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[HOW TO PUBLISH BOOKS] Yak drukuiut knyzhky. Yak robyly knyzhku v starovynu i yak drukuiut yii teper. Korotky nacherky dlia yunatstva z 73 maliunkamy [How books are printed. How a book was made in the old days and how it is printed now. Chapters for youth with 73 drawings]

Samokatov, M.

Item #2304

Kharkiv, Odessa: Ukrpolihraf for Derzhavne Vydavnytstvo Ukrainy, 1930. 189, [3] pp., ills., tbls. in text, a fold-out table pasted between pp. 134 & 135. 18 x 13 cm. One of 5000 copies. Original publisher’s wrappers. In Ukrainian. Cover professionally restored, though the colors show some fading. Oversize wrappers. Folds and creases on pp. 115 to 133. A couple of pencil marks throughout the text. Minor foxing.

Anonymous cover design joined with characteristic typeface within can be relatively firmly attributed to Ukrainian avant-garde classic Vasyl Yermylov. Yermylov (1894-1968) was the central figure of 1920’s artistic Kharkiv. Yermylov brought the energy and insights of Moscow to Kharkiv, drawing influence from fellow artists such as D. Burliuk and V. Mayakovsky.

Present design shows a remarkable evolution for early experimental Khlebnikov’s Ladomir cover (Kharkiv, 1920). The rigid crossings resembling city streets, accented circle and usage of the letters as lines are all a telltale sign of late Yermylov, found both in his art and designs of the period (Pavlova, p. 16). The rhythmical motif of the present cover is not as intense as some other works by Yermylov, but the overall design still aligns with the artist’s stylistic approach.

As per the contents, in 14 chapters the author outlines the development of the general book printing process: from the ancient times with papyrus scrolls and clay tablets through the early Russian and Ukrainian publishers up to the modern era of illustrated, technologically advanced editions aimed at the broad audience. Approximately a half of the chapters is focused on this modern book creation process as a whole. The edition strives to show the technological wonder of modern Soviet writing, design, review, printing, binding, distribution i.e. on overall
technically upscaled creative processes. Nicely illustrated, the edition is clearly a piece of popular literature, aimed to interest younger audiences in the technical side of the process.

Of particular interest are the font specimens shown on spreads 16-17 to 20-21: not only broadlyused Russian and Ukrainian fonts are shown, but among others Kalmyk, Mongol fonts. A foldout attached between pp. 134-135 shows an example of a corrector’s approach and куmarks over an author’s text side by side with final typesetting composition drafted.

The book is a highlight of rapidly developed local printing, a quite expected indigenisation policy outcome. As a characteristic mark the author mentions that in one year 270 mln copies of printed media were produced by four state publishers. According to the 1926 census, the Ukrainian population was approx. 30 million, so we can estimate that 9 items were printed per person per year. Little is known about the author, M. Samokatov, apart from his contributions to niche periodicals on paper printing standards and formats.

Pavlova, T. Ukrainskyi avanhard v obkladynkakh Vasylia Yermilova // Hudprom: The Ukrainian Art and Design Journal — Issue XXV-1 — Kharkiv, 2023. — p. 16

WorldCat lists no physical copies. KVK finds only 1 copy in Germany.

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