www.bookvica.co.com 2015
EARLY SOVIET BOOKS 1917-1940 4. [STENBERG BROTHERS DESIGN] 4. [STENBERG BROTHERS DESIGN] O'NEILL, E.G. Lyubov' pod vyazami. Pyesa v tryokh deistviyakh / Perevod P. O'NEILL, E.G. Lyubov' pod vyazami. Pyesa v tryokh deistviyakh / Perevod P. Zenkevicha i N. Krymovoi [Desire under the Elms: Three act play / Translat- Zenkevicha i N. Krymovoi [Desire under the Elms: Three act play / Translat- ed by P.Zenkevich and N. Krymova]. Moscow; Leningrad: MODP i K, 1927. 48 ed by P.Zenkevich and N. Krymova]. Moscow; Leningrad: MODP i K, 1927. 48 pp.: ill. 24x16 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Covers rubbed, some pp.: ill. 24x16 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Covers rubbed, some foxing, light crease and previos owner's pencil signature on the first page. foxing, light crease and previos owner's pencil signature on the first page. Otherwise very good. Otherwise very good. First edition of the play. The poster to the play Desire under the Elms made by Stenberg First edition of the play. The poster to the play Desire under the Elms made by Stenberg brothers was used for the front cover of this edition. The play was first staged in Russian brothers was used for the front cover of this edition. The play was first staged in Russian in the Kamerny Theatre by A. Tairov in 1926. Stenberg brothers were invited as artists to in the Kamerny Theatre by A. Tairov in 1926. Stenberg brothers were invited as artists to this production. The text is accompanied by a few photographs taken during the play. this production. The text is accompanied by a few photographs taken during the play. $ 1200 $ 1200
4. [STENBERG BROTHERS DESIGN] 4. [STENBERG BROTHERS DESIGN] O'NEILL, E.G. Lyubov' pod vyazami. Pyesa v tryokh deistviyakh / Perevod P. O'NEILL, E.G. Lyubov' pod vyazami. Pyesa v tryokh deistviyakh / Perevod P. Zenkevicha i N. Krymovoi [Desire under the Elms: Three act play / Translat- Zenkevicha i N. Krymovoi [Desire under the Elms: Three act play / Translat- ed by P.Zenkevich and N. Krymova]. Moscow; Leningrad: MODP i K, 1927. 48 ed by P.Zenkevich and N. Krymova]. Moscow; Leningrad: MODP i K, 1927. 48 pp.: ill. 24x16 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Covers rubbed, some pp.: ill. 24x16 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Covers rubbed, some foxing, light crease and previos owner's pencil signature on the first page. foxing, light crease and previos owner's pencil signature on the first page. Otherwise very good. Otherwise very good. First edition of the play. The poster to the play Desire under the Elms made by Stenberg First edition of the play. The poster to the play Desire under the Elms made by Stenberg brothers was used for the front cover of this edition. The play was first staged in Russian brothers was used for the front cover of this edition. The play was first staged in Russian in the Kamerny Theatre by A. Tairov in 1926. Stenberg brothers were invited as artists to in the Kamerny Theatre by A. Tairov in 1926. Stenberg brothers were invited as artists to this production. The text is accompanied by a few photographs taken during the play. this production. The text is accompanied by a few photographs taken during the play. $ 1200 $ 1200
FOREWORD
We bring you 30 books printed in early Soviet years. For many reasons the period of 1920s-1940s in Russia has to be considered one of the most unique and interesting in the history of book. New styles and techniques were created in the field of book design inspired by the revolutionary change in life of the country. In this catalog we tried to present a wide range of books in different styles created in that period of 1917-1940: from scatterbrained avant-garde collaborations of Kruchyonykh and Zdanevich to the raging propaganda images of Boris Prorokov and ROSTa windows. One of the pivotal figures in the early soviet period is Alexander Rodchenko who is represented significantly in our catalogue with photo montage and constructivist designs. The book designed by Rodchenko and Stepanova's daughter - Varvara Rodchenko makes an important and interesting addition to the list. Also we wanted to give a slightly unusual perspective on what is known as soviet avant-garde so we included a few books on the subject in Georgian, Yiddish and Armenian. We hope you enjoy our selection. Our next bookfair will be in Boston in November 2015 and we look forward to seeing you there.
Bookvica team
David Agmashenebeli Avenue 17 Tbilisi 0102 Georgia [email protected] +7 985 218 6937, +995 (032) 2430117
Bookvica is a member of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers and The Guild of Antiquarian Booksellers of Russia. KIRILL ZDANEVICH
1. Chernyavsky, K. Pis'ma. Stikhi [i.e. Letters. Poems]. Tiflis, 1927. 30 pp. 22,5x17 cm. 1 of 1000 copies. In original illustrated wrappers. Side edges of the wrappers are restored. Title page is slightly restored (close to the spine).
Cover design by Kirill Zdanevich. The first manifestation of the Tbilisi avant-garde was created as group "The Futurist Syndicate" in 1917. It was reorganized later in "Forty-One Degree"s (41°) group and its core consisted of Aleksei Kruchyonykh, Ilya and Kirill Zdanevich, Igor Terentyev. It also attracted local artists like Lado Gudiashvili, poet from Tbilisi Kolau (Nikolai) Chernyavsky, the resident Armenian futurist Kara-Dervish and others. Chernyavsky together with Iliazd, Kruchyonykh and Terentyev created and published group's manifest in 1919. WorldCat locates four copies.
1 KIRILL ZDANEVICH
2. Pesenki Versalya. Kaprizy markizy. Muzyka B.A. Prozorovskogo [i.e. The songs of Versailles. The Caprice of the Marquise. Music by B.A. Prozorovsky]. Tiflis: Kavkazsky posrednik, [1918]. [3] pp. 34x25,8 cm. Musical notes. The tape over the spine. Some soilings and stains, inscription in pencil and pen on the front wrapper.
Cover design by Kirill Zdanevich. Very rare. WorldCat locates no copies.
2 KIRILL ZDANEVICH
3. Neizdannyi Khlebnikov [i.e. Unpublished Khlebnikov]. Moscow: published by Khlebnikov’s friends, 1928-35. Collotype press edition. Edited by A. Kruchyonykh. Volume 13. Skufiya skifa [i.e. Scithian's Calotte]. [20] pp. 130 copies printed. This copy is №12. Tear of the spine from the top (6 cm) and bottom (2 cm). Cover design by Kirill Zdanevich. Unpublished Khlebnikov is collotypes of poet's manuscripts produced in 1930s by Aleksei Kruchyonykh and group of friends.
3 KIRILL ZDANEVICH
4. Neizdannyi Khlebnikov [i.e. Unpublished Khlebnikov]. Moscow: published by Khlebnikov’s friends, 1928-35. Collotype press edition. Edited by A. Kruchyonykh. Volume 14. Tsarapina po nebu [i.e. The Scratch across the Sky]. [20] pp. 130 copies printed. Small tears (2 cm) of the top and bottom of the spine. Cover design by Kirill Zdanevich.
4 4. [STENBERG BROTHERS DESIGN] O'NEILL, E.G. Lyubov' pod vyazami. Pyesa v tryokh deistviyakh / Perevod P. Zenkevicha i N. Krymovoi [Desire under the Elms: Three act play / Translat- ed by P.Zenkevich and N. Krymova]. Moscow; Leningrad: MODP i K, 1927. 48 pp.: ill. 24x16 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Covers rubbed, some foxing, light crease and previos owner's pencil signature on the first page. Otherwise very good. First edition of the play. The poster to the play Desire under the Elms made by Stenberg brothers was used for the front cover of this edition. The play was first staged in Russian in the Kamerny Theatre by A. Tairov in 1926. Stenberg brothers were invited as artists to this production. The text is accompanied by a few photographs taken during the play. $ 1200
4. [STENBERG BROTHERS DESIGN] O'NEILL, E.G. Lyubov' pod vyazami. Pyesa v tryokh deistviyakh / Perevod P. Zenkevicha i N. Krymovoi [Desire under the Elms: Three act play / Translat- ed by P.Zenkevich and N. Krymova]. Moscow; Leningrad: MODP i K, 1927. 48 pp.: ill. 24x16 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Covers rubbed, some foxing, light crease and previos owner's pencil signature on the first page. Otherwise very good. First edition of the play. The poster to the play Desire under the Elms made by Stenberg brothers was used for the front cover of this edition. The play was first staged in Russian in the Kamerny Theatre by A. Tairov in 1926. Stenberg brothers were invited as artists to this production. The text is accompanied by a few photographs taken during the play. $ 1200
5. [КОРОТКОЕ БО] LEO ESAKIA. Axali Mxatvroba da Niko Pirosmanishvili. New Art and Niko Pirosmanishvili. Tbilisi 1927. 119 pp. 21x15 cm. Wrapper original. Good condition: small pieces of the spine lack from the top and bottom. Bleak waterstains on the front wrapper. $ 1200
KIRILL ZDANEVICH
5. Neizdannyi Khlebnikov [i.e. Unpublished Khlebnikov]. Moscow: published by Khlebnikov’s friends, 1928-35. Collotype press edition. Edited by A. Kruchyonykh. Volume 10. Proza [i.e. The Prose]. [20] pp. 100 copies printed. This copy is №77. Small bits of wrapper missing from the sides. Cover design by I. Terentyev. Rewritten for collotype by S. Gekht (p. 10), S. Kirsanov (p. 16), V. Kashnitsky (p. 14, 15). I. Terentyev (p. 12), Y. Olesha (p. 9).
5 GEORGIAN AVANT-GARDE
6. Drosha [i.e. The Flag. Weekly Artistic and Literary Magazine]. Tbilisi: Sakhelgami, 1923. № 2. 32 pp. 31x24 cm. Good condition. Some minor soiling.
Extremely rare copy of Drosha magazine. Cover designed by David Kakabadze. David Kakabadze (1889-1952) is one of the prominent figures of Georgian avant-garde, associated with Lado Gudiashvili and Shalva Kikodze. These works show the brief period (approx. 1922-1927) in Kakabadze’s work when he turned to kubism. The magazine was the supplement for The Communist magazine. The years of existence 1923-1926. The editor in chief was Mikhail Kakhiani (1896-1937), the first secretary for Party Committee in Georgia. He was executed in 1937.
6 GEORGIAN AVANT-GARDE
7. Drosha [i.e. The Flag. Weekly Artistic and Literary Magazine]. Tbilisi: Sakhelgami, 1924. № 6. 30 pp. 31x24 cm. Good condition. The spine is rebacked, the front wrapper and p.1 is backed at the sides. Minor soiling.
Extremely rare copy of Drosha magazine. Cover designed by David Kakabadze.
7 GEORGIAN AVANTE-GARDE
8. Esakia, L. Axali Mxatvroba da Niko Pirosmanishvili [i.e. New Art and Niko Pirosmanishvili]. Tiflis: Gosizdat, 1927. 119 pp.: ill. 21x15 cm. Title in Russian and Georgian. Illustrated with black and white images. In original wrappers. Good condition. Small pieces of the spine lack from the top and bottom. Bleak waterstains on the front wrapper.
The book is written by film director Leo Esakia (1890-1969). He explains the place of Niko Pirosmani among major artists of the time - from Tatlin to Malevich. One of the first monographies on this subject. WorldCat located no copies.
8 JEWISH AVANTE-GARDE
9. Khashchevatsky, M. Virshy [i.e. Poems in Yiddish]. Kharkih: Tsentrizdat narodov SSSR, 1929. 155, [5] pp. 17,7x12,5 cm. 1 of 3000 copies. In original illustrated wrappers. Very good condition. Minor creases and few tears of oversized wraps. Cover design is by Gersh Inger (1910-1995). Gersh was the pupil of Mark Epstein, one of the founders of famous Jewish art-group ‘Kultur-Lige’ in Kiev that was active in 1918-1920s. This cover design is one of the earliest works by Inger in which one can see strong influence of ‘Kultur-Lige’ works. Moshe Khaschevatsky (1897-1943) was a well-known Soviet Jewish poet and translator of Western classics into Yiddish. Rare. WorldCat locates no copies.
9 ARMENIAN ART
10. Norents, V. Lirichesky front [i.e. The Lyrical Front]. Erivan: GIZ, 1932. 102 pp. 1 of 4000 copies. 21x15 cm. In original illustrated wrapper. Wrapper is rubbed at the edges, soilings, bits of the spine are missing.
Cover design by Martiros Saryan. Rare example of the book design by the founder of Armenian national school of painting. WorldCat locates two copies.
10 RODCHENKO
11. [Shaginyan, M.S.] Mess Mend, ili Yanki v Petrograde. Za i protiv / Dzhim Dollar [i.e. Mess Mend. The Yanks in Petrograd. Pros and Cons / [by] Jim Dollar]. Moscow; Leningrad: GIZ, 1924. 19x13 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Very light tears, previous owner's pencil signature on the front cover. Otherwise near fine.
Both wrappers and the title page designed by Alexander Rodchenko. Extremely rare book from 'Mess Mend' series written by Soviet poet and writer Marietta Shaginyan (1880-1982). The series about an American in Russia were created for the public in attempt to show ‘Red Nat Pinkerton’ to the masses. The series were very popular and indeed became the peak of Soviet pulp fiction. Lunacharsky wrote that it’s important to propagandize revolutionary ideas through the popular literature of this kind. WorldCat locates two copies.
11 RODCHENKO
12. Mandelshtam, E. Kamen’ [i.e. The Stone]. Moscow: Gosizdat, 1923. 96, [2] pp. 18х13,5 cm. 1 of 3000 copies. In original illustrated wrappers. Wrapper is slightly foxed. Minor tears of the spine.
Book cover designed by A. Rodchenko.
12 RODCHENKO
13. Mayakovsky, V. Sifilis [i.e. Syphilis]. Tiflis: Zakkniga, 1926. 15 pp.: ill. 18x13 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Previous owner's bookplate on the inner side of the front cover, some light soilings, bookshop stamp on the rear cover, otherwise near fine.
Cover design and photomontage by A. Rodchenko. With few full-page photomontages by Rodchenko. WorldCat locates five copies.
13 RODCHENKO AND STEPANOVA
14. Podvig, dostoinyi stalinskoi epokhi: Fotoseriya / Sost. V. Kazulin [i.e. Feat Worthy of Stalin Era: Photo Series / Compiled by V. Kazulin]. Moscow: Soyuzfoto; Fotokhudozhnik, 1938. [1], 41 pp.: ill. 28x20 cm. 1 of 3000 copies. In original cardboard folder. Folder is restored. One flap of the folder is replaced by a new one, two other flaps have been reattached. The spine is backed and the case has been cleaned up. Pages have few minor tears, otherwise near fine. Design by Alexander Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova. Photographs by I. Papanin, E. Krenkel, P. Shirshov, E. Fyodorova, E. Vilenskogo and others. One of the rarest Rodchenko/Stepanova albums due to the small run of copies. First ever constructivist album on Arctic. This edition is dedicated to the famous expedition North Pole-1 on the first Soviet manned drifting station in the Arctic ocean. For 234 days, Papanin's team carried out a wide range of scientific observations in the near-polar zone, until taken back by the two icebreakers. It was the first expedition of its kind in the world. WorldCat locates no copies.
14 VARVARA RODCHENKO
15. Byt' bditel'nym: Al'bom naglyadnykh posobii [i.e. Be Vigilant: Album of Visual Aids]. Moscow: Gospolitizdat, 1963. 60 pp.: ill. 35x51 cm. Pages are not bound. In original illustrated cardboard case. Some soiling and light rubbings, foreign cancelled library stamps on the back of two posters, otherwise near fine. Design by Varvara Rodchenko, daughter of Alexander Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova. The folder contains a collection of posters intended for hanging as a visual material. Full edition is very rare because it was used for this purpose. The goal set by creators of this album was to inform people of "forms and methods of subversion of imperialistic intelligence". Every page contains a lot of photographs and photomontages. Very rare. WorldCat locates no copies.
15 AGITPROP
16. Eventov, I. Mayakovskii — plakatist. Kriticheskii ocherk [i.e. Mayakovsky as Poster Artist. Critical Review]. Moscow: Iskusstvo, 1940. 74 pp.: ill., 1 port.; 22,5x17,5 см. In original illustrated card boards. Covers rubbed, tears and losses to the spine, markings and bookshop labels on the rear pastedown, previous owner's pencil markings and a few drawings in the text (p. 50 and 54). Otherwise very good.
The first edition on Maykovsky as poster maker. It examines his interest to satire images and his work with ROSTA windows for two years (1919-1921). During this period he made few thousands drawings and captions. Poster substituted magazines, newspapers, ads etc. Mayakovsky revived Russian folk lubok and gave it sharpness and expression. During his time with ROSTA they invented stencil producing which let them send their posters to 47 towns of the Republic. Text is accompanied by black and white illustrations.
16 AGITPROP
17. Mayakovsky, V. Vo ves' golos. Pervoye vstupleniye v poemu s obrashcheniem sekretariata RAPP [i.e. At the Top of My Voice. The First Prelude to the Poem]. Moscow: Leningrad: GIKL, 1931. 12 pp. 18,8x12,3 cm. Second edition. In original illustrated wrappers. Very good. Light rubbings.
The cover for the second edition of the poem was designed by Solomon Telingater (1903-1969), the best student of El Lissitzky who created the famous first edition of Vo Ves' Golos (1922).
17 AGITPROP
18. Vystavka okna satiry ROSTa. [i.e. ROSTa Satirical Windows Exhibition]. Moscow: Tretyakov Gallery, 1929. 24 pp. 13х17,5 cm. Mayakovsky’s design on the wrapper. Good copy except for some soiling on the rear wrapper. 1979 inscription on the title. Bookplate on the back of the front wrapper.
18 AGITPROP
19. Zemenkov, B. Oformlenie sovetskikh karnavalov i demonstratsiy [i.e. The Design for the Soviet Carnivals and Demonstrations. The Manual for the Art Clubs of Towns and Villages]. Moscow: AKHR Art Society, 1930. 94, [2] pp.: ill. 16,6х13 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Some rubbings, otherwise near fine.
Cover design by B. Zemenkov. Illustrated throughout with the examples of decorations.
19 AGITPROP
20. Na zapadnom fronte — peremeny. Risunki 1-i satiricheskoi brigady khudozhnikov / Felyeton D. Zaslavskogo [i.e. Changes on the Western Front. Drawings of the First Artists' Brigade / Feuilleton by D. Zaslavsky]. Moscow; Leningrad: Ogiz-Izogiz, 1931. 20 pp.: ill. 21x15 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Some soiling. Otherwise near fine.
Cover design and illustrations by Soviet artist and master of satire Boris Prorokov (1911-1972). This edition presents satire on Europe and USA, religion, science, social-democrats (basicly on bourgeois). WorldCat locates two copies.
20 AGITPROP
21. Za bolshevistskiy plakat [i.e. For Bolshevik Poster]. Moscow; Leningrad: OGIZ, 1932. 130 pp.: ill. 21,3х15 cm. 1 of 3000 copies. In original wrappers made with photomontage. Spine is slightly rubbed otherwise good.
Illustrated thoughout with photomontage by G. Klutsis, S. Sen'kin, K.-S. Gartfild, illustrations by Deineka and others. The book contains discussion and speeches on poster and its purpose at the Institute of literature, art and language.
21 THEATRE AND CINEMA
22. O'Neill, E. Lyubov' pod vyazami. Pyesa v tryokh deistviyakh / Perevod P. Zenkevicha i N. Krymovoi [i.e. Desire under the Elms: Three act play / Translated by P. Zenkevich and N. Krymova]. Moscow; Leningrad: MODP i K, 1927. 48 pp.: ill. 24x16 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Covers rubbed, some foxing, light crease and previos owner's pencil signature on the first page. Otherwise very good. First edition of the play. The poster to the play Desire under the Elms made by Stenberg brothers was used for the front cover of this edition. The play was first staged in Russian in the Kamerny Theatre by A. Tairov in 1926. Stenberg brothers were invited as artists to this production. Alexander Tairov introduced O'Neill to Russian stage: in 1920s he made 4 productions of his plays. The text is accompanied by a few photographs taken during the play. WorldCat located one copy (Harvard College Library).
22 THEATRE AND CINEMA
23. Sovetskiy Ekran [i.e. Soviet Screen]. The complete run for 1929. №1-45 along with №1-4 of Kino i zhizn [i.e. Cinema and Life]- the magazine that took place of Sovetskiy Ekran in the end of 1929. Bound in modern binding. All wrappers are preserved. 22,5x31 cm. Trimmed. №14, 15, 25, 34 lack some pages inside.
The main magazine of the time about Soviet cinema. Illustrated throughout with photos.
23 ARCHITECTURE
24. Punin, N. Pamyatnik 3-go Internatsionala. Proekt khud. V.E. Tatlina [i.e. Monument to the Third International. Project by V.E. Tatlin]. St. Petersburg: NKP, 1920. [4] pp.: ill. 28x22 cm. Water stain in the corner of the wrapper that goes through the block apart from that very good. Rubbed notes on the first page.
First edition. Vladimir Tatlin (1885-1953), Soviet painter and architect, was one of the most significant figures in Soviet avant-garde. His design for the Monument to the Third International was a grand un-built monumental building. It was planned to be erected in Petrograd after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, as the headquarters and monument of the Comintern (the third international).
25. Haf, V. Ogon' / Per. s angl. L. Shpet; Obl. G. Klutsisa [i.e. Hough, W. The Story of Fire / Translated from English by L. Shpet; Book cover by G. Klutsis]. Moscow: Gos. izd-vo yunosheskoi i detskoi literatury; Molodaya gvardiya, 1931. 113, [3] pp., ill. 8vo. Original printed wrappers. Tears and rubbings to the covers. Otherwise a very good copy.
Extremely rare book. Gustav Klutsis (1895-1938 was a painter, sculptor, graphic artist, designer and teacher in Russia. He was an important exponent of Russian Constructivism. He is known for the Soviet revolutionary and Stalinist propaganda he produced with his wife and collaborator, Valentina Kulagina. During the 1920s he became increasingly interested in photomontage, using it in agitprop posters. To save money, they often posed for, and inserted themselves into, these images, disguised as workers or peasants. Their dynamic compositions, distortions of scale and space, angled viewpoints and colliding perspectives make them perpetually modern. Klutsis is one of four artists with a claim to having invented the subgenre of political photomontage in 1918 (along with the German Dadaists, Hannah Höch and Raoul Hausmann, and the Russian, El Lissitzky. He said about photomontage: ''the old forms of art (drawing, painting, engraving were insufficient to meet the massive propaganda needs of the revolution''. During the 1930s he worked on graphic and typographical design for periodicals and official publications. His compositions are always extremely concise, cut along the contour of photographs connected with drawing, placed into geometrical patterns. This book cover is very interesting as The Story of Fire has no concern with politics or propaganda, though perhaps with revolution in a vague sense. Yet the book cover is suitable for the content and makes a very strong impression. OCLC locates no copies in USA.
25 26. Shchuklin, N. Avio-stikhi [i.e. Avia-poems]. Rostov-on-Don: published by the society of the friends of the Don air forces, 1924. 56 pp. 1 of 2100 copies. Cover design by the author – professional pilot Nikolay Shchuklin. Both wrappers detached, small bits of the front and rear wrapper missing - not affecting the design of the wrapper.
A curious book written by an uknown pilot Nikolay Shchuklin and dedicated to 'everyone who is able to fly'. It is filled with poems about flying and published locally in Rostov. Scarce. WorldCat locates no copies.
26 27. Katalog 1 vystavki OMAHRR [i.e. Catalog for the First Exhibition of OMAHRR]. Moscow: Izd-vo AHRR, 1928. 28, [2] pp. 17x13 cm. 1 of 2000 copies. Original printed wrappers. Near fine. Few spots and signature on the front cover.
The catalog for the first exhibition of Youngsters' Union of Association of Artists of the Revolution in 1928. Association of Artists of the Revolution was a group of artists in the Soviet Union in 1922-1933. Youngsters' Unioin was created in 1925 as part of its structure by students of Moscow and Leningrad art schools which soon became independent. Rare. WorldCat locates no copies.
27 28. Kochin, N. Pochin Pochinok. Kolkhoz im. Stalina. Selo Pochinki [i.e. Pochin Pochinok (Start of a New Village). Stalin Kolkhoz. Pochinki Village]. Nizhnii Novgorod: Nizhegorodskoye krayevoye otdeleniye, 1931. 94, [2] pp. 17x13 cm. In original colorful wrappers. Association copy. Covers are rubbed, inscription 'to Ashmorin for review' on the title page, spine with soilings and few tears. Cover design by Russian artist and designer Nikolai Ilyin (1894-1954). For twenty years he worked in typography in Nizhnii Novgorod setting the tone for book designers even in big cities. Rare. WorldCat locates no copies.
28 29. Rozhdestvensky, V. V lesakh Robin Guda [i.e. In Robin Hood Forests]. Moscow; Leningrad: Raduga, [1926]. [12] pp.: ill. 23x19 cm. Lithographed edition. In original illustrated wrappers. Very good condition. Soilings, small tears on the spine. Pencil scribbles on the rear wrapper but nowhere else.
First edition. Children’s book illustrated throughout by Vladimir Tronov (1899- after1930) who was a pupil of Dmitri Kardanovsky. Rare. WorldCat locates 4 copies.
29 30. Iskusstvo v proizvodstve. Sbornik khudozhestvennogo soveta Otdela izobrazitel'nykh iskusstv Narkomprosa [i.e. Art in Production. Collection of Essays by the Art Council of the Art Department of Ministry of Education]. Moscow: Khudozh.-proizvod. sov. Otd. izo Narkomprosa, 1921. 43 pp. 22,5x18 cm. 1 of 5000 copies. In original wrappers. Tear at the spine, a small piece of the spine missing.
Cover design by Russian artist David Shterenberg (1881-1948). The main focus Shterenberg had on painting but also worked as art director in theatre and book illustrator — he drew children’s picture books using principles of schematic and plane children’s drawing (same he used for his sometimes painting). However his independent style ceased to find favour with the Soviet authorities and gradually his work was withdrawn from public view. After the 1930s he was forced to work in a more 'realistic' style.
30