RODCHENKO Chudesa stroitel’nogo iskusstva i.e. Wonders of Construction Art

[RODCHENKO] Chudesa stroitel’nogo iskusstva [i.e. Wonders of Construction Art]

Fournier, L.

Item #2274

Moscow: Transpechat’, 1926. 230 pp.: ill.+ 2 pp. of ads. 17,5x13 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Small tears of spine with small fragments lost, colored pencil marks on back cover, some foxing on outer edge, otherwise very good.

One of 7080 copies. The cover design is attributed to Alexander Rodchenko.
First and only Russian edition of “Grands travaux” (1924) by Lucien Fournier. The work was translated from French by railway engineer V. Chekalov. Due to lack of materials on Soviet structures, the book was enlarged with an additional chapter composed by professor P. Velikhov.
Pavel Velikhov (1875-1930) was Russian scientist in structural mechanics and bridge engineering. He headed the mechanical laboratory at the Moscow Engineering School and taught at the Moscow Technical School (MVTU). At the same time, he was engaged in engineering projects of the Moscow Society for the Construction of Railways. He designed bridges for the Moscow Circular Railway and one bridge over the Windawa [Venta] River. Until 1918, Pavel Velikhov was a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party. In July 1922, he was arrested for anti-Soviet activities and was subject to deportation abroad. Thanks to the People’s Commissariat of Railways, in 1923 he was released. He kept working in the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers and the Moscow Higher Technical University until 1929. In April 1930, Soviet authorities sentenced him to capital punishment, together with colleagues B. Gervais, V. Pilar and G. Takhtamyshev. Most likely, the edition was banned.
The book initially described various structures built in Western countries: bridges, canals, dams, tunnels, subways and other gigantic structures. Velikhov added the chapter on bridge construction and tunneling in the USSR. The chapter included 7 Soviet photos of colossal bridges over rivers, valleys and railways.

Worldcat shows copies located in Yale and Princeton Universities.

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