మత్స్య మిత్రుడి మంత్ర మహిమ రష్యన్ జానపద కథ. [By The Will of The Pike: Russian folk tale].: In Telugu. Adaptation by M. Bulatov.

One of 5 000 copies printed.
Rare.

Printed in Kaunas.

First edition of this fairy tale with Mavrina's illustrations was issued in 1958. It was also published in English, Swahili, Vietnamese, Arabic and languages of India (Assamese, Odia, Gujarati, Kannada).


Tatyana Lebedeva (1900/1902–1996), better known by her mother's surname, which she used as a pseudonym—Mavrina. She studied at VKhUTEMAS under Robert Falk. Mavrina was a member of 'Group 13', an association of graphic artists created in 1929. In the same year, first children's book with her illustrations was issued. As well as some others Russian avant-garde artists, she illustrated children's books since 1930s because it was the only way to stay away from repressions during the Stalin era. After the WWII, Mavrina created her own unique and easily recognizable style — 'method, combining the traditions of Russian primitivism with the painterly quests of the first decades of the early XXth century'. Her illustrations to Russian folktales have become classics. Mavrina is the first Russian artist who won Hans Christian Andersen Awards for her illustrations of children's books (1976).
The book is from the children's collection of Inna Shmeleva (1929-2020), an artist, who studied under Ely Bielutin, the founder of The New Reality artistic academy. In 1962 Shmeleva participated in the 30th anniversary of the Moscow Union of Artist at the Central Exhibition Hall (Manège) which was severely criticized by Nikita Khrushchev. This event marked the end of the period called as the Khrushchev Thaw.


We couldn't trace any copy of this edition in the USA or European libraries via OCLC.