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[WHAT WAS PRINTED IN KHARKIV IN 1920s] Korporativnoe izdatel’stvo ‘Proletariy’. Katalog izdaniy. 1922—1928, 1929—1930 [i.e. Corporate publishing house ‘Proletariy’. The catalogue of editions]. 1922—1928.

Item #2667

Kharkiv: Proletariy, 1928. 94, [6] p. 23 × 14,5 cm. Original illustrated wrappers with constructivist design. Spine is slightly chipped, an ink number on the title verso. Top corner of the p.9 is missing.
Otherwise in very good condition. 1929—1930. 70, [2]. Kharkiv: Proletariy, 1931. Original illustrated wrappers with constructivist design. Pen number on the title verso, otherwise fine.

Printed in 1928 and 1931, two catalogues make the complete bibliography of Proletariy books, printed in 1920s, making them a valuable source of the history of one of the most important Kharkiv publishing houses of the 1920s. The wrapper design could be quite firmly attributed to Adolf Strakhov, who was one of the town’s active book designers at the time.
After graduating from the Odessa Art School in 1915, Strakhov worked as an artist for newspapers “Zvezda,” “Donetsk Communist,” and “Selskaya Pravda.” Simultaneously, he began working in book graphics, illustrating works by T. Shevchenko, F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy, S. Stepnyak-Kravchinsky, A. Kuprin, M. Twain, etc. Some of his most famous works include “Ten Days That Shook the World” by J. Reed (1923), “Stenka Razin” by V. Kamensky (1923), “Two Souls” by A. Novikov-Priboi (1925), and “The Sharp Turn” by P. Zhurba (1927). He was honored with the Grand Prix gold medal at the International Exhibition in Paris in 1925 for his outstanding achievements in book design. During the Great Patriotic War, Strakhov designed numerous political posters and even established a genre known as “Strakhov’s posters.”

The catalogues allows us to see all of the editions, published by one of the most prolific and modern publishing houses of Kharkiv 1920s ‘Proletariy’. Among the editions of historical significance, produced by Proletariy in 1920 were Aseev’s collection Gromy o mramor: Stikhi 1924—25 goda [i.e. Thunders against Marble: Verses of 1924—1925]; novels by A. Tveriak, books by Maria Levkovich on women in Ukraine, books by Yuri Vukhnar’, who was executed in the 1930s and his books were consequently banned. The catalogue includes both editions in Russian and Ukrainian.

Not in the Worldcat.

Price: $950.00