H2SO4
Quarto 29x21.5 cm, wrappers, 48 leaves, 96pp. Edition of 1000 copies. Imraklii Gamrekeli (1894-1943) and Beno Gordeziani (1894-1975) were the art editors and designers of this masterpiece of the Georgian avant-garde. Cover with letterpress typographic design by Gamrekeli, photomechanical reproductions of Gamrekeli and Gordeziani throughout, with texts of typographic designs. This audacious and wonderful statement is the most famous of visual productions to come out of avant-garde Georgia under Soviet rule and is the apex of Gamrekeli's graphic production. This work continues the Futurist-into-Dada movement that began with the Zdanevich brothers before WWI and the 41 Degrees group. Carrying on the tradition of the transrational, it drew some of the most creative artists and writers of the time, employing experimental typography as artistic composition and zaum (transrational language) as the poetic vehicle. The H2SO4 group would continue for the next two years to publish experimental work in Tbilisi before submission to the esthetics of the state. This is the first and only number of the symposium-journal to be released. OCLC finds this in Yale and NYPL for North American institutions, but also MOMA 534, illus. pp. 128-129. A very good+ copy of this treasure from the Georgian avant-garde. Chepyzhov No. 3.
More from Michael Fagan Fine Art & Rare Books
STAATSTHEATER W. MEYERHOLD. Auustandstournee 1930
Quarto 24.5x19 cm., stiff wrappers in silver jacket, 46pp. Dust wrapper design by Gustav Klutsis. The accompanying book to Meyerhold's tour abroad in 1930 when he took the State Theater (Gos TIM) to Germany and France where he received acclaim. The book is replete with photos and summaries of Biomechanics, and various plays with cast featured, including Liubov Popova's work for The Magnanimous Cuckhold. A very fine copy in fine dust wrapper.- $1,500
- $1,500
Roial’ v detskoi (The Piano in the Nursery)
Folio 32x28 cm., wrappers, (46) pp. (Piano in the Nursery) The score for eight piano pieces for children, with full page color lithographs and decorations by Pavel Miturich (1887-1956). The October revolution introduced mandatory education in Russia, and brought about a renaissance in children's books and musical works. New values required a new children's literature which often employed a bold visual language set in motion by the Futurists, and articulated by artists eager to promote the avant-garde in the new society. Arthur Lurie (Naum Izrailovich Lur'e,1892-1966) was at the center of the Russian avant-garde before and immediately after the Revolution. As the first Russian Futurist composer, he helped establish experimental music within the new Soviet State. He also set poems by his friends V. V. Mayakovsky and Anna Akhmatova (his lover) to music. Lunacharsky put him in charge of the music division of the Commissariat of Enlightenment, but he quickly grew disillusioned with the Soviet system. He went to Berlin in 1921 on an official mission and never returned to Russia. The present work was composed in 1917 in the midst of the revolution. A reproduction of this book opens the section on Children's Books in the MoMA catalogue The Russian Avant-Garde Book. With color lithos by Petr Miturich (1887-1956), painter and graphic artist. Initially a Futurist and close with Khlebnikov, he later atught at VKhUTEMAS and illustrated many books. Well known for his portraits of Vrubel', Mandelstam, and composer Artur Lurie, he collaborated with the composer on this project with wonderful results. Not in Hellyer. The Russian Avant-Garde Book, p.167. OCLC locates five holdings (Getty, Princeton, NYPL, Morgan, UC Berkeley) in North America. MOMA 309. A near fine copy. PERVOI KONNOI ARMII. Ogonek spetsial’nyi nomer.
(15 Years of the First Cavalry Army. Ogonek special number) Quarto 29.5x22.5 cm., stiff wrappers, 114 pp. A special number of Ogonek celebrating 15 years of the First Red Cavalry. Full cover design by N. Zhukov, with photos by Giorgii Zel'ma, A. Bunimovich, D. Debabov, M. Markov, A. Skurikhin. Graphics by Boris Efimov, V. Mikhailov, A. Chernomordik. Articles by Voroshilov, Budenny, the poet Kirsanov, inter alia. OCLC locates holdings at Yale, NYPL, Unv IL, IN. A superb copy. RECH’, proiznesennaia na otkrytii Petrogradskikh Gosudarstevnnykh Svobodnykh Khudozhestvenno-Uchebnykh Masterskikh 10-go oktiabria 1918 g
(A speech delivered at the opening of the Petrograd State Free Art and Educational Workshops on October 10, 1918) Octavo 16.5x12 cm., wrappers, 32pp. Cover design by Iosif Solomonovich Shkol'nik (1882-1926), a theater artist and painter who worked closely with Filonov and is part of the unknown avant-garde artists of the era. His style fits right into the esthetic of the Segodnia workshop group, which was founded or supported in part by Lunacharsky, and his speech given here was most relevant to its establishment in Petrograd. The Segodnia book productions for children are a high point of creative early revolutionary publishing. No institutional holdings found worldwide in worldcat, quite rare. A fine copy. ISKUSHENIE. Dramaticheskaia skazka v volnykh stikhakh v 4-kh stsenakh.
(TEMPTATION. A dramatic tale in free verse in 4 scenes.) Octavo 18x11.5 cm., wrappers, 88pp. 2000 copies. A dramatic story in free verse, in 4 scenes. Constructivist cover design, unattributed. OCLC finds only one physical copy held institutionally worldwide (Univ MI). A rare publication from VKhUTEMAS. A near fine copy, unopened, with slight darkening on cover edges. Izbrannye stikhi (Selected Verse)
Octavo 17.5x12.5 cm., wrappers, 112 pp., 2000 copies. Foreword by M. Ravich-Cherkasskii. Bagritsky translated a majority of these poems. Volodymyr Sosiura (1898-1965) is recognized as one of Ukraine's most important lyric poets. A party member from early on, he was twice expelled for "nationalistic overtones" in his work and was forced to undergo "re-education" as a factory worker from 1930-1931. Most of his work went unpublished in his lifetime. Constructivist cover design unattributed. OCLC finds one institutional holding (Stanford). Fine. Znak Zorro. Duglas Ferbenks
x26.5 cm., wrappers, (6) pp. Cover drawing by Nyk. Kravchenko. An oversize promotional edition by Sovkino, with an essay on Fairbanks and raves from the press for his role in this silent favorite, with a full-page promotion for the inaugural showing of Robin Hood. Glavlit 42303. No institutional holdings found in worldcat MASTERSTVO TEATRA. Vremennik Karmernogo Teatra.Nos. 1-2
Octavo 22x17.5 cm., original wrappers, 111, 112 pp. Nos. 1-2 (all published). Illustrated with drawings by Kuznetsov, Lopukhin, and with photographs. Contributors include A. Tairov, K. Bal'mont, Shpet, Toporkov, inter alia. OCLC locates six North American institutional holdings. No.1 has light stains on first two pages, No. 2 fine. Trinadtsat’ trubok (Thirteen Pipes)
Octavo, original wrappers, 258 (3) pp. The first edition of this work that inspired Constructivist thought and esthetics. Erenburg wrote this set of satirical stories using one of the pipes from his collection. Cover design by Liubov' Kozintseva (1898-1978). The cover design for this first edition is iconic. Erenburg's essay with striking cover had a great impact in Poland with Mieczyslaw Szczuka and Teresa Zarnowerowna, who produced a fine volume in translation. It came out with a number of printings both in the USSR and abroad. OCLC locates ten North American institutional holdings. This copy with cover wear. Trinadtsat’ trubok (Thirteen Pipes)
Octavo 18x13 cm., wrappers, 228 (5) pp. Erenburg wrote this set of satirical stories using one of the pipes from his collection. Cover design by Liubov' Kozintsova or Kozintseva (1898-1978) wife of Erenburg. She studied under Aleksandra Ekster, Robert Falk and Rodchenko and exhibited in Berlin, participating in the 1st Russian art exhibition, in Der Sturm Gallery and the left wing of the joint exhibition of the Berlin Union artists and Union of German Architects, collaborated in the journal Veshch-Objet-Gegenstand, exhibited constructivist graphics in Hanover, Prague, Brno and Antwerp, and from 1924 in Paris with the Autumn Salon. She illustrated several books of her husband and on returning to the USSR in 1940 and ceased exhibiting. The present work is the second edition and differs from her cover design in 1923 with a more complex composition. The book was widely translated and received fine cover designs by Heartfield, Zarnower, Strakhov. OCLC finds 3 holdings for the 1924 edition (Columbia, Amherst, UBC). Dneproprostroi denprovskaia gres. Pervyi tok Dneproprostroi Gidro-elektro-stantsii.
Octavo 24.5x17.5 cm., wrappers, 32pp. Published on the completion of the Dnepro Dam after five years of construction, on May Day of that year, with a photocollage cover encompassing front and rear covers. This is a richly illustrated series of essays discussing the construction and completion of the hydroelectric dam near Zaparizhzhia, Ukraine. Cover and book design by Iurii Slepian. No copies found in worldcat. 800- $800
- $800
Predatel’ (The Traitor)
Abram Room, Director Oblong octavo 15x23 cm., wrappers, (9) pp. A prospectus for a film directed by Abram Matveevich Room (1894-1976). An agent working for the Tsar fools a group of Bolshevik but is captured and punished after the revolution. With Mariia Parshina, Evgeniia Khovanskaia, Nikolai Radin, inter alia. With photomontage cover and illustrations throughout. OCLC locates copies at Yale, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Fine.- $750
- $750
Krest i Mauzer. Kinodrama v 8 chastakh (The Cross and Mauser)
Vladimir Gardin, Dirctor Quarto 30.3x22.5 cm., original wrappers, (12) pp. Oversize prospectus for the Goskino production directed by Vladimir Gardin (1877-1965). The strong photomontage designs throughout, utilizing repeated geometric elements is the work of Anton Mikhailovich Levinsky (1893-1968), who employed them dramatically in a number of film brochures at this time. Levinsky started in Baku and eventually became part of LEF. OCLC locates one holding worldwide (Monash Univ, Australia).- $1,000
- $1,000
Komizhevskii Registrator (The Station Master)
Iurii Zheliabushkii, Ivan Moskvin Quarto 30x22/5 cm., wrappers, (16) pp. A brochure for a film with I. Moskvin, V.Malinovskaia and B. Tamarin directed by Iurii Zheliabuzhkii and Ivan Moskvin, in a screenplay by F. Otsen and V. Turkin. Includes a two-page written summary with credits. Ivan Moskvin (1874-1946) was a Russian and Soviet actor, theater director, People's Artist of the USSR and recipient of two Stalin prizes. He was noted as a reader, particularly of Chekhov stories. Rare, with no holdings found in worldcat.- $750
- $750
Piatiletka (The Five-Year Plan)
Semen Kirsanov, S.B. Telingater design, photomontages Octavo 20x14cm., original decorated cloth, 176pp., 10000 copies. Book design with 8 double-sided photgravures by Solomon Telingater. "The Five-Year Plan" is a major poem. The author Semen Kirsanov (1906-1972) established the Southern Association of Futurists as a teenage poet, and apprenticed under Mayakovsky and Aseev. He was a strong promoter and member of LEF, and felt that he had inherited Mayakovsky's torch after the latter's death in 1930. At that time Mayakovsky had sketched a beginning to the plan and Kirsanov felt the urgency to complete it for him in a paeon to the vision of Lenin and Stalin and the forthcoming triumph of their aims. He collaborated with the design wizard S.B. Telingater (1903-69) here, who provides a stunning example of Constructivist book design, with photomontages and typography living up to the aspirations of the poem. OCLC locates seven North American holdings. Getty 331. Provenance: S. Polivanskii, N.A. Drachev, with their bookplates and stamps. Near fine with slight edgewear.- $1,800
- $1,800
V tsarskikh pogonakh (In the Tsar’s Epaulettes)
V. Babushkin Octavo 19.5x14 cm., decorated boards, 127pp. Two-color photomontage cover by N. Pinus (Natalia Sergeevna Bukharova, 1901-1980). Pinus studied at VKhUTEMAS-VKhUTEIN and was a member of the Artists Union of the USSR. She is best known for her powerful agit-prop posters. She devoted her later life to painting. Along with Valentina Kulagina, she was among the top of the Soviet women photomontage artists of her generation. Viktor Babushkin (1894-1958) was a Soviet editor, author and journalist from Saratov. After a varied background he participated in the First Congress of Soviet writers, headed various newspapers and magazines, and flourished until he was expelled from the party as a double-dealer and participant in the Sapronov leftist opposition, was tried and sentenced for three years in the gulag. Prohibited from writing, he distinguished himself as a mechanic during WWII and received numerous honors. He was finally reinstated in the party and the Writers' Union in 1954. OCLC locates copies at LOC, Columbia.- $2,200
- $2,200
Politiki vraga. (Ocherki I portrety). Vozhdi kapitalistichkoe i soglasatel’skoi v Evropy.
G. Geronskii; S.B. Telingater, design. Bela Kun, Pref. (The Poliics of the Enemy: Leaders of Capitalist and Accommodating Europe; Essays and Portraits). Octavo 19.8x13.5 cm., wrappers, 200pp. Solomon Telingater, front and rear cover and page design, with a photocollage on rear cover and vignettes with photos and drawings on the chapter title pages. This work presents two dozen essays characterizing class enemies --- Western politicians and leading personalities, with Pope Pius blessing them and flanked by police and armed guards. The photocollage depicts social democratic leaders brandishing their strength to keep the capitalist ball rolling. The author Gennady Isaevich Iakov-Geronskii (1900-??) was a journalist. He was arrested twice in the 1940s and sent to labor camps, rearrested in 1961 under Article 70 (undermining Soviet power). Béla Kun was the leader of the Hungarian 1919 revolution and exiled to the USSR; he was arrested and tried as a Trotskyite and shot in 1938. Worldcat locates copies in Princeton, Berliner Staatsbibliothek. Important document- $2,250
- $2,250
Kartoshka
Lena Neiman, A. Shcherbakov illus. Octavo 16x13 cm., wrappers, (14) pp. Lina-Sofia Samuilovna Neumann (1883-1971) was a children's book author and Russian literary scholar. She was already an established pedagogue before writing her first children's book in 1927, along with expanding literary studies and writings. She went silent after 1937 until 1960, and was only accepted into the Writer's Guild at the age of 78. OCLC locates holdings at Getty, NYPL. Very good+ with sunned spine- $700
- $700
VOZNIKNOVENIE GORODA. Stikhotvorenaia povest’.
Viktor Zavodchikov Octavo 18x13 cm., boards, 48pp. Cover design by N.O. Iakubovyi Munts. Vladimir Pavlovich Zavodnikov (1904-1969) was a Komsomol poet and war correspondent. The present work, The Emergence of the City, includes photographs of urban building in various stages. OCLC locates two holdings in North America (Stanford, Ohio State Univ). A fine copy- $750
- $750
Groshki i meshki (Pots & Bags)
Ia. Godin, Tat'iana Krshanovskaya illus. Octavo 20x15 cm., wrappers, (12) pp. Iakov Godin (1887-1954) was a Russian poet, translator, and editor. No biographical data for the illustrator Tatiana Krshinovskaia is currently available . OCLC finds one North American institutional holding (Harvard) for this work. A fine copy- $700
- $700
