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[PAPER RECYCLING IN GEORGIAN SSR IN THE 1920S] Pamyatka po sboru bumazhnoy makulatury [i.e. A Memo for Collecting Wastepaper]

Item #2200

Tbilisi: ZKK VLKSM, 1929 (Tip. "Zarya Vostoka"). 18 pp. 12,6x8,6 cm. 1 of 4,000 copies.

In original publisher’s illustrated wrappers. Tears of the spine, mild damp stain in the left margin throughout the copy, 1930s stamp of the former Georgian Book Chamber on the front wrapper, but overall in very good condition. Very rare Russian imprint. First and only edition. Text in Russian. According to the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, this is the first and only publication on the topic in Georgian print. The front wrapper design, dominated by industrial motifs, was produced by the Soviet realist painter and AKhRR member Pyotr Kotov (1889-1953). In the 1900s and 1910s, Kotov studied at the Kazan Art School under N. Feshin and at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts under F. A. Roubaud and N. S. Samokish. During the Great Patriotic War, he taught at the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) and was involved in publishing TASS Windows in Penza.

An early and uncommon Soviet memo on paper recycling published by the Transcaucasian Regional Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (ZKK VLKSM) in Tbilisi in 1929. The brochure was likely distributed through several channels (one of which was Komsomol organizations) and served as an instructional piece to mobilize Georgian, Armenian, and Azerbaijani youth for state recycling initiatives.
The pocketbook relates to the All-Union campaign initiated by the Bolsheviks in the 1920s to fight paper shortage and reduce paper expenses. Economic turmoil from WWI, the October Revolution, and the ensuing Civil War severely impacted the Russian publishing industry, leading to a significant drop in paper production & import to just 43,000 tons in 1920 (four times less than in 1916). To conserve raw resources, the government promoted wastepaper recycling with minimal incentives for participation. Numerous unsold, unwanted, and banned publications were sent for recycling, contributing to the rarity of Soviet books today. The wastepaper recycling program gained momentum in the late 1940s, with limited documentation of its earlier stages, particularly in Transcaucasia.
The booklet is divided into three parts. The first section features official texts urging Komsomol members and pioneers to join the wastepaper collection drive, with a target of 350,000 kilos—140,000 from Georgia, 140,000 from Azerbaijan, and 70,000 from Armenia. It stresses the need to destroy materials deemed contrary to communist values, ensuring only approved content is preserved. The second section outlines the logistics, detailing where collections should take place, what types of paper to gather, and how to submit them. It also lists submission points across the three republics and encourages participants to donate half of their earnings to pest control efforts. The third section provides a price list for various paper types, with the highest price being 42 rubles for unbound office and stationery books and includes a list of senior ZKK VLKSM officials involved in the campaign.
Overall, an extremely rare and early Soviet memo on paper recycling in Transcaucasia in the 1920s.

No copies found in Worldcat.

Price: $500.00