The tumultuous events of 1917 caused great deprivation and shortages of materials. Printing houses were seized by the government and paper became incredibly scarce, essentially bringing publishing to a halt. As a result, several prominent artists, led by Vera Ermolaeva, founded an ‘Artel’ (a creative collective) under the name ‘Segodnia’ [Today].
Art and the Revolution
The aim was to continue to produce groundbreaking work using the limited resources available to them at the time, meaning that all the group’s works are hand printed from linoleum blocks. The harsh conditions limited the format and edition size but in turn generated a new wave of children’s books that were hugely significant in the development of avant-garde art.
The Revolution changed many things, one being the removal of certain letters from the Cyrillic alphabet, which made it a lot easier for children to learn their spelling! Dobuzhinsky’s ‘merry’ alphabet book includes a witty nod to this by putting three of the abolished letters in a museum cloche dated 1917. The remaining letters are each paired with a playful yet elegant illustration with some clearly mocking the former regime. The letter O illustrates an ‘obzhora’ [glutton] stuffing his face with sausage whilst P for ‘pushka’ [gun] depicts incompetent soldiers in Imperial uniforms.
Dobuzhinsky’s lighthearted style was a little too jovial for the authorities and did not go far enough with its ideological message. He was advised to leave the Soviet Union in 1924 and it was lucky he did, poor Ermolaeva was executed for treason in 1937, despite her best efforts to tow the party line.
Artistic experimentation was initially encouraged in the 1920s but there was also a need to foster a sense of class-consciousness among the young. Concrete and informative graphic language became key in demonstrating the success of the socialist dream. The result was eye-catching and artful propaganda for the mass reader.
Two such examples are this wonderfully bright example of The Farmyard, a Futurist work displaying the delights of milking cows and Dhzannik and Kiryusha, a tale of Communist friendship between two boys from different Soviet states.
Even these revolutionary works of the 1920s and 30s eventually fell afoul of the censor and the style of illustration reverted to more traditional forms, bringing the golden age of children’s book designs to an end.
Discover more: Russian Art, Russian Literature.
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U haiu [In the Grove].
KLOKOVA-LAPINA, Maria Petrovna; ERMOLENKO, Borys (illustrator).Original price £1,200.00 - Original price £1,200.00Original price £0.00£1,200.00£1,200.00 - £1,200.00Current price £1,200.00A richly illustrated children's book, a Ukrainian translation of a tale by Russian children's writer Mariia Klokova-Lapina (1884–1943), translated...
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Moi Skazki [My Tales].
KARAZIN, Nikolay Nikolaevich (illustrator).Original price £950.00 - Original price £950.00Original price £0.00£950.00£950.00 - £950.00Current price £950.00Fine example of the first edition of this popular work, in a decorative publisher's gift binding. Issued by one of the best publishers of the time...
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Rodnye Skazki [Native Tales].
TULUPOV, N. V. (editor).Original price £450.00 - Original price £450.00Original price £0.00£450.00£450.00 - £450.00Current price £450.00A charming collection of illustrated Slavic fairy tales edited by Tulupov and based on Afanasyev's folk tales.Second edition, 8vo (20.5 x 16 cm); ...
View full detailsOriginal price £450.00 - Original price £450.00Original price £0.00£450.00£450.00 - £450.00Current price £450.00 -
Ukrainska Abetka [Ukrainian Alphabet].
KHOLODNY, Petro Ivanovych.Original price £1,500.00 - Original price £1,500.00Original price £0.00£1,500.00£1,500.00 - £1,500.00Current price £1,500.00Extremely rare production by the Ukrainian diaspora.Attractively illustrated, by the son of the Minister of Education of the Ukrainian People's Re...
View full detailsOriginal price £1,500.00 - Original price £1,500.00Original price £0.00£1,500.00£1,500.00 - £1,500.00Current price £1,500.00 -
Tsukor [Sugar].
DIRSH, Natalia.; KOZLOVSKY, Konstantin (illustrator).Original price £2,000.00 - Original price £2,000.00Original price £0.00£2,000.00£2,000.00 - £2,000.00Current price £2,000.00Illustrated by the Kyiv-born artist Konstantin Kozlovsky, Tsukor is an incredibly rare example of a Soviet 'production book' printed in Ukrainian....
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Skazka Pro Mar'iu Morevnu [Maria Morevna].
ZWORYKIN, Boris.Original price £2,750.00 - Original price £2,750.00Original price £0.00£2,750.00£2,750.00 - £2,750.00Current price £2,750.00A scarce and luxurious rendition of this classic Russian fairy tale, beautifully illustrated by Zworykin and heightened in gold. Bilibin's Maria M...
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Korol' i Pastukh: Angliskaia narodnaia ballada [The King and the Shepherd: An English Folk Ballad].
MARSHAK, Samuil; TRONOV, Vladimir.Original price £1,500.00 - Original price £1,500.00Original price £0.00£1,500.00£1,500.00 - £1,500.00Current price £1,500.00A striking edition of Marshak's translation of the 16th-century English folk tale King John and the Bishop, illustrated by Vladimir Tronov. Marsha...
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