Search Results: Russian modernism from Michael Fagan Fine Art & Rare Books

Moscow-Leningrad: Gosudarstvennoe Izdatel'stvo, 1927 Octavo 17.5x13 cm., wrappers, 100 pp., The first and only edition of 3000 copies. The 1905 revolution made a profound impact on Pasternak, and he revisited it many times throughout his career. This is one of two long poems he had published in 1927, a reconstruction of his memories employing the events that lead to the revolution, "powerful but diffuse," which he worked on through 1926, and the other being Leitenant Shmidt, the leader of the Sevastopol rebellion. Rozanov 3585, Turchinskii S. 415. OCLC locates this work in 8 North American libraries. Cover with worn edges, light soil spot.

Tbilisi: Lit. Gruzgiza, 1936 Small quarto, wrappers, 32pp. An program for the opera written by Georgian composer Mikeladze, with stage designs reproduced in full page color by Gamrekeli who also designed the cover. Gamrekeli (1894-1943) was a participant of the avant-garde in the USSR who created many works for the stage and for a time was highly experimental. Although the booklet was published in Tbilisi, it is in Russian language and was distributed in the opera season for 1936 in Moscow. Includes a synopsis of the opera, with photos of all the principals including composer, director and musicians; photo of Gamrekeli is included and a full-page photo portait of National Artist Z.P. Paliashvili. Also included is a four-page announcement of the general auspices under which the opera appeared, called A Decade of Georgian Art, for the 1936-37 season in Moscow. Worldcat finds no copies held in libraries or institutions for this title.

New York: Dancey-Davis, 1923 Folio 32.5 x 24.5 cm, wrappers, 32pp. Cover design and numerous color illustrations by Serge Sudeikine (Sergei Sudeikin), with work also by Nicolas Remizoff (Nikolai Remizov). Undated. An extravagently conceived announcement for the first tour in New York for 17 months under the auspices of C.Ray Comstock & Morris Guest, it is a fine document of costume and theatre design by two of the preeminent Russian avant-garde artists. Fine except for a small chip off front cover. Rare.

Paris: ARS, 1930 Quarto, wrappers, 20pp., 18 plates. 210 copies, this unnumbered. Kliment Nikolaevich Redko (1897-1956) studied under Aleksandra Ekster and worked in a suprematist mode and fully engaged in the avant-garde, which included working in the early revolutionary era and decorating streets with agit-prop elements. Later he spent 7 years in Paris evolving from a modernist to quasi impressionist before returning to the USSR, where he merged into soviet realism. OCLC finds this in 7 North American libraries.

Gosudarstevnnaia Akademiia Khudozhestvennykh Nauk, g.a.kh.n., 1928 Two volumes, complete pubication for year. Quarto, wrappers, 176, 240pp. Unattributed cover design. Fourth and final year of "ART," an occasional arts and literary yearbook published sporadically from 1923 to 1928, in an edition of 1000 copies. In earlier years it was a fairly academic, conservative review/symposium but in 1928 there were a host of avant-garde contributors reviewing theater, poetry, visual and musical arts by leading intellectuals and artists including Lunacharsky, Efros, and Marc Chagall who wrote an obituary for Iakov Tugendhold's passing that year. Illustrated with rare images of Soviet stage designs, costumes, photocollage, exhibition photos, painting and sculpture, all experimental and modernist. A microfilm was released in 1964. Worldcat indicates 14 actual (not digital) holdings in North America.

Peterburg: Komitet Populiarizatsii khudozhestvennykh Izdanii pri Rossiisk, Akad. Istorii Material'noi Kultury, 1922 Octavo 21x16 cm., wrappers, 80(4)pp. Memorial exhibition of the work of Georgii Ivanovich Narbut (Heorhiy Narbut) (1886-1920), renowned as the most important Ukrainian graphic designer of the 20th century. He designed banknotes, postage stamps, illustrated books and magazines, and is famous for his silhouette drawings of notables figures. OCLC locates this work in 14 North American institutions.

Moscow-Leningrad: Kinopechat', 1927 Octavo 17x13cm., wrappers, 64pp. Cover design by the Stenberg Brothers. Founded in 1914 by Aleksandr Tairov. It provided an intimate environment which drew the audience and actors together. In the early Soviet era it presented major experimental drama and was buttressed by the artistic director Aleksandra Ekster for set and costume design, and further collaboration of Konstantin Medunetskii for decor. Initially it steered clear of any political orientation, but in 1928 Tairov produced Bulgakov's Purple Island which drew the authorities' attention. Stalin himself mocked its presence as a bourgeois theater and thenceforth it operated under close scrutiny, persisting into WWII. This book is the first appraisal of its place in Russian art and culture, with photos of its various activities to date of various major productions before it encountered government resistance. OCLC finds 6 North American library holdings of this first edition.

Quarto 30x22 cm., cloth, 51 pp., 21 plates. Frontispiece by Hugo Gellert; color plates of work by P.V. Viliams. Antál Hidás (Hungarian, né Gyula Spitzer 1899-1980) wrote under a variety of names. He wrote in Hungarian and Russian. Hidás wrote agit-poetry in the interwar period, moving to Socialist Realism thereafter. A lifelong revolutionary, he spent several years in Moscow and married Béla Kun s daughter. Incarcerated during the purges 1938-1945), he returned to Hungary in 1959. The present work is a poetry collection calling the peoples under British colonial rule in India, Africa, and China to revolution. Suitable for adult and older juvenile readers. With full-page color plates by Petr Vladimirovich Vil'iams (1902-1947) Viliams (Williams). Vil'iams was an "easel painter," member of the OST (Easel Painters Group) who studied at VKhUTEMAS under Kandinsky, Korovin, and Shterenberg. He is primarily known for his theater designs after 1930. Foreword by E. Trshchenko. OCLC locates one… Read More

Quarto (27x18.5 cm.), original wrappers, 96pp. Vladimir Vasil'evich Bakrylov (1892-1922) was a writer and journalist appointed by Lunacharsky to the Ministry of Public Education and later to the Commissar of state theaters in Petrograd to "liquidate sabatoge" among the actors. He became fascinated by Russian theater history, and in particular an old comedy about the pagan monarch who tries to get the boy to denounce Christianity. It dated back over 300 years and was well known to Russian peasants, soldiers, and factory workers. Bakrylov created his own version, drawing on over nineteen variants of the famous folk play. The present work was Nikolai Tyrsa's first book commission and is a wonderful literary abstract design on both front and rear covers. Tyrsa (1887-1942) was a student of Leon Bakst; he went on to become one of the USSR's greatest children's book illustrators. OCLC locates seven holdings in North America. A near fine copy

Quarto 22x17.5 cm., wrappers, 32pp. Cover design by A. Shcherbakov, page design and montages by P. Suvorov. 10,000 copies. A young reader’s book on exploration of the far northern USSR from the constructivist era, with strong title page design and multiple typefaces on every page. OCLC finds 6 copies of the three editions in North American institutions. A near fine copy.

Octavo17x12.5 cm., wrappers, 190 pp. Cover design by Aleksandr Rodchenko. Crimea was a health and vacation spot for the upper classes from Tsarist times. After the Civil War it was designated as a Vserossiiskaia Zdravnitsa (All-Russian Health Resort). The palatial estate of the Tsar and family members were nationalized and converted in sanitoriums and doma otdykha (R & R resorts) managed by various state entities. Soon, a potiovka v Krym (voucher for stay in a sanitorium or health resort) became a sought for perk a Soviet worker could hope to earn through good standing. The present work is the first comprehensive reference work for Crimean health resorts, differing from regular travel guides by the depth of information about the medical services available at the sanitoriums and spas. For book collectors, this work's cover presents an early example of Rodchenko applying photomontage in book design. He began incorporating photographic images into graphic design in 1923-24 and came to see photomontage… Read More

Large octavo 20.5x14.5 cm., wrappers, 19pp. Cover and two full-page illustrations by Vladislav Khodasevich (1886-1939). Typography in pre-revolutionary orthography. Makar Chudra is the author's second story, published in a Tiflis journal in 1892. A tale of bewitching love, murder and retribution with a visionary close has lent it to various adaptations.
Strong artwork by Vladislav Khodasevich, known primarily for his poetry and literary writings. Khodasevich became close to Gorky, living nearby in Sorrento where the author resided in the 1920s. Near fine. 1100

Reval (Estonia), Bibliofil', 1921 Octavo, wrappers, 88pp. Sologub (1863-1927) was a symbolist poet, novelist, essayist and playwright. He achieved earlier fame but experienced great privation in the early years of the revolution when his books weren't published. The first edition of this collection of poems, "Blue Sky" which the poet completed in a temporary move to Estonia in 1921. The night before he left his wife committed suicide. This informed much of his state of mind and later poetry. The return from Estonia opened a period of acceptance by Soviet publishers to release his work and he recovered acclaim and a wide readership. A fine copy.

Large quarto 27.2x18.5 cm, original wrappers bound in publisher's 1/2-cloth containing 12 numbers for the year 1922, the complete issue for that year. in two volumes. The cloth binding worn, spine rubbed; the contents of wrappers and interior as new. It also contains adverts of numerous emigre Russian presses and their releases during the period. Of high possible collectibility for enthusiasts and scholars.
The New Russian Book was published from 1921 to 1923. The present set includes all of 1921 and 1922. It includes new titles released in Soviet Russia, as well as a Russian works released abroad. Of all the Russian exile periodicals published from 1919 to 1929, Novaia Russkaia Kniga is acknowledged to be the very best. Rare; No copies found in worldcat.

Leningrad: Academia, 1928 Octavo, wrappers, 97pp., 2100 copies. Critical essays. Mandelshtam didnt write poetry from 1925 to 1930, but devoted his time to prose, hack work and translations. Even these attempts led to official displeasure and wrath from officialdom. Yet 1928 was the height of his visibility to the reading public, with new books reaching publication, this one of three released and all of them likely thanks to the efforts of his friend Nikolai Bukharin (the others are Stikhotvoreniia (Poetry) 1928, and The Egyptian Stamp). Except for Journey to Armenia from 1933, these would be the last works he would see published under his name for the remainder of his life. Pressure from the Writers Union on conformity to party doctrine and continued vilification of his person and work led to him being proscribed, although he was able to continue giving public readings for a few years and get strong, positive audience response. Worldcat locates only two institutional holdings (Bayerische… Read More

Uncommon Marshak-Tsekhanovsky collaborationOctavo 19x14 cm., wrappers, 10 pp. 30,000 copies. Illustrated by M. Tsekhanovskii. The first printing in 1924 had artwork by Boris Kustodiev. Samuil Marshak (1187-1964) enjoys a worldwide readership for his writings for children and adults, which have been translated in many languages. He collaborated with modernist artists and illustrators of note in the 1920s and 30s. Mikhail Tskhanovskii (1889-1965) is an interesting case in point. Mikhail Mikhailovich was a prominent animation artist in addition to his work as a book artist, screenwriter and sculptor. In animation he collaborated with Daniil Kharms, Aleksandr Vvedenskii and D. Shostakovich in experimental work which never was released; he was later awarded the status of National Artist. Worldcat finds no institutional holdings in North America for the edition with Tsekhanovskii's work.

Moscow: Mospoligraf, 1926 Oblong quarto 15x23 cm., wrappers, 71(1)pp. Prospectus for a film directed by Iakov Portazanov. Photomontage cover and interior illustrations. Glavlit 68634. Worldcat finds OCLC, Columbia holdings in North America. This copy very good with slight corner chip on front cover.

Uncommon, large monograph published by the Roerich Society founded in Riga, Latvia. It is the first and only published part of what was to be a larger series, which was curtailed with the Soviet invasion of Latvia soon after the book's release. It is an extensive coverage of Roerich's oeuvre, with primary focus on his work in the Himalayas and Tibet. 129 color reproductions, tipped in. Nikolai Roerich (1874-1947) was an oversize presence in the Mir iskusstva group of artists, musicians, and writers at the turn of the century who came to note in the West through the work of Sergei Diaghilev with the Ballets Russes. Roerich had strong impact among the spiritualist and theosophical circles in the USA and founded Corona Mundi, an organization dedicated to world peace under the banner of art and culture. He spent most of his later life in India and Tibet, of which a great deal of work is represented.
Book design by Ludolf Liberts (1895-1959), a renowned artist and stage designer in Riga and art editor who… Read More

Quarto 27x18cm., wrappers, 79(1) pp. Year 3, No. 3. 3000 copies. Sovetskoe iskusstvo was published from 1925 to 1929. It drew on some of the top-notch artists, writers and musicians and covered all aspects of modernist art, including from abroad. Its contributors include Anatoly Lunacharskii, N. Maslennikov, the composer N. Roslavets, R.A. Pel'she, A. Sidorov, S.M. Tret'iakov, inter alia. The present issue looks at Ukrainian avant-garde painters and designers (Pal'mov, Meller, Shekhtman, Holostenko etc), Graphic Art in the USSR 1917-1927 (Chekhonin, Lebedev, Annenkov et al), New German Art (Dix, Grosz, Lemburg),, Robert Fal'k, theatrical and musical events (Prokofiev and Medtner visits), and more, richly illustrated throughout in b/w. An important document of the liberal wing of art and culture. Quite uncommon, with only two numbers over five North American institutions.

Paris: Commedia Illustre, 1921 Folio 32.5 x 25.5 cm, wrappers, 18pp. Original lithograph cover by Nikolai Remizov (Nicolas Remisoff). Costume design and portraits throughout by Remizov and Sergei Sudeikin. The first year of this troupe to arrive from Russia, using the cover design of the previous year. Rare.