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[SOVIET DEPARTMENT STORES AND THEIR DESIGN] Al’bom obraztsov torgovykh vitrin [i.e. An Album of Sample Display Windows]

Item #1351

Moscow: tip. Narkomoborony, 1935. 103 pp. : ill. 22x30 cm. In original illustrated cardboards; illustrated endpapers. Rubbed and bumped, spine slightly soiled, otherwise very good and clean internally.

First edition. One of 4,400 copies. Very rare. Layout by Sakulin.
This early Soviet work is devoted to display window designs and includes more than 80 exemplary designs for various departments.
The remarkable photomontage design of covers and endpapers consists of numerous store window designs. Photographs were taken by I. N. Iaroslavtsev. The edition was designed by a group of artists, including R. Borodulin, L. Vaninskaia, N. Gurvich, I. Fiks, A. Shakhov, and supervised by the book designer G. Bershadskii.
In June 1921, private trade was accepted by the Bolsheviks as a temporary expedient. In October 1921, the Upper Trading Rows on the Red Square were reopened as the GUM (the State Department Store) and were considered a temple of NEP civilization. At the same time, the state trade was rapidly reviving, with the Department of Trade of the Mossovnarkhoz (or Mostorg) being founded in Moscow. The Mostorg main store – TSUM – became an enterprise of ideologically correct trade. The Mostorg stores stood out against the background of the pre-revolutionary merchant buildings. Two/four-storey concrete constructions with continuous windows from the side of crowded streets attracted people from an entire district. The writers Ilf and Petrov once noted On Saturday, one of Mostorg’s department stores lets through its mirrored doors so many customers that if they were locked in the store, it would be possible to organize a large provincial town: there would be workers, professors, physicians, journalists, and idling elements. But it would be tight.
After the abolition of the NEP, private trade was oppressed, slowly fading away together with most retailers. In the period of forced industrialization, clothing and footwear, along with bread and other food, were mainly sold by cards. Instead of selling, the controlled distribution was formed through cooperatives and supply departments. Then, experiments reducing the usage of money were minimized. The party began to discuss the revival of retail and the term soviet trade turned in. The card system was abolished in 1935.
Department stores for various Soviet cities became the center of architectural competitions, and a number of excellent projects were brought to life. Designers and store managers especially focused on store windows, interior, counters, and information booths.
Provincial department stores were organized according to the design of Moscow and Leningrad model enterprises. This particular edition was published exclusively for this aim.
The compilers start from the lighting system and its role in demonstrating items and introduce some lighting fixtures used for display windows. The text is illustrated with photographs and schemes. Then, the authors turn to samples and showcase the best solutions in the contemporary design of store windows. Each sample design is presented in a scheme or photograph with complementary text. The design of store window No. 36 is accompanied by the note: It is made of rolls of drafting and other sorts of paper. The central structure resembles an architectural form [looks like the Tower of Babel]. A scheme shows round volumetric platforms with curved wood strips mounted. Paper rolls are installed above them. Aside from the explanation of constructions, the authors frequently determine for what window a structure worked better. The edition contains samples of display windows of industrial and consumer goods, as well as food. The last section is dedicated to three pop-up bookstalls and equipment used for the design of store windows. In the Soviet Union, structures for outside trade were created by various eminent designers and served as another topic of architectural competitions.

No copies found in Worldcat.

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