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[KHLEBNIKOV] Tvoreniia, 1906-1908 gg. [i.e. Creations, 1906-1908]

Khlebnikov, V.

Item #2710

Moscow [Kherson]: Izdanie ‘Pervogo zhurnala russkikh futuristov’, 1914. [6], 106 pp., 8 ills. 21x13,5 cm. Later blind wrappers. Khlebnikov’s portrait on the frontispiece slightly soiled, others in very good condition.

First and only edition. One of 480 copies. Very rare.

The book was compiled and published by David Burliuk without Khlebnikov's involvement, based on the poet’s early manuscripts. Numerous typos and arbitrary edits in the texts greatly displeased Khlebnikov. His reaction wasn’t softened even by the fact that Burliuk primarily called Khlebnikov the genius poet and the true father of futurism in his introductory text. In this small text Khlebnikov was called both Viktor and Vladimir – and the title page names him Velemir. However, according to Burliuk’s memoirs, Khlebnikov's anger stemmed first and foremost from his unwillingness to see his early works in print. Along with David Burliuk’s essay, the edition contains the text by Vasily Kamensky. It frames Khlebnikov as an already mythologized personality, comparing him with medieval characters.

The collection gives many of Khlebnikov's works, down to the briefest fragments, their own separate pages – a traditional treatment reserved for classic authors. Its modern nature, however, was signaled through innovative typography: shifts in font size, style, and inclination within a single line mirrored the poem’s auditory and rhythmic structure. This edition is particularly interesting due to the concentration of the poet’s early word-making experiments. Three of the poems are illustrated by Vladimir Burliuk who also provided the portrait of Khlebnikov. David Burliuk contributed illustrations for four poems. Compiling and editing the texts for the book took Burliuk the whole autumn of 1913. He finished it just before his departure to Simferopol for the famous Futurist tour. The book was most likely printed in late 1913. The last page advertises other works by futurists, that came out to the date.

Poliakov, 60.
Worldcat shows copies located in UC Berkeley, Princeton, Stanford and Art Institute of Chicago.

Price: $9,500.00

Status: On Hold