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[THE MAIN SOVIET MAGAZINE ON PRINTING] Poligraficheskoe proizvodstvo [i.e. Printing Industry] #6/7 for 1930 and #2 for 1939.

Item #2583

Moscow: Gizlegprom, 1930–1939. 29,5 × 23 cm. In original wrappers with letterpress design and a photo mounted. Small tears of spine (No. 6/7), tear of cover photo with minor fragment lost (No. 2).

Two early issues of the magazine ‘Printing Industry’. Printrun of the 1930 issue is 2000 copies while the 1939 issue was released in 4750 copies.
Both issues were released during the pre-WWII period of printing abundance.

The periodical was founded as ‘Graficheskoe iskusstvo’ [Graphic Art] in 1924 and came out under this title just one year. Then it became ‘Poligraficheskoe proizvodstvo’ [Printing Industry] for a long period (1925-1963). Since 1964, it has been published as ‘Poligrafiia’ [Printing Business]. Covering various issues of printing, the edition itself was well made. Throughout the years, it attracted masters of book design and engraving: S. Telingater, N. Sedel’nikov, M. Akselrod, I. Shpinel, et al. The magazine announced news about improvements of the printing process, new Soviet machines and equipment introduced, specific manuals published and mixtures invented.
In 1939, the magazine celebrated its 15th anniversary. The issue contains the anniversary article “Fifteen Years of Our Magazine (1924–1939) which is complemented
with 15 reproductions of cover designs tending to different art styles. Among those selected issues, the cover design of No. 6/7 for 1930 was chosen as well.
The cover features a worker’s portrait fully constructed of typesetting components. The issue was designed by typesetting artist, genius book designer Nikolai Ilyin
(1894–1954) at the Nizhpoligraf [Nizhny Novgorod Printing Shop]. During his lifetime, Ilyin designed about 3000 books and a third is related to his 8-year career at
the Nizhpoligraf. He improved the company’s technical and artistic performance, raising it to a high level. The cover design for this issue was among the last works he created in Nizhny Novgorod before moving to Moscow.
The constructivist design starts with the cover and continues in the layout. Some pages were laid out using free compositions and therefore they differ from one another. For instance, on p. 4, the text is set diagonally, with the upper half of the main text aligned along a vertical axis, while its lower portion descends in a zigzag pattern. Simultaneously, the body text forms a frame surrounding a strictly rectangular inner space, which contains a list of the contributors, including designers. Some initials are composed of typographic elements, while headings are set diagonally, in a wave pattern, at a right angle, in rectangular, or even as part of a complex composition more suited for a cover design. The issue also represents a notable book cover design which Ilyin created of typesetting elements – “Sever” [The North; 1930]. Other articles focus on various technical aspects of printing and proofreading, as well as printing presses and techniques.
The text “For a Unified Alphabet” addressed an issue debated since 1925–namely, typesetting without capital letters or, conversely, using only capital letters. According to the article, in the late 1920s, a bureaucratic process of discussing and approving the transition to this new typesetting method lasted over a year. As an example of successful implementation of a uniform writing system, children’s books typeset entirely in capital letters were cited. The article even details the proceedings of a specific meeting where this reform was discussed.

Other articles in issue No. 2 for 1939 are devoted to incentive payment systems, in-factory transport systems, criticism of editions released at a certain large printing shop, and the Stakhanovite movement in printing. An interesting article is connected with the aftermath of the latter. The increase in productivity required higher operating speeds for the machinery, which led to equipment overheating. An article by a representative of the Pravda printing house presents new methods for cooling linotypes from overheating. Whereas a representative of the printing house of the newspaper “Industria” provides a comprehensive explanation of how the operating speeds of linotypes were increased and supplements it with photographs of equipment components. Representatives from other printing houses published articles “The Improvement of the Casting Monotype”, “Lighting in the Typesetting Workshop”, “In a Businesslike Manner” (also about shock workers), “Cold Enamel” (about experiments conducted by the head of an offset department), “On the Soviet Linotype”, and “A Method for Controlling the Depth of Ink Penetration into Paper”. Additionally, the magazine includes chronicles of foreign printing practices and a bibliography of books written by Stakhanovite printers.
Both issues include one insert per each. No. 6/7 (1930) comprises a clear full-page reproduction of a close-up photo. No. 2 (1939) contains a colored reproduction of the cover design of Stalin’s book “On Three Features of the Red Army” (1939) – the design was created by Nikolai Sedelnikov.

Worldcat doesn’t track these issues.

Price: $1,500.00

Status: On Hold