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[SOVIET NATIONAL POLITICS] Amare detskii sad [i.e. Our Kindergarten]

Tarakhovskaia, E.

Item #2096

Moscow: Molodaia gvardiia, 1932. 16 pp.: ill. 21x18,5 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Very good, some soiling, small tear of spine, few ink notes, small piece of paper glued to front cover, traces of glue on spine.

Lithographed throughout. Edited by Jewish children’s author Esfir’ Emden.

This early Soviet children’s book represents the development of national minorities in the USSR through a story about a kindergarten built for socialist Romani people. The Romani word “amare” means “our”. Thus, the title combines Romani and Russian words. Since 1925, the propaganda of socialist changes had begun for Romani people as well. The All- Russian Romani Union was formed in 1925, the workers’ clubs were founded and the schools were opened for teaching the new written Romani language, the periodical “Romany Zoria”
[i.e. Romani Dawn] was published, the Moscow Romen Theatre was organized in 1931. That was the time of cultural renaissance based on Soviet ideas. In the late 1930s, when the campaign of Romani stable habitation had no success, every project, excluding theater, was closed.
This book shows how Romani children spend time as communists while their grown-ups work at factories. The children praise Budenny, organize their own carpentry workshop, gather at a meeting and discuss topical questions. This book compares their old and new daily life in simple details. At the meeting, one participant asks why a child from non-socialist family is prohibited to leave a living tent and has no toys. A leader of the meeting replies that together they will produce some toys for that child.
The edition is designed by Nina Pamyatnykh (Kashina; 1903–1985). She graduated from the Perm Regional Art College in 1922, where she studied under I. Ikonnikov, kept studying at VKHUTEMAS-VKHUTEIN in Moscow in 1922–1930. Among her masters were K. Istomin, V. Favorsky, P. Miturich, N. Kupreyanov. Her spouse was artist Mikhail Nedbaylo. As an illustrator, she collaborated with OGIZ and the Molodaya Gvardiya publishing house. During WWII, she designed propaganda posters for the TASS Agency.
In the best tendencies of early Soviet children’s books, Nina Pamyatnykh created a range of notable compositions for illustrations and depicted characters freely: some of them are just
outlined, others are drawn as colored spots. To show children’s olive skin, yellow and gray colors were superimposed on each other when printed.
In all, only four colors were used for the creation of this remarkable work.

Worldcat shows copies located in Princeton, Wisconsin, Chicago Universities, Vassar College.

Price: $1,500.00

Status: On Hold