Bookvica

[RUSSIAN TIANJIN] Konek gorbunok [i.e. The Little Humpbacked Horse]

Ershov, P.

Item #2433

Tianjin: Serebrennikoff & Co, [1939]. 100 pp.: 8 full-page
black and white ills. 19,2x13,1 cm. In original publisher’s illustrated
wrappers. Loss of the small fragment of the spine, occasional mild
damp stains in the first part of the book, but otherwise in a very
good condition.
Scarce. Second edition. Text in Russian.

Extremely rare émigré edition of the famous Russian
fairy tale The Little Humpbacked Horse, printed in Tianjin in 1939
(likely) by one of the city’s earliest Russian publishing houses, A.I.
Serebrennikoff & Co. Issued shortly before the Japanese occupation
of China, the book marks one of the final publications of the press
before its activities were disrupted by the war.
The edition was published by Andrei Serebrennikoff,
founder of the pioneering A.I. Serebrennikoff & Co. After arriving
in Tianjin in 1922, Serebrennikoff started with a modest bindery
and no cutting equipment, carrying his books to a German printing
house for trimming at five cents apiece. He was soon hired by the
German-run Peyang Press, where he mastered printing techniques
and studied English and German. Eventually, he established his own
bookstore and publishing house. Over the years, Serebrennikoff
produced a wide range of émigré publications — from children’s
books and textbooks to scholarly works and controversial
novels. The publishing house ceased operations under Japanese
occupation, making our book one of the last editions of the press
and a rare survival of the time.
The publication features decorative headpieces and eight
full-page black-and-white illustrations depicting key scenes from
the fairy tale.
Overall, a rare émigré edition of Ershov’s classic fairy tale,
published in Tianjin in 1939.

Worldcat shows
two copies of the
edition at Texas
A&M University
Libraries and
Stanford
University.

Price: $450.00