Bookvica

[MOSCOW PLANETARIUM] Zvezdy [i.e. Stars]

Zhigankov, P.

Item #2730

Moscow: Molodaya gvardiya, 1932. 16 pp.: ill. 18,5x13 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Wrapper is slightly restored, rust on the staple covered by tissue paper. Erased surname in pencil on the front cover. First and only edition. Scarce.

This children’s book was dedicated to the newly organized Moscow planetarium, which opened on November 5, 1929, and became an important part of the atheistic campaign and a hub for Soviet space observation. The observatory was one of 13 planetariums that existed at the time. Soviet poet Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893-1930) and writer Konstantin Paustovsky (1892-1968) were among the first visitors to the planetarium. Paustovsky’s remark on ‘the dark sky’ of the observatory inspired its first director, astronomer Konstantin Shestovsky, to create a sky full of twinkling stars. By 1934, the planetarium’s dome displayed twinkling stars, clouds, Aurorae Polaris, August meteor showers, solar eclipses, and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky’s space rocket hurtling through the dark void. After each session, the Sun rose gradually to the music by the Soviet composer Reinhold Gliere (1874-1956).

The first Soviet rockets were constructed in the basement of the Moscow planetarium in 1933. The observatory also served as a training place for navigators of polar and long-range aviation, pilots, and future cosmonauts, including Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968), the first man to travel into space. The planetarium operated during WW2 and offered lectures and astronomical classes to its visitors. In 1950, Konstantin Portsevsky (1922-2011), who later became head of the planetarium, organized various trainings in the observatory and drew up educational astronavigation charts for future cosmonauts.

The book is illustrated by Dmitriy Melnikov (1889-1966), a Soviet book illustrator and poster designer who started creating caricatures of public figures during his study at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture in the 1910s. Melnikov published drawings and art-related articles in various Soviet magazines, including Novyi Satirikon [i.e. New Satiricon] and Tvorchestvo [i.e. Creative Work]. In the 1930s, he created propaganda posters and cartoons depicting Soviet masters of political caricature: Viktor Deni (1893-1956), Mikhail Cheremnykh (1890-1962), Dmitry Moor (1883-1946), etc. The book contains remarkable illustrations showing the Zeiss projector and the crowds of astronomy enthusiasts. According to the edition, a Soviet specialist showing the starry sky and explaining its movement was called ‘upravnebom’ or ‘administrator of the sky.’

Worldcat locates copies at Princeton and University of Chicago.

Price: $2,500.00