search for a new realism and the creation of the ‘‘art of the workers’’ - M. S. Brodsky. Based on a purely practical understanding of the tasks of the new art, in Isoram, the experience of classical art education was opposed by amateur activity, focusing on the creation of posters and photo monatges; registration of club, industrial and urban sites, the design of furniture, clothing. In spite of the sharp dissociation from “every kind of aestheticism and formalism” (the Isoram Declaration, 1930), art critics of that time (including Ioffe), along with their proximity to primitivism, also noted the influence of the European school of purism. “Izoram was closely associated with the left vanguard. Suprematists and students of Kazimir Malevich E. Krimmer, K. Rozhdestvensky, I. Chashnik, L. Yudin took part in the group’s activities. Belonging to the Left circle, this group was focused not so much on Fauvism, Expressionism and Cubism, <...>, as on the painting of purists” (Savitsky). $900
ART THEORY 37 Cover. No 17
Illustrations. No 17
ART THEORY 38 IZORAM installations. No 17
ART THEORY 39 18 [FIGHTING FORMALIST ART] Beskin, O.M. Formalizm v zhivopisi: 24 illustratsii [i.e. Formalism in Art. With 24 Illustrations in Text]. Moscow: Vsekokhudozhnik, 1933. 87, [1] pp.: ill. 22,5x15,5 cm. In original wrappers. Very good, loss of small part of the spine, some general soiling, small tears of the oversized wrappers, owner’s signature on the t.p., couple of pencil marks on p.5.
Worldcat locates First and only edition. Rare. One of 5000 copies. paper copies This is not just an another book on fighting ‘escapist’ formalism in NYPL, Yale, Columbia, by accusing artists of the total ignoring of the reality. In this famous Harvard, book the author described some of the finest art of the period in very University of Wisconsin, harsh manner, and this art was later banned. With this book he almost University of destroyed lives of several artists during the most horrible cracking Chicago, Getty, University of down period of Soviet history. Among reviewed artists in the book were Minnesota, A.G. Tyshler, P.N. Filonov, A.D. Drevin, Labas, I.V. Kliun, Udal’tsova, A.V. University of Shevchenko, R.N. Barto, D.P. Shterenberg and others. Interesting that Arizona. being an ardent defender of Socialist realism the author put 24 images introducing formalist artists and their works to his readers. More than that this book became a foundation of creating a liberal history of Soviet art much later. Osip Beskin (1892-1969) was a Soviet literary and art critic, journalist, and one of the most fierce ideologists of Soviet art. He was mainly involved in reviewing contemporary poetry: Kluev, Oreshin, Bagritsy. His accusatory articles on Nikolai Zabolotsky and Osip Mandelstam were among the reasons they became victims of Stalin’s repressions. $900
ART THEORY 40 Cover. No 18
Illustrations. No 18
ART THEORY 41 IV THEATRE
19 [THEATRE IN SCHOOLS] Ognev, N., Rozanov, S.G. Teatral’naya rabota v shkole II-oi stupeni [i.e. Theatrical Work in School of the Second Degree]. Leningrad: Izd-vo “Izvestita TSIK SSSR i VTSIK”, 1925. 160 pp.: ill. 18x12 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Small tears and losses of the wrappers, marks on the back cover (pen), a few marks in the text (pencil), otherwise very good.
Worldcat locates First and only edition. One of 5000 copies. Very rare. an only copy in The British This edition is a collection of materials for theatrical work in Library. schools and particularly with students of the first and second grades. According to the authors all materials were used in practice by them in different children’s establishments of Moscow and Moscow region. Materials are provided with guidelines for teachers and theatrical supervisors (directors). Among such materials are scripts for several stagings like Schiller’s ‘William Tell’, Gofman’s ‘The Sandman’, Pushkin’s ‘Captain’s Daughter’, etc. A special chapter is dedicated to revolutionary holidays and their organization in schools and particularly to the ‘Third International’ that was organized by S. Rozanov, one of the authors, and held during the second International congress in 1920. Sergei Rozanov (1894-1957) was a Russian and Soviet children’s writer, playwright and theatre director. His brother, Mikhail Rozanov (1888-1938) who was published under an alias N. Ognev (because brothers wrote for the same theatre) and was also a writer and director. They both worked with children, organized pioneer’s camps and art studios. Sergei together with his wife, theatre director Natalia Sats (1903-1993), were involved in creation of a school of esthetic upbringing of children (now known as school #57, one of the best and most famous schools in Moscow) and later the Moscow theatre for children where Sergei worked as director. The text is supplemented with rare photographs of children in plays, schemes, sketches of stage sets and musical notes for songs.
THEATRE 42 The 1920s was an important forming period in the USSR history. It was a time of experiments and search for better alternatives in every aspect of Soviet man’s life. The upbringing of children was among top priorities at that time. This book is an interesting evidence of that period as well as source of information on early Soviet theatre, avantgarde and uncensored even in schools. $1,000
Cover. No 19
No 19
THEATRE 43 20 [BLUE BLOUSE] Siniaia bluza: Dvukhnedel’nik izdatel’stva “Trud i kniga” [i.e. Blue Blouse: Two Week Magazine of “Trud i Kniga” Publishing]. #41, September, 1926. Moscow: Trud i kniga, 1924-1928. 48 pp.: ill. 21,5x16 cm. In publisher’s constructivist wrappers. Good, careful restoration of the spine and tear on p.23, a few marks in text (pen and pencil).
First and only edition. Very rare. One of 7200 copies. “Blue Blouse” was a popular theater collective of the early Soviet era. First a small troupe, it was soon replicated across the country, and by 1927 there were 5000 troupes with more than a hundred thousand actors involved. Essentially, they filled the gap left by the pre- revolutionary phenomenon of folk-theater. The “Blue Blouse” founded the style of agitprop theater, a corollary of the poster propaganda of the day. Most of the well-known Soviet poets and writers were involved in “Blue Blouse” productions: Osip Brik was the ideological creator of the theater; Vladimir Mayakovsky and Vasily Lebedev-Kumach were among its writers. A tour of the theater to Germany, Lithuania and China connected with a wide public. The magazine “Blue Blouse” was published in Moscow from 1924 to 1928. It was intended for different collectives of ‘blue-blousers’ and included troupes’ repertoires, directors’ guidelines, comments, recommendations, Moscow groups’ program texts, etc. The periodicity of the magazine was constantly changing (from two weeks to month depending on the number of subscribers) as well as its appearance. This issue is dedicated to a three year anniversary of the phenomenon of “Blue Blouse”. Among contributors to this issue are S. Tretyakov, O. Brik, V. Shershenevich, V. Ardov, S. Yutkevich. The cover and the design of the issue present the golden age of Soviet constructivism in magazine cover design (group of artist responsible for artwork of the performances and magazine mentioned in the end - Akhtyrko, Aizenberg, Yutkevich, Semenova). $750
THEATRE 44 Cover. No 20
Phontomontage designs. No 20
THEATRE 45 21 [SCOPES MONKEY TRIAL] Bogomolov, D. Obezianiy sud, ili Prestuplenie uchitelya Dzhona Klopsa: Sovershenno neveroyatnoe, no deistvitel’noe proishestvie. Komedia v 4 deistviyakh i 8 kartinakh [i.e. Monkey Trial, or John Klops Offense: Utterly Improbable but Real Incident. Comedy in 4 Acts and 8 Scenes]. Moscow: Moskovskoe teatral’noe izdatel’stvo, 1926. 96 pp. In original printed constructivist wrappers. Very good, spine is repaired with paper, restoration of the verso of t.p.
Worldcat locates First and only edition. One of 3000 copies. Very rare. a copy in Harvard A very curious product of an early Soviet era - comedy based College Library. on famous Scopes Trial occurred in 1925 in Tennessee. The name of John Scopes changed to John Klops. In his introduction the author addressed to producers and directors of play with suggestions. First of all, the author stated that even though the idea of the play is not yet popularized among workers but the author avoided everything that could be difficult to understand. Bogomolov also suggested was to separate play and lectures on the subject. He thought it would be better to held lectures (he even gives possible topics such as ‘The Origins of Life on Earth, Religion and Science, Was there Adam?) a few days before the production. His second advice was to give a discount to those who visited both lecture and play (or a free lecture and discount for those who visited). Another suggestion was to put a poster with short answers to questions like ‘who was Darwin and what did he do?’. $450
22 [MEYERHOLD THEATRE] Fevral’sky, A.V. Desiat’ let teatra Meierhol’da [i.e. Ten Years of the Meyerhold Theatre]. Moscow: Federatsiya, 1931. 100 pp. 18x13 cm. In publisher’s printed wrappers. Small tears and losses of the spine, owner’s inscription on the spine (pencil), some soiling, traces of glue on the title page (front cover was attached to the t.p.).
Worldcat locates paper copies First and only edition. One of 3000 copies. Rare. in NYPL, Yivo Institute for Vsevolod Meyerhold (1874-1940) was a Russian theatrical Jewish Research, producer, director, and actor whose provocative experiments in Yale, Harvard. nonrealistic theatre made him one of the productive forces in modern
THEATRE 46 theatre. Meyerhold founded his own theatre in 1920, which was known from 1923 as the Meyerhold Theatre until 1938. He inspired revolutionary artists and filmmakers such as Sergei Eisenstein, who studied with him. In the early 1930s, when Joseph Stalin repressed all avant-garde art and experimentation, his works were proclaimed antagonistic and alien to the Soviet people. Before his death he was tortured, and executed by the state (cleared of all charges in 1955). This anniversary edition analyzes how the theatre was founded and what principles were laid in its foundation as well as seventeen productions including Mayakovsky’s Mystery-Bouffe, Klop and Banya, Tretyakov’s Roar China!, Selvinsky’s Komandarm 2, Meyerhold’s own productions, etc. Last chapter of the book dedicated to the public life of the theatre. It is stated that such an experimental theatre is bound to struggle like Meyerhold’s theatre did. Nevertheless it had a strong connection to proletariat according to the author, for example, club work (helping drama studios at workers’ clubs with director’s guidelines), inviting red army soldiers to participate, touring to fabrics and plants across the Union, etc. Overall, an interesting account of the first ten years of the most avantgarde Soviet theatre. $800
Cover. No 21 Cover. No 22
THEATRE 47 23 [MEYERHOLD’S AUTOGRAPH] Extensive autograph on typed letter by V. Meyerhold. Borovikha, the 5th of December of 1935. 6 pp. 30х21 сm.
This letter is Meyerhold’s response to memo sent to him by accountant-general of Meyerhold Theatre about employees getting personal salaries. This letter is addressed to Vladimir Glinsky (1888- 1938), assistant director for the Theatre. The handwritten part is dedicated to personal salaries of workers and actors, first of all, Zinaida Raich, Igor’ Iliinsky, Mikhail Tsarev, S. Khmel’nitsky et al. $4,000
No 23
THEATRE 48 V UKRAINE
24 [UKRAINAIN EARLY PRINT] Abba Dorotheus. Poucheniya [i.e. The Teachings]. Kiev: Lavra Typography, 1628. 9-142, 165-229 leaves. 20x16 cm. Original full leather binding. Good interior condition with the signs of the aged paper, soiling and occasional dirt on the pages. The book is lacking 8 leaves in the beginning and 23 in the middle as well as one at the end of the book. Provenance: originally from Romania, old stamps of the Romanian House church (Casa Biserici) on several pages.
First edition. The first printed edition of anything by Abba in any Slavic language. All in all it’s the third printed book by Abba, first being ‘Monumenta S. Patrum Orthodoxographa’ (Basileae, 1569) and the second ‘Auctarium Bibliothecae Patrum Ducaenum’ (P., 1624). The latter was used by Kiev scholars when they prepared this edition. The edition is an interesting example of Kiev book tradition leading the way for Slavic theosophical knowledge. Abba Dorotheus (505-565) had been always considered as one of the most important theologists, along with Ephrem The Syrian he had the reputation of one of the best-read authors in Rus in Middle Ages and New Times. By the time this book came out Moscow printed tradition was still recovering from the turmoil of the Smutnoe Vremia (i.e. Time of Troubles), and most of their printing repertoire contained liturgical books. It was only in 1640s Abba together with Efrem was printed on Moscow Print Yard using this edition prepared in Kiev 15-20 years before. The edition is also interesting because of this printing history this translation created in Kiev in 1620s became the canonical in Old Believers tradition, alongside with other works by Pavmo Berynda and his companions. Pavmo Berynda (1560-1632) who was one of the founders of Lavra typography is credited for making this edition. Originally from Galicia he learnt Hebrew, Latin, Old Greek and together with Gedeon Balaban, the important Lviv bishop and typographer, founded the
UKRAINE 49 typography in Stryatin (now close to Ivano-Frankovsk). When it was moved to Kiev in 1619 became the typography of Lavra. Filophey Kizarevich, the head of the monastery at the time alongside with archbishop Peter Mohyla (to whom this book is dedicated to), have worked with Pavmo on a new translation using the manuscript slavonic version but also the Greek original. The anonymous preface was added. $5,000
25 [UKRAINIAN RED ARMY] Vstupaite do chervonnoy kinnoti [i.e. Join The Red Calvary]. Kiev: 2ya Radyanska foto-lito-grukarnia, 1920. 75x55 cm. The poster is backed recently, condition is very good.
The poster was made around the time the Red Army was approaching to take the full control over the Ukraine. The text says: ’The red calvary has defeated Mamontov, Shkuro, Denikin, lords and Petlyura. Now it’s time to crash Vrangel. Workers and peasants, join the Red Calvary’. This poster is famous not only because of the design but because it was printed on the banknotes of the Bank of Ukraine. These are the notes that were used by Petlyura government in 1918-1919. By February 1919 Kiev was captured by Red Army and the rolls of unused banknotes were used for making posters. $6,000
UKRAINE 50 No 25
UKRAINE 51 26 [UKRAINIAN VKHUTEIN] Mistetsko-tehknichniy VISH. Zbirnyk kievskogo hudozhnogo institutu [i.e. Art and Technical School. The Collection of worlds of Kiev Art Institute]. Volume 1 [and only]. Kiev: KHI, 1928. 75, [3] pp. 30x23 cm. Original illustrated wrappers. Very good. Spine is restored, mild foxing of the rear wrapper. Wrappers designed by the leader of Kazan avant-garde Illarion Pleshchinskiy (1892-1961).
Not found on the Extremely rare. One of 750 copies printed. Worldcat. The Kiev Art Institute was founded in 1924 on the basis of Kiev Institute of Plastic Arts and Ukrainian Architectural Institute. It was a progressive art school often compared with VKHUTEIN in Moscow. The teachers included many important figures in Ukrainian avant-garde like Krichevsky brothers, Georgy Narbut, Tatlin, Shteinberg, Kulzhenko, etc. The faculties included department of theatre/ lm and photo, architecture, textile design, polygraphic, etc. The book contains a list of all professors and faculties, and numerous examples of the students’ works in different elds. $3,000
Cover and photomontage. No 26
UKRAINE 52 27 [PETRUSHKA BY STRAVINSKY] Stravinsky, I. Suita z ballet Petrushka [i.e. The Suite to Petrushka Ballet. Piano Version by the Author]. Kiev: Muzgiz, [ca. 1927]. 35 pp. 34x25.5 cm. Some tears and stains on the wrappers and lower margin, otherwise very good.
First Ukrainian edition. Rare. This is a piano transcription of Igor Stravinsky’s early composition ‘Petrushka’. He began to create the ballet in Ukrainian Not in the Worldcat. town Ustyluh in 1907. Performed for the rst time in 1911, the composition has been one of the most popular Ballets Russes. Its piano version presented not mere piano reduction of the composition, but an attractive independent work that is now known as ‘‘Trois mouvements de Petrouchka’’. Stravinsky created piano version of the suite in 1921 for his friend pianist Arthur Rubinstein. He was the only musician who made Stravinsky believe in the soft sounds of piano performance. This is one of the early publications of the music.
The edition is designed by Moishe Berkovich-Erko (1904- 1944), a Jewish avant-garde artist who spent most of his life in Romania, although was associated with Parisian scene. He died in a concentration camp. $2,500
Cover. No 27
UKRAINE 53 VI CHILDREN
28 [STUDY OF TOYS] Orshanskii, L.G. Igrushki [i.e. Toys]. Moscow: Gosizdat, 1923. [4], 155 pp. 17,5x13 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Spine and back cover are renewed, previous owner’s signature on p. 7, private library stamp on p.2, couple of bleak stains and neat restoration of the front cover, otherwise very good, internally clean.
First edition. Rare. One of 7000 copies. Worldcat locates An extremely rare survival of the avant-garde cover design the only copy at created by Jewish artist Simkha Simkhovitch (1885-1949) before the University of Chicago Library. emigrating to the USA in 1924. He never worked on books again after that. This is a collection of articles which were rst to present the role of toys from the psychological perspective. The author Lev Orshanskii (1866-1937) was a psychiatrist who initiated the lectures at the early auxiliary school for disabled children and was a consultant at a special court for adolescents. His scientist’s interest was sparked by the art of the people with mental disabilities and prisoners as well as primitive art. In connection with that, he was attracted to studying the children’s creativity, books, toys and became one of the rst Russian toy scholars. Written and separately published in 1910s, these articles on history, ethnography and psychology were incredibly important in the period of establishment of the Soviet pedagogy. Orshanskii analyzes the development of toy production and features of usage. He emphasizes that the toys have always been the main object of children’s communication in the preschool period. He wrote in the last article: ‘‘When an adult says ‘toy’, it seems scornful. Meanwhile, everyone knows that children perceive the toy - it’s the features of their psyche, not a lack of intelligence - as realistic as the adults perceive the laws, vehicles and daily routine. This is the greatest danger of misunderstanding’’. Orshanskii raised the issue of studying the child’s play. He co- created with a pioneer of American psychology Stanley Hall (1844-
CHILDREN 54 1924) a unique program which could construct the base of further studying. This sequences of questions touching the concrete details of playing are presented at the end of the book. The program included such points as ‘‘The imaginary diseases, sufferings, symptoms. Which drugs are used during the play with a doll? How? What intention the child set?’’. Interesting that the questions were created for the parents as well. $950
Cover. No 28
29 [SOVIET ‘ELITE’ SCHOOL] Slivkin, B., Goldberg, G. Radishchevka nashikh dnei [i.e. Radishchevka of Our Days]. Moscow; Leningrad: Uchgiz-Narkompros RSFSR, 1931. 124 pp.: ill. 22x16 cm. In original photomontage wrappers. Very good, foxing of the wrappers and endpapers.
First and only edition. Very rare. One of 5000 copies.
CHILDREN 55 This book is written by two former students of the Radishchevka - the A.N. Radishchev model school #7 of the People’s Commissariat for Education, the best school in the Soviet union. Children of the Soviet No copies in elite attended the school like Marshak, Tupolev, Proko ev, etc. Sadly Worldcat. many of that elite was later in 1930s called enemies of the state and sent to camps or executed. The A.N. Radishchev model school was created in 1918 on the base of Elizabeth Institute for Noble Maidens (a nishing school), originally founded in 1825 which accepted children from noble and wealthy families. After it’s cease a part of the girl students orphans were left there in what was to become a school. Some of the teachers remained on their positions as well. The teaching staff of the school consisted of highly quali ed teachers of the classical old school (Favorsky, Shevlyakov, Erik and others). Their method of teaching consisted in encouraging pupils to work independently, and for those who wished to study the subject more closely organized circles. The school differed in composition of the students as well. To get into the school one had to pass exams. At school, the children of the old Bolsheviks, political prisoners, and children of prominent figures of Soviet science and culture, the children of TsAGI, children of the command staff of the military school and units. A feature of the school was the absence of a party cell. Such model schools were also a eld of experiments in a newly formed country in 1920s. Teacher’s stuff created their own concept of educational work. In schools, there was an active introduction of practices of psychological testing, the bundling of classes, the organization of the school regime, etc. Children were admitted to admission on intellectual development, which was later condemned, as it did not correspond to the spirit of «group education» of the Soviet man. Interesting that this was the rst school to change old forms of teaching. For example in 1924 Dalton plan was introduced: a few hours a day students could do what they want which gave a push or initiative to show off. Another thing was cease of groups, students were studying in links. There were no obligatory lectures which made students more responsible for their studying and time scheduling. In the book authors described short history of the school and focused on current state of the studying process from insider’s perspective as well as interesting stories. Numerous rare photographs from the life of students are in the text. The photographs show many activities in which students were involved: chemical and biological
CHILDREN 56 Cover. No 29
Photograph. No 29
CHILDREN 57 experiments (club of timiryazevtsy named after the famous biologist), photo club, radio club, aeromodelling club, after-school likbez lessons for illiterate, military club and others. Such schools were a rare thing and existed only for a short period of time in a form described above.
$950
30 [PALACE FOR THE SOVIET YOUTH] Dvorets pionerov i oktiabriat [i.e. Palace of Pioneers and Octobrists]. Odessa: Detizdat, 1935. 123 pp.: ill., 6 ill. 30x23 cm. In original grey cloth with embossed lettering and design, with mounted red cloth ag, illustrated endpapers. Original dust jacket lost. Slightly rubbed, some defects of the rear endpapers, note on the front yleaf (To the memory of 7th Congress of Soviets of the USSR/ 6 February 1935/ To son Gerard from father), otherwise very good and clean internally.
First and only edition. One of 5000 copies. Very rare. An attractive edition dedicated to the very first Pioneer Palace in the Soviet Union. It was officially opened 6 September 1935 and launched the chain of Palaces over the country. Actually, it partly began to work earlier and this book combined the dreams of future institution and the achievements of few existed clubs. Being completely free of charge, the Palace initiated interest in labour, creativity and amateur talent activities. Many rooms were dedicated to various sport, cultural, technical, artistic and young naturalist clubs. Kharkiv Pioneer Palace was special, it was opened only to honor pupils who received the recommendations of the school teachers and the approval of the pioneer organization. It was de nitely Palace of Pioneers which contained the first club of Arctic researchers in the country as well as the rst club of re ghter assistants, the rst geological clubs. There were electric, technical, chemical laboratories where the boy or girl could conduct a small power station or learned to construct the whole vehicle, small appliances (and tested its power consumption). For the educational purposes the children also watched lms and attended exhibitions there. The book has several sections, including ‘Creators of Models’, ‘Art to the Children’, ‘For the Iron Muscles, For the Steel Nerves’, ‘Friendship
CHILDREN 58 with a Book and a Newspaper’, ‘Club of the Young Arctic Researchers’. The last one is the most impressive, with the opening portrait of explorer Otto Schmidt, the plans of exploration, the children’s connection with the contemporary explorers and then - the trip itself to Kola Peninsula. The edition was co-created by the large group of artists: the illustrations by I. Daits, V. Nevskii, M. Glukhov, G. Bondarenko, the linocuts by P. Pitenko, I. Kuchkin, V. Burachkovskii, D. Zeldovich, F. Kostomakhin, D. Gromov. Each section is richly illustrated with the designs and photographs of the rooms and laboratories, the portraits of pioneers. The book contains 6 colorful full-page designs of the rooms reproduced from architectural projects, the margins present the small curious sketches of the children. Photographs were produced by B. Zelinger, E. Bryzgalin, among their works are the portraits of party leaders P. Postyshev and S. Kosior. In fact, they initiated this institution for the children’s joy and shortly after that implemented the Stalinist repressions. A lesser known photo-book on Soviet children propaganda. $2,500
Cover. No 30 Photographs. No 30
CHILDREN 59 No 30
CHILDREN 60 31 [SELF MADE TOYS] Nash tsekh: Igrushki-samodelki. Sbornik 1 [i.e. Our Workshop: Self Made Toys. First Book]. Moscow: Vsekokhudozhnik, 1935. 104, [4] pp.: ill., 3 pl. 25x18 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Restoration of the front cover (back cover is new) and front endpaper, marks on the front cover and front endpaper, damp stain on the lower margin on few pages. Otherwise very good.
Not in the One of the most important Soviet artists of a children’s book Worldcat. Vladimir Konashevich participated in the making of this book on toys. First and only edition of the first and only collection. One of 10300 copies. Scarce. Wrappers and endpapers designed by V.M. Konashevich. Edited by Y. Perelman, S.F. Dubyansky, P.V. Leontiev and Konashevich. The book is addressed to young readers in order to create a new workshop - ‘our workshop’ where kids are workers who don’t play but rather build and construct proper toys. Articles by Konashevich, V. Tambi, A. Perelman with illustrations by Tambi, S. Mochalov, Konashevich on making different kind of toys by children themselves. There are instructions on how to build human and animal figures, vehicles (autos, different kinds of tractors, trucks, bus, timber carrier, fire truck, etc.), mills (wind turbines), planes and boats; puzzles; indoors sport games; wooden animal toys as well as instructions on what materials and instruments to use, how to dye toys and which dye to use. In the late 1920s a new publishing trend emerged - ‘samodelka’ book [i.e. book for self-making]. There were other types of illustrated books at that time like books-riddles, books-toys, coloring books but samodelka stood out and in a way was a part of a Soviet ideology (interesting that these illustrated polytechnic books replaced fairy tales which dominated before). The end of 1920s-beginning of 1930s was marked by industrial boom. Future builders of socialism were supposed to get involved as soon as possible, starting with games. That was the tusk that publishing houses faced - to introduce young readers to modern technologies, professions and manufacturing. Not only they were told about all of that but also they were proposed to build toy factories, cars and other things themselves (the title of the book ‘Our Workshop’ speaks for itself). The serial nature of books with the same format and layout
CHILDREN 61 pushed back individual editions. The small format of school notebooks which was familiar for children prevailed. This often allowed to print books on scraps or even on one sheet of paper. Chromolithography was the main print type for these books. The high quality of this new type of books is due to the talent of their creators - illustrators (like Vera Ermolaeva, Vladimir Konashevich, Eleonore Kondiain, Konstantin Kuznetsov, Natalie Paren, Lidia Popova and others) and writers (Boris Zhitkov, Mikhail Ilyin, Samuel Marshak, Yakov Perelman). Ideas of constructivism often found its way onto pages of these books. General tagline for these books could have been El Lissizky’s plea: «Don’t read - take - papers - stakes - pieces of wood - fold - paint - build». $1,250
Cover. No 31
CHILDREN 62 Illustrations. No 31
CHILDREN 63 32 [DESIGN BY LIDIA POPOVA] Gurian, O.M. Glinianye sheiki: Stikhi dlia detei mladshego vozrasta [i.e. Clay Necks: Poems for Small Children]. Moscow: Ogiz - Molodaia gvardiia, 1931.[11] pp.: ill. 20x15 cm. Original lithographed wrappers by L. Popova. Near fine. Tiny tears of the spine.
Worldcat Rare. One of 5000. The first and only edition of this book. locates copies in Constructivist book by a well-known children writer Olga NYPL, Harvard, Columbia, Gurian (1899–1973) who wrote over 50 books about different crafts. Princeton, This book tells (in verse) about changes in pottery and reasons of these University of Chicago. changes (the title refers to narrow necks of jugs). Lidia Popova (1903-1951) was a Soviet graphic artist, poster maker as well as illustrator. From 1919 to 1924 she studied at VkHUTEMAS with Aleksandra Ekster being her mentor. She became famous for her fabulous design of Maiakovskii’s book ‘Fire-horse’ (1928). $1,500
Cover. No 32 Illustration. No 32
CHILDREN 64 33 [INSTRUCTIONS FOR CHILDREN ON HOW TO MAKE ILLUSTRATIONS AT HOME]
Abramov, A., Kuznetsov, K. Vyrezai, pechatai [i.e. Cut out, Print]. Moscow: Detgiz, 1934. 11 pp.: ill. 21,7х18,5 cm. In original lithographed wrappers. Near fine.
First and only, rare lithographed edition. Konstantin Kuznetsov (1886-1943), graphic artist, one of the founders of the Russian school of children’s book illustration in the 1920s-30s.This book is dedicated to techniques of printing illustrations at home, including coloured. Some of the illustrations for this book were prepared by children.
$520
Cover. No 33 Illustration. No 33
CHILDREN 65 VII LITERATURE
34 [FIRST BOOK IN RUSSIAN ABOUT BYRON] [Medwin, T.] Zapiski o lorde Bairone [i.e. Journal of the Conversations of Lord Byron]: [In 2 vols]. St. Petersburg: tip. N. Grecha, 1835. Vol.1. [4], VIII, 197 pp., [1] front.; Vol.2. [4], 153 pp. 8vo. Lord Byron’s portrait on the frontispiece. Two volumes in contemporary quarter-leather bindings, with gilt-lettering on spines. Labels on spines, some rubbings to covers, pre-revolutionary library stamps (Tallinn), foxing.
WorldCat locates Rare, especially with the portrait. no copies in USA. This is the first edition of the work by Thomas Medwin which was noted during a residence with Byron at Pisa in 1821-1822. This is also a first book in Russian about Lord Byron. Thomas Medwin (1788-1869), poet, Percy Shelley’s cousin and close friend of Lord Byron. Published in late October 1824, Medwin’s Journal of the Conversations of Lord Byron was the first of the book- length memoirs to appear following Byron’s death in April. The influence of Byron in Russia is difficult to underestimate. Almost all of the notable poets of the first half of XIX century were influenced by him; his books were translated during his lifetime and afterwards. Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) was influenced by Byron. He was interested in reading this book as soon as it came out. He asked his brother to send him a copy to Mikhailovskoe in 1825 but the censor committee didn’t allow the distribution of both the English and French versions of the text. The first Russian translation came out 10 years later and the same year Pushkin wrote an article On Byron and significant things presumably influenced by this book that was in his library (Modzalevsky.696). $2,700
LITERATURE 66 Cover. No 34 Portrait. No 34
35 [FIRST BOOK BY TOLSTOY] Tolstoy, L.N. Voyennyie rasskazy [i.e. The War Stories]. St. Petersburg: Tipografiya glavnogo chtaba e.i.v. po voenno-uchebnym zavedeniyam, 1856. [4], 382, 1 pp. 19,5x13 cm. Contemporary quarter leather. Raised bands, the title, author’s name and previous owner’s initials gilt on the spine.
The first book by the author. Very rare. According to N. Smirnov-Sokolskii it took him ‘quite a while’ to find this book for his collection. The collection of stories were written by Tolstoy when he was serving in Sevastopol during Crimean War. The short story Sebastopol in December of 1854 quickly became popular among the readers in Russia and even Emperor Nicholas I asked to «take care of the talented officer». That was the beginning of recognition on national level for 28-year-old author. Tolstoy’s impressions during this war later were used in ‘War and Peace’. The roots of the pacifist and anti-patriotic ideas that he formulated later in his life also lie in this book.
LITERATURE 67 The last copy that was sold at auction went for 34850 GBP (Christie’s, Nov 21, 2012). Smirnov-Sokolskii. 1190; not in Kilgour. $25,000
Cover. No 35 Title page. No 35
36 [DOSTOEVSKY’S FIRST EDITION] Dostoevsky, F.M. Podrostok [i.e. The Adolescent]. St. Petersburg: A. Transhel, 1876. Parts 1-3. [2], 247, [2], 184, [2], 277 pp. 21x14 cm. Contemporary half leather. The ticket of Borodin’s bindery in Saint Petersburg on the rear endpaper. Gilt lettering on the spine. Very good, some foxing.
First edition. The fourth of the ‘Dostoevsky’s big five’, the novel was written in 1874-1875. ‘The Adolescent’ is without a doubt one of the most mature works by the author. Although it met a mixed reception with critics, the novel held more editions before 1917 in Russian than any other books by Dostoevsky. However the next masterpiece that Dostoevsky produced overshadowed ‘Podrostok’ - it was ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ which also was the last book by epileptic genius. ‘‘The Adolescent’’ was highly rated by Kafka, Hesse, Blok and
LITERATURE 68 others. Nikolay Berdyaev called it ‘one of the most ingenious creations of Dostoevsky, highly underestimated’. ‘The Adolescent’ is the story of self-upbringing of a young man, written in a form of a diary. Experimenting with that form Dostoevsky foresaw some of the literary innovations of 20th century. $13,000
Cover. No 36 Title page. No 36
37 [FIRST RUSSIAN KEROUAC] Kerouac, J. Na doroge // Inostrannaya literatura. 1960. №10. Pp.195 [i.e. On the Road // Foreign Literature]. Moscow: Inostrannaya literatura, 1960. 318, [2] pp.: ill., 6 ill. 25,5x17 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Slightly rubbed and shaken, tears of the spine, Soviet bookshops’ stamps on the back cover and p. 318, soiling on the last two pages. Otherwise a very good clean copy.
First Russian translation and appearance in print of a few fragments of the novel. Translated from English by V. Efanova. Illustrations by V. Goryaev. This publication consists of three parts titled Mexican Girl, Jazz of Beat Generation, In the Mountains and Dales of the Universe. Two
LITERATURE 69 of these pieces were later published as separate stories in anthology titled American prose for youngsters (1975). First full Russian edition of On the Road appeared only in 1995. The most unusual thing about this publication that all mentions of marijuana which main characters smoked were left untouched but Bible references were censored and cut out. Kerouac was the first of Beat writers to appear in Russian print and he was the only one of them for quite some time. Much more later first Russian hitch-hikers and hippies didn’t have the translation of On the Road until 1990s but nevertheless they knew about Kerouac as a father of the lifestyle. Even though he wasn’t published Kerouac’s name appeared sometimes in reviews and articles. $950
Cover. No 37 No 37
LITERATURE 70 VIII EARLY SOVIET CULTURE
38 [NEWSPAPERS IN SOVIET VILLAGES] Za gazetu: Agit-sbornik dlia derevni / pod red. Nik. Maslennikova; Glavpolitprosvet [i.e. For Newspaper. Agitation Materials for Villages / Ed. by N. Maslennikov; Glavpolitprosvet]. Moscow: Krasnaya nov’, 1924. 87 pp.: ill. 24x16 cm. In original photomontage oversized wrappers. Very good. Some light foxing of the wrappers, tiny tears of the spine and edges of wrappers.
Worldcat locates First and only edition. One of 6000 copies. Rare. an only copy in University of The purpose of this pamphlet was to enlarge the number Texas. of subscribers to village newspapers and create a network of village
Cover. No 38
EARLY SOVIET CULTURE 71 No 38
reporters. Materials in the book include agitation articles “In Favor of Newspaper”, “Woman! Subscribe to Peasants Newspaper”, “Peasant Correspondent” (on how to become a correspondent in the village) - the note on the verso of the title page stated that these materials of the book should be read out loud with ‘mandatory conduct of discussion’. An interesting article titled “How Reading Huts Can Work with Newspaper” explores the work of ‘izba-chital’nia’ (i.e. reading hut) which became widely spread in early 1920s as a main form of likbez and political propaganda. The main idea is that reading is not enough and it’s always better to secure the gathered information with discussions and other activities. The book also includes fiction stories, chastushkas, slogans, plays in order to provide agitation in a more сomprehensible and entertaining manner for peasants. The last part of the book is a bibliography list of works on methods of propaganda and agitation using newspaper. $750
39 [BORIS EFIMOV: SOVIET CARTOON ICON] [Efimov, B.E.] Two handmade albums of newspaper clippings. Vol.1: [52 leaves: 1924-1936]. Vol.2: [52 leaves: 1937-1938]. 384 images. 29,5x21,5 cm. Cardboards with leather labels on spines with gilt
EARLY SOVIET CULTURE 72 lettering. Bindings with rubbings, occasional foxing, one clipping is lacking fragment. Otherwise very good. Handmade albums of Efimov’s caricatures that were printed in Izvestia and other newspapers during these 14 years. The albums were made by Efimov himself in late 1930s to save the works he did for the newspapers. Some bear his handwritten dates when the caricatures were printed. Boris Efimov (1900-2008) the founder of the Soviet caricature school with Deni and Kukryniksy is considered the most productive of them all. His works featured in periodicals like Izvestia, Pravda, Krokodil, Chudak, etc. The watershed in his career occurred in 1938 when his brother Mikhail Koltsov, the editor-in-chief of Pravda, was arrested and executed. Efimov was fired from all the leading newspapers and had to change his pen-name to continue being published. However after Stalin’s death Koltsov was rehabilitated (only around that time Efimov found out for sure what happened to his brother), Efimov was allowed everywhere and soon he was celebrated as an instant classic of Soviet political grotesques. Around 1960s the term ‘positive satire’ was introduced by Soviet art critics - the style that Efimov helped to develop along with Kukryniksy. Among rich Efimov’s legacy the work he did for the newspapers is the most elusive. His posters, illustrations for books and magazines were reproduced in many anthologies. But not all of the newspaper images were preserved. Probably that was the thought behind him collecting some of the clippings in late 1930s. We can also presume that it was done in 1938-1940 the years when Efimov was not allowed to print in any periodicals so for him it was a chance to commemorate the illustrations created for himself as he was not sure he would be allowed to be back. Most cartoons ridicule the agenda of to-day. No question their message was important when the paper went out, but sometimes even the next day it was no longer of current interest. Most of these c aricatures have the focus on foreign affairs, the majority of them are anti-Nazi. Rare artifact of the period. $5,000
EARLY SOVIET CULTURE 73 No 39
EARLY SOVIET CULTURE 74 40 [THEATRE IN CLUBS] Markov, V.D. Rezhissior v klube: Rezhissiorskie ukazaniya po postanovke revoliutsionnykh pies v dramaticheskikh kruzhkakh molodiozhi [i.e. Director in Club: Director’s Guidelines for Revolutionary Plays in Drama Studios for Youth]. Moscow: Gosizdat, 1924. 156 pp.: ill. 24x15 cm. In original illustrated constructivist wrappers (by P.R.). Very good, uncut and untrimmed. Small tears of the spin, Soviet bookshop’s stamp on the back cover.
Worldcat located First and only edition. One of 10000 copies. Rare. only two copies in The phenomenon of the workers’ clubs is one of the most Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and interesting ones in the history of early Soviet culture. Stated by Trotsky Bayerische that the clubs were ‘the forge of the proletarian class culture’, they were Staatsbibliothek (both in the connection between the art and the masses, the link between left Germany). aesthetics and proletarian self-conscience. Workers’ clubs started to appear in 1920 and by the mid-1920s covered the country and were set to be multi-functional tool to educate, agitate, entertain and cultivate the masses. The result should have been the creation of a new man, a new life, so the workers’ club were very much in tune with the Soviet ideology of 1920s. They were organised locally, usually by the unions or other initiative groups, and they were given a lot of privileges: good buildings (often designed by the best constructivist architects of the day), supplies, support in the media and by the party officials. The unusual cultural-social experiment of making a new man came to its end in the early 1930s, when Proletkult was closed and the life of the country has started to change. The clubs itself remained but lost its independence, started to be used more for propaganda purposes or the routine entertainment events. This edition provides guidelines and instructions on how to organize creative process in drama studios in clubs across the Union. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific subject and scrutinized on example of a play. Overall 8 plays are mentioned in the book and for some parts of script are given. There are chapters on how to reduce a play, how to make a march more theatrical, performance on street, ‘live’ newspapers, composition of script based on a few sources, how to connect drama studio and general work of the club, how to make a novel into a play. Chapters also include information on lighting, costumes, set designs, props, etc. The text is supplemented with drawings and scheme. $950
EARLY SOVIET CULTURE 75 Cover. No 40
No 40
EARLY SOVIET CULTURE 76 41 [AVANT-GARDE ARCHITECTURE OF WORKERS’ CLUBS] Lukhmanov, N.V. Arkhitektura kluba [i.e. Architecture of the Club]. [Moscow]: Teakinopechat’, 1930. 103, [1] pp.: ill., plans. 22x15 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Very good. Pale damp stain on the upper half throughout the book, couple of pages in the end with pink stains, t.p. with a small tear near the spine. Worldcat locates three copies Rare. One of 5000 copies. Cover design contains Melnikov’s design of in USA (Getty, Harvard, MOMA). the second floor of the club. With 80 black and white designs, plans and photographs of workers’ clubs including the most famous Moscow clubs: the Zuev Workers’ Club, the Rusakov’s Workers’ Club, Kauchuk Factory Club. The book is dedicated to the massive phenomenon of Soviet workers’ clubs which construction occurred in 1920s. Social, ideological, educational functions were laid upon them when created in the beginning of the century. This nature was very attractive for architects of the time sparking with ideas. Almost all architects of 1920s thought workers’ clubs should stand out from everything else. Clubs built in 1927-1930s were avant-garde innovations created by famous Vesnin brothers, Melnikov, Golosov and others, and it’s well-known since 1930s architecture and art in general had to take different turn towards socialist realism and central state planning (after all the clubs in 1920s were financed by unions). These clubs were last birds of free creative process, and today they are world famous and considered architectural monuments. In this edition the author examines the problems of modern architecture praising young constructivist architects who based their designs first of all on a function of a future building (and that’s what Soviet architecture and construction needed to be - functional in opposition to old masters who are actively criticized). But as this book is already like many others full of socialist ideology the author calls for an unifying architecture style for clubs depending on its functions. Lukhmanov met and talked several times with Konstantin Mel’nikov (1890–1974) who was one of the leaders of the constructivist architecture. In this edition author repeatedly stated Mel’nikov’s opinion and relied on his design principles. But the most interesting in this edition is detailed analysis of the club’s architecture - from the plan and building materials ti its inte-
EARLY SOVIET CULTURE 77 rior design, furniture, and problems of comfort. The main idea of this edition is still on the edge (like all art in 1930) - it calls for cultural revolution according to a new ideology of building communism but it’s still sees constructivism as a key for that. $1,200
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EARLY SOVIET CULTURE 78 No 41
42 [HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SPEECH FOR CLUB THEATRE] Prianishnikov, A.V. Rechevoi trenazh v klube: Osnovy proiznositel’noi tekhniki [i.e. Speech Training at a Club: Basics of Pronouncing Technics]. Moscow: Teakinopechat, 1930. 120, [2] pp.: ill. 23x16 cm. In original constructivist wrappers. Very good. Signed by the author on the t.p. (‘To Kolya Travin, an old friend, master of a sharp word on stage. Author. 20/ VIII-1930’). Some rubbings, numbers on the front cover and t.p. (ink), occasional markings (pencil), tiny tears of t.p. First and only edition. One of 3000 copies. Very rare. This manual for improving public speaking skills for club sections was initiated by the State Drama Professional Club Workshop
EARLY SOVIET CULTURE 79 Worldcat locates which was a theatrical organization from 1927 till 1930 formed speci an only copy in Berlin State cally to provide assistance to workers’ clubs, particularly their drama Library. sections. It was supposed to help them master a contemporary theatre culture and search for the most effective ways to create a club production or other activity of such kind. Besides lectures it provided written instructions (but this is the only edition initiated by the organization). The Workshop was an extraordinary and experimental establishment lead by Nikolay Volkonsky (1890-1948) whom Narkompros (Ministry of Education) asked to help further development of the amateur theatre. The highlight of their work was staging of Ostrovsky’s play ‘Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man’ which was praised by students and contemporaries and in uenced in many ways performances and productions in workers’ clubs. Volkonsky was also involved in creating this edition as it stated in the end of the book. The edition includes theory about breathing, voice, its nature and possible problems, and a large amount of special exercises to eliminate defects and improve speaking, make it clear, rules of pronouncing words (orthoepy) with a list of correct accentuations. In the end the schedule of exercising for ten weeks is given. The routine training include one variation of breathing exercise, exercises with vowel or consonant sounds, gymnastics of lips, tongue twisters, etc. The edition also includes advises on hygiene and general notes: to breath in air through nose, after the performance not to talk for 10 minutes, not to go from warmth to the cold after the performance, drink warm tea or water, tobacco and vodka are bad for the voice (especially women’s vocal cords), put a can with water next to a heater in order to keep the room’s air humidified, etc. A rare example of experimental work which occured in 1920s in Soviet Union. $900
Cover. No 42
EARLY SOVIET CULTURE 80 43 [UNIQUE FUND OF ORIENTAL FONTS] Obraztsy vostochnykh shriftov Akademicheskoi tipografii [i.e. Specimens of Oriental Scripts of Academy’s Press]. Leningrad: Izdatel’stvo Akademii nauk SSSR, 1928. XI, 73 pp. 20x14 cm. In original printed wrappers. Some rubbings of the wrappers, spine of the wrapper is slightly detached from the text block. Otherwise a very good copy.
Worldcat First editiom. Very rare. One of 2000 copies. Title in Russian and German locates copies on the front wrapper, two title pages, table of contents, introduction at University of Chicago, and all captions in Russian and German. Michigan State This is a small nice catalogue of almost all Oriental (eastern) University, University fonts which press of Academy of Sciences of USSR had. Only very of Illinois outdated fonts were not included as well as those of incomplete at Urbana- sets. Russian science has a long history of Oriental studies, and this Champaign, UCB Library, Stanford, fund was growing organically alongside these studies. Almost all pre- University of Revolutionary publications with usage of eastern fonts were printed by Kansas. Academy’s press. There are Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese, Mongolian, Manchurian, Kalmyk, Buryat, ancient Turkish, Uigur, Persian cuneiform, Avestan, Middle Persian, Jewish, Palmyra, Syrian, Estrangelo, Ethiopian, Samaritan, Arab, Persian, Armenian, Georgian, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Coptic and phonetic symbols for the transcription. With the growth of country’s republics and their culture the number of such books was growing as well so this edition is not only an evidence of a titanic work and rare fund, but also a reminder of the last days when Academy’s press was a unique leader in the field of Oriental fonts in the world. The catalogue was timed with the 200th anniversary of Academy’s press and the World Press Exhibition (“Pressa”) in 1928 in Cologne (that year Soviet display was designed by El Lissitzky which became his highest achievement in this eld). $600
EARLY SOVIET CULTURE 81 Cover. No 43 No 43
44 [TATAR LANGUAGE AT THE CROSSROADS] Poligraficheskaya shkola F.Z.U. imeni A.V. Lunacharskogo TSSR [i.e. Polygraphic Factory Apprenticeship School of A.V. Lunacharsky of TSSR]. Kazan’: [Tatglavlit], 1929. 71 pp.: ill., 7 pl. 17x13 cm. In original printed oversized wrappers. All edges red colored. Near fine.
Worldcat locates First and only edition. One of 300 copies. Extremely rare, two copies in the especially in such mint condition. Text in Russian. Title page, front cover British Library and National and captions in Russian and Tatar (in both Arabic and Latin alphabets). Library of France. Kazan’ in the 1920s has experienced one of the most independent and unique avant-garde art movements. Groups like Vsadnik, TatLEF, Podsolnechnik and others have proclaimed the new levels of the correlation between the artist and the book. As a result, the tradition of low runs almanacs and books existed in 1920s, with artworks that were created specially for those publications. Because of that Kazan’ constructivism differs from the one in capitals as it was powered not only by the design tradition of the town but also by Tartar artists, the most famous of whom was Faik Tahirov, the tartar El Lissitzky. This explains the level of artistic significance of some of the student constructivist design from this book. This brochure describes the organization and work of the most famous Polygraphic School from its beginning in 1921 to 1927. It has
EARLY SOVIET CULTURE 82 Cover. No 44 Example of cover design. No 44
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EARLY SOVIET CULTURE 83 an extensive and detailed information on number of students on each course each year, school budget, average month salary of students (‘all graduates were assigned to printing houses of Kazan’ the next day… there was a big quarrel between printers because of Tatar typesetters, everyone wanted to have one’), names of graduates for 1926 and 1927, economic state of the school, description of library and its needs (1250 Russian and 540 Tatar books), teacher’s staff, social, age, specialty and ethnic groups of students, school program, equipment and educational materials, teaching history of book and theory of polygraphy, on contemporary state of printing in Kazan’ with a bibliography of editions printed by the school and list of books in Tatar from 1923 to 1928 printed by the school. Special place holds a short account on role of graphic design in school by Petr Dulsky’ (1879-1956), a professional artist who was a teacher at the School as well as an art critic, a publishing and museum worker, a local historian, a book expert, an expert in the field of architecture. He laid the foundations of the art of Tatarstan, writing numerous works on the history of art and architecture of the Kazan’ province and Soviet Tatarstan. He wrote more than 125 brochures and books on different art subjects. Besides unique photographs of classes and students at work the edition has a few outstanding examples of polygraphic work like illustrations, bookplate, title pages and front covers. Each work was made by a student and captioned. The design and quality of materials of this edition is very high, especially due to paper shortage throughout 1920s. Tatar alphabet based on Arabic alphabet was used by Tatars from the 10th century untill 1920. In 1927 the Soviet government carried out Latinization of all the Turkic-speaking republics of the USSR starting with Tatarstan and Bashkiria, the new alphabet was called ‘yanalif’. But in 1939 Soviets Latin alphabet was changed to Cyrillic. During those 12 years both Arabic and Latin based Tatar alphabets were in active use. $2,000
45 [HOW TO MAKE NEWSPAPERS] Shwarz, L.I. Tekhnika vypuska gazety: Posobie dlia gazetnykh tekhnikumov [i.e. Newspaper Production Technology: Textbook for Newspaper Technical Colleges]. With: Furman, G. Kak sostavit’ prom nplan gazety [i.e. How to
EARLY SOVIET CULTURE 84 No copies in Make a Financial Plan of Newspaper]. Pp. 126-132. Moscow; Leningrad: Worldcat. Gizlegprom, 1932. 132, [2] pp.: ill. 22x15 cm. In original photomontage wrapper. Small parts of spine missing, general rubbing of the wrapper, private library ink stamp and pencil inscription on the title page. Otherwise very good. One of 8200 copies.
Rare. First edition. Very interesting edition with many drawings, photographs, schemes, examples of newspaper pages, layouts and headlines, examples of types and photo montages for newspaper, etc. Besides being a great textbook and evidence of the time (a newspaper being as one of the most vivid representation of its era) it is also an example of early 1930s book design with its plain lines and especially title page styled for layout of newspaper strip (also shown in the book). The contents of the text is not less interesting: principles of designing newspaper, fonts, mechanization of letterpress printing, photomontage, layouts, how to shorten texts, semantic breakdown of headings, corrections, how to make local newspaper, etc. This information is applicable for magazines as well so these are the explained techniques used for making some of the best Soviet printed press. $750
Cover. No 45 Title page. No 45
EARLY SOVIET CULTURE 85 IX WOMEN
46 [WOMEN OF RUSSIAN THEATRE] Yureneva, V.L. Zhenshchiny teatra [i.e. Women of Theatre]. Petrograd: Mysl’, 1923. 68, [3] pp. In original printed wrappers. Soviet bookshop’s stamp on the back cover, pencil marks on the back cover, damp stain on the lower margin on the front cover, small tears of the spine and extremities of the wrappers.
Worldcat First and only editions. One of 3000 copies. Very rare. locates copies in University of Vera Yureneva (1876-1962), Russian dramatic actress who North Carolina, worked in MHAT, Aleksandrinsky Theatre, Korsh theatre and many University others. In her book she passionately in a form of essay described work of Arizona, University of in theatre and work of women in theatre industry. The most interesting Chicago. parts of the book are the details, work and life stories, memories and personal opinions she gave on actresses of the time like Savina, Repina, Komissarzhevskaya, Granovskaya, Kaminskaya, Klara Yung (as well as foreign actresses like Sara Bernar and Eleonora Duze). In the last part she named even more actresses in a kind of a rollcall including Ermolova, Koonen, Rubenstein and many others. $900
47 [RUSSIAN SUFFRAGETTES] Golosuite za spisok #7 [i.e. Vote for List No.7]. [Petrograd: Tsentr. Tipograf, 1917]. One sided leaflet. 36,5x22 cm. Near fine.
A unique survival of the time and a historical evidence of the most important time in Russia’s history. This is a flyer printed by the All-Russian League of Equal Rights for Women in 1917 for their political campaign for the election to the Constituent Assembly in November of 1917. The translation of the text on the flyer: ‘‘[Female] Citizens and [male] citizens! The League of
WOMEN 86 Cover. No 46
No 47
WOMEN 87 Equality for Women, wishing that the right of women to participate in the Constituent Assembly was not only on paper, expose its candidates to the Constituent Assembly. Vote for the list number 7. If you want our children not to grow up without a home and the old people to not die on the street - send women to the Constituent Assembly. In America, Australia and other countries where women take part in the drafting of laws the number of schools is multiplied, prisons are empty, debauchery and drunkenness noticeably diminish, the protection of children and the elderly is fully secured by law. Let’s send women to the Constituent Assembly too. The old Russia was built only by men, and the grief and misfortunes of the motherland were always shared with them by mothers, wives and daughters. A new Russia should be built by women and men together! The most important Russian laws will be written in the Constituent Assembly. From the laws that will be created in the Constituent Assembly, the fate and life of many generations depends not only on men, but also on women, and so send women to the Constituent Assembly...’’ The movement for women’s political rights which was given the name ‘‘women’s liberation movement’’ in Russia became possible only with the beginning of the revolution of 1905 when the question of democratization of the political system of Russia as a whole arose. In the campaign to provide women with political rights, the oldest women’s association - the All-Russian Women’s Mutual Charity Society, established in 1895 - was actively involved. New women’s organizations were created that put before political demands on the first place: the Union for the Equality of Women (1905), Women’s Progressive Party (1905), All-Russian League of Equal Rights for Women (1907). The most influential organization was the Union for the Equality of Women which had 48 offices in various cities of Russia and actively conducted agitation among women workers and peasants. After its disintegration the League of Equal Rights for Women became its successor. Members of the League deliberately abandoned the broad political program and focused their attention only on the suffragistic demands, that is, on the voting right. It should be noted that at this time in the speeches of the Russian equal rights activists, the support of the tactics of those Western feminists, which aimed at achieving censorial suffrage, was increasingly sounded. This was facilitated by the tougher electoral policy of the Russian government and the futility of efforts to achieve universal suffrage. Members of the League practiced agitation
WOMEN 88 tours around the provinces (Orel, Saratov, Rostov-on-Don, Kremenets, Tomsk, Kiev, Simferopol, Narva). As a result, branches of the League emerged in many cities, including Moscow (1910), Kharkov (1912), Tomsk (1914), Yekaterinburg (1914). The following departments were established under the League: a reading room for street children with a view to fight child prostitution and its prevention, a department against the involvement of women in debauchery, a publishing committee that published cheap pamphlets and books on the women’s issue, an editorial commission that published the proceedings of the congress, lecture department. Every day reports were given on the issues of women’s equality in the League’s premises. The League became the largest and the most wide spread organization. Already in February after the revolution delegates from the League repeatedly met with the leaders of the Soviet of Workers ‘and Soldiers’ Deputies on the issue of women’s suffrage. But, as it turned out, the Soviet of Workers ‘and Soldiers’ Deputies was not ready in practice to implement the program guidelines of its party. The refusal to immediately grant (to the League’s demand) political rights to women was again motivated by the notorious conservatism of the Russian peasant woman or was proposed for solution at the Constituent Assembly. So the League organized the famous mass march on March 19, 1917 which brought together about forty thousand women. Its solemn decoration with theatrical elements undoubtedly contained references to the first suffragette parade in Washington on March 3, 1913. This was the most numerous and memorable performance of the Russian women’s movement which indicated its political weight: as is known, the result of the manifestation was the adoption by the Provisional Government of a decree on universal suffrage. Already in May the first local election was held in which women participated. Later in Septmeber women like men became politically capable in the conduct of elections to the supreme authority of the country - the Constituent Assembly. The League participated in election as its own party under the number 7. This flyer is the evidence of that historical moment. $2,750
WOMEN 89 X SOVIET FASHION
48 [SOVIET SHOES] Modeli obuvi Tsentral’noi model’noi TSNIKP i soiuznykh fabrik. Osenne- zimnii sezon 1936/37 [i.e. Shoe models of Central Modeling factory of the Central Research Institute of Leather and Shoe Industry and regional factories. Fall-winter of 1936/37]. [Moscow]: GUKOP, [1936]. 3-36, 3-82 pp.: ill. 28x22 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Very good. Wrappers and spine with tears professionally restored, tear of the last page professionally restored, tears and small losses of few blank fragments of the right lower margins of some pages, erased ink stamps, ink stamp on the back wrapper. Pp. 3-36 duplicated.
Not found in First and only edition. One of 3000 copies. Extremely rare as such Worldcat. catalogues were almost never kept. This is a catalogue of designs for shoes, boots, shoe decorations, scates, ski boots. Interesting that besides usual models there are also a few models of work boots for work environment like hot shop or mine. The premise of such catalogue was stated in the introduction - proletariat asks not only for comfortable but also elegant footwear (‘‘yet our collection doesn’t have anything to do with fashion magazines of capitalist countries, only external resemblance’’). The goal of such catalogues compilers saw in creating a healthy taste among masses and creating Soviet style through developing such style among fashion designers. Soviet Union was still on a mission of creating a new Soviet man. Each model comes with a number and short description. Some pages have small pictures of a potential buyer like a lady, children, skiers or workers. One drawing pictured a man next to a car in front of metro station (very recognizable Kropotkinskaya metro station). Overall a very interesting look into Soviet day to day life. $1,300
SOVIET FASHION 90 Cover. No 48
Models. No 48
SOVIET FASHION 91 49 [GRADUATE’S THESIS ON MODERN WOMEN’S CLOTHING AFTER THE WWII] Sovremennyi zhenskii kostuм v poslevoennoe vremia na praktike Obshchesoyuznogo Doma Modelei [i.e. Modern Women’s Costume After the War in Practice of All-Union House of Models/Fashion]. [Moscow: MGU, 1954]. [1, 56 pp., 31 pl.]. 29x21 cm. In original full cloth binding. Typewritten text with drawings pasted in. Title page is also handwritten. English titles of magazines also handwritten. Near fine.
This is a typewritten graduate thesis of a then MSU student and later a writer, professor and corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Education Vera Alekseeva (1930-2010) on women’s clothing after the war. Already in the introduction she stated that up to 1941 Soviet designers were not able to resist Western fashion and build a new Soviet style. In general she analyzed state of fashion in recent decades and made a few suggestions like creating a whole look so designers not only sew cloth but think about accessories, make more public shows to get feedback from women, the key role was for the House of Models. Alekseeva’s drawings depict the recent history of women’s costume, it’s silhouette as well as models from the international competition of fashion designs in Prague in 1953 where the Soviet All-Union House of Models, which won first place, took part for the first time. In her work Alekseeva mentions the House a lot which was a fashion forge even before the Revolution. It held open fashion shows, created collections for 300 garment factories of the USSR, sold patterns and even sewed clothes for the Soviet elite. Basically it was a Soviet equivalent of Balenciaga or Christian Dior. The entrance cost five rubles. In her thesis Alekseeva talks about Soviet women. The appearance of ordinary Soviet women in the 1950s differed little from the appearance of women in the 1940s, many of them, from the point of view of the fashion of the new decade, were hopelessly old-fashioned. After Stalin’s death in 1953, with the coming to power of Khrushchev, during the so-called ‘thaw’ period, the time of reforms in the life of Soviet society begins. Thanks to the development of international ties between the USSR and the capitalist countries, information on the Western consumer culture penetrates into the Soviet way of life, people are increasingly able to learn about the novelties of foreign fashion. If in the early 1950s foreign sources of information tried to cover up,
SOVIET FASHION 92 then from the mid-1950s, some changes took place. In fashion magazines, which, by the way, there were many in the USSR, foreign models of clothing began to be published in periodicals, most of them, of course, were from the countries of the socialist camp, but also the work of Western fashion designers. Soviet people could read about the style proposed by Christian Dior. Fashion magazines quickly picked up new trends and began posting on their pages samples of actual feminine outfits. This thesis was wrote in 1954, and we already can spot changes and find such titles as ‘Vogue’ and ‘Femme Chic’. A rare survival of the time and a glimpse into the very beginning of the thaw period. $1,200
Title page. No 49
Illustrations. No 49
SOVIET FASHION 93 XI SAMIZDAT
50 [MARINA TSVETAEVA] Two samizdat books: 1. Tsvetaeva, M. Lebediny stan. Stikhi 1917-1920 g.g. [i.e. Swan’s Stature. Poems of 1917- 1920]. 33 pp. 21x14 cm. 2. Tsvetaeva, M. Komediant. 1918-1919 [i.e. Comic. 1918-1919]. [Akademgorodok, late 1970s-early 1980s]. 14 pp. 21x14 cm. Both books were printed on Soviet computer Elektronika-60. It was introduced in early 1960s in different institutions across the Soviet Union including Akademgorodok in Novosibirsk - a special think tank suburb created for scientists. While the machines were used for cybernetic purposes, it was possible to produce small illegal print runs of desired literature easier than with typewriter. Needle printer was used.
The books are coming from the library of Oleg Fyodorovich Vasiliev (1925-2017), oceanologist and academic of Russian Academy of Science. The book ‘Lebediny stan’ was never published during Tsvetaeva’s life. It was originally written during and about the Civil War, more speci cally the White Guard, where Tsvetaeva’s husband Sergei Efron served. Spending 1920s in Paris Tsvetaeva tried to publish her book of ‘counterrevolution verse’ as she called it but couldn’t nd any takers. When she got back to the USSR she decided to give the manuscript to Basel University, where it was held until in 1957 Gleb Struve (1898- 1985) prepared the rst edition that came out in Munich. Our samizdat is probably copied from it. It seems that the typesetter didn’t pay attention to the text much because there are a lot of pen corrections, even lines added by the reader. ‘Comediant’ was a series of poems dedicated to Yuri Zavadsky (1894-1977), MKHAT artist who featured in famous ‘Princess Turandot’ and ‘Woe from Wit’ stagings. $1300
SAMIZDAT 94 No 50
51 [ROCK’N’ROLL ENCYCLOPEDIA] [Cohn, Nik]. [Rock from the Beginning]. [N.p., 1970s]. 315 leaves. 28,5x21 cm. Owner’s cardboard binding. Typescript. Text on rectos only. Pp. 135, 150, 191 laid in.
Unauthorised fan translation of Nik Cohn’s iconic rock history book. This copy can be called a ‘3rd run’: there was an ‘original’ typescript, then a few English titles were corrected in pen in the 2nd run and in this copy a few indistinct phrases are corrected in pen as well. The copy starts with a table of contents and a preface, without a title page as a usual case in Soviet samizdats. The content includes: The Beginning, Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Classic Rock, ’School’, P..J. Proby, English Pop, America of the 1960s, Twist, Spector Sound, California, Should, Beatles, Rolling Stones, English Rhythm’n’Blues, Bob Dylan, Folk Rock, London in 1964-68, Monkees, Love, The Who, Super-Pop; with two addendums: US Top Singles. 1950 - 1968, Pop and Cinema. Nik Kohn’s book translated probably from American edition of 1969 was the Bible of rock’n’roll history for the generation of Soviet
SAMIZDAT 95 people interested in western music. During 1970s-80s rock movement was still illegal, even though the Soviet censorship was not as strict as in pre-Thaw times. While The Beatles and easy ‘dance oor’ bands were sometimes OK, protest- lled verses of Bob Dylan were surely not on the list of Soviet cafe musicians of that time and could have lead the one reading or performing them into custody. It was also a main source of information for the people associated with the Russian Rock culture of 1980s. For example, when Boris Grebenshchikov was publishing his almanac ‘Roksi’ in 1977 Nik Cohn was mentioned as one of the inspirations. $2,000
Table of contents. No 51 No 51
52 [MOSCOW-PETUSHKI] Erofeev, Venedikt. Moskva–Petushki [i.e. Moscow to the End of the Line]. Moscow: Self-published, 1981. [3], 67 leaves. 30x20,5 cm. Light green card boards. Original carbon copy typescript; rst 52 leaves printed on translucent onion paper with thicker white paper interpolated for ease of reading. A few corrections in ink. Very good. Traces of moisture to card boards and parts of the text, not affecting legibility.
SAMIZDAT 96 Rare samizdat edition of a text known primarily through its illicit circulation during the 1970–1980s. Written in 1969 «Moscow- Petushki» was published abroad in ‘tamizdat’ form in Israel (1973) and Paris (1977), but could not be published legally in Moscow until 1989. Now acclaimed as one of the iconic texts of post-war Soviet literature, the novel describes ‘a day in the life of the alcoholic Venichka Erofeev, setting out from Moscow to the small provincial town of Petushki to meet his sweetheart. Drinking more and more in the course of the journey, the hero nally falls into an alcoholic delirium, in which he has visions of terrible murders and he experiences his own metaphysical murder. The book is full of deep and biting social satire’ (Cornwell 283). This copy is an unusually constructed samizdat: the text is printed on thin, translucent onion skin paper, which required interspersing additional white leaves for ease of reading. Not in the Sayag Collection. Not in Samizdat (Bremen: Temmen, 2000), which notes an undated 1978 edition of the text on 88 leaves. No samizdat copies of works by Erofeev traced through KVK, OCLC. $950
Title page. No 52 No 52
SAMIZDAT 97 XII SHAKESPEARE IN TURKISH
53 [FIRST SHAKESPEARE IN TURKISH] Shakespeare, W. Othllo [i.e. Othello]. Istanbul: Kırk Anbar Matbaası, 1293 [1876]. 123-174 pp. 25x18 cm. Uncut. No wrapper or binding. Tape on the spine otherwise very good.
No paper copies The first translation of anything by Shakespeare to Turkish. It was done in America by Hasan Bedreddin and Manastırlı Mehmet Rifat. The play was the first according to Worldcat. one to be staged by Shakespeare in Turkey the same year. The translation was done from French, based on the version by Jean-François Ducy. $5,500
54 [FIRST JULIUS CAESAR IN TURKISH] Shakespeare, W. Jül Sezar [i.e. Julius Caesar: Five Act Tragedy]. Cairo : Matbaa-i Ictihad, 1908. 165 pp. 19x13 cm. Modern cloth binding. Good condition of the block.
Worldcat locates The first translation into Turkish has been done by Abdullah Cevdet the only copy (1869-1932), the Ottoman physician, writer, translator and intellectual. in America in University of He was the ideologist for Young Turks in 1895 to 1909 and played California. a significant role in Turkish political agenda of 1900s. He was tried several times for the grounds of blasphemy as his writings considered anti-Islamic. He was also the translator of the important literary and scientific texts from German and English. $1,250
SHAKESPEARE 98 55 [HAMLET IN TURKISH] Shakespeare, W. Hamleti [i.e. Danimarka prensi Hamlet: İngiliz şairi Şekspir’in drami]. Istanbul: Devlet Matbaası, 1927. 61 pp. 20x13 cm. Modern cloth binding. Good condition of the block. Original front wrapper preserved.
Worldcat locates First edition of this particular translation done by Kamran Şerif, the the only copy translator of Western classics into Turkish in 1920s-1930s. The edition in America in California State that followed next year was done already in Ottoman Turkish, rather University in than in Arabic characters. The famous language reform done by Attaturk Sacramento. was undertaken in 1927, which makes this edition one of the last classical titles printed in Arabic characters in Turkish. This is the second translation of Hamlet into Turkish, the first one being done by Abdullah Cevdet (1869-1932) in the beginning of the century. $1,250
Title page. No 53 Title page. No 54 Title page. No 55
SHAKESPEARE 99 XIII MISCELLANEOUS
56 [FUTURIST LANGUAGE] Beobi [Gordin, V.L.] Grammatika yazyka chelovechestva AO, perevod s AO [i.e. Grammar of the Language of the Mankind. Translated from AO]. Moscow: Chelovechestvo [i.e. Mankind], [1920]. [2], 20 pp. 16x13 cm. In contemporary wrappers. Tears and soiling of the wrappers. Otherwise very good.
In 1915 Velimir Khlebnikov founded ‘Soyuz 317’ (i.e. The Unity of 317 or The Society of the Chairmen of the Globe), and soon it was joined by the members of artistic avant-garde elite like Prokofiev or Rabindranath Tagore. Khlebnikov’s proclamations of that time transmitted ideas of universal brotherhood and the unity of people of culture who are destined to rule the universe. This brochure was created by Gordin brothers who were influenced by Khelbnikov’s ideas (hence the pseudonym of the author of the text – Beobi which was taken from Khlebnikov’s poem). The Gordin brothers took futuristic ideas on the new anarchic level. Brothers Aba (1887-1964) and Volf Gordin were theoreticians of anarchism, followers of Kropotkin and Bakunin. Aba was the founder of a new movement — individualist anarchism (or universalist anarchism). They’ve created their own organization and called themselves «panarchists». In 1917-1920 they published several brochures on panarchism. In 1920 Volf created language of international communication and named it AO. On the first page of this grammar book it’s stated: «There is no god, no nature. Talk like humans, use ‘AO’». In the brochure they give alphabet, pronunciation rules, parts of speech, abbreviations etc. There were only eleven sounds in the language, five vowels and six consonants. In writing sounds were depicted by numbers. Gordin stressed that his language is universal, and universality excludes any existing alphabets. In 1924 writing of the language was reformed, and AO-2 was presented at the First International exhibition of interplanetary machines and mechanisms in 1927 as the language of
MISCELLANEOUS 100 cosmic communication. This brochure isn’t recorded anywhere. Possibly one of the few copies produced. $4,700
Cover. No 36 First page. No 36
57 [AVANT-GARDE MUSIC] Fatum. Valse-Boston. Music by Rudolf Branzburg. Moscow: Self-published, 1926. 4 pp.: musical notes. 34x26,5 cm. In publisher’s constructivist styled wrappers by Alexandr Frolov. Near fine. Small tears of the extremities, bookshop’s ink stamp on the rear cover.
No copies in USA according to Sheet of music. One of 1050 copies. Extremely rare. Worldcat. This music was performed during ‘Rychi, Kitai!’ [i.e. Roar, China!] play at Meyerhold’s theatre. ‘Roar, China!’ was written by futurist poet Sergei Tretiakov who worked at Meyerhold Theatre where Vsevolod Meyerhold (1874- 1940) produced this play in 1926. Later it went on foreign tour, and on tour of provincial theaters in the USSR. This play was very successful mainly because of its plot - fight of Chinese dockers against American colonizers. $350
MISCELLANEOUS 101 Cover. No 57
58 [COVER DESIGN BY GAMREKELI] Kaladze, K. Qurdi [i.e. Thief. Poems]. Tiflis: Trud, 1927. 14, [2] pp. 17х13 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Author’s signature on the first page. Near fine.
First edition. One of 1000 copies. Rare. WorldCat locates only one copy Cover design by Irakli Gamrekeli (1894-1943), Georgian Soviet (Yale University set designer and one of the founders of Georgian avant-garde stage Library). design influenced by Stenberg brothers and Kirill Zdanevich. From 1922 to 1943 Gamrekeli worked with the Rustaveli Theatre, where he designed 50 productions, including William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1925), Friedrich Schiller’s The Robbers (1933) and Shakespeare’s Othello (1937). In his early works abstract geometrical constructions prevailed, later he turned to architectural forms. He illustrated a few books in the same style he designed set decorations. This cover is regarded as an exemplary Georgian avant-garde design. Signed in
MISCELLANEOUS 102 Georgian by the author Karlo Kaladze (1904-1988), Georgian Soviet poet, one of the first Georgian proletarian poets. Chepyzhov. New Georgian Book Design, #42. $3,100
Cover. No 58
MISCELLANEOUS 103