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[WARTIME] Voz'mom vintovki novyye [i.e. Let's Take New Rifles] / illustrated by. A. Yakobson

Mayakovsky, V.

Item #2871

Leningrad.: DETGIZ, 1945. 6, [2] p., ill. 8,5x6m2 cm. Choromolithographed throughout. Fine condition.

First edition.

Published in 1927, Mayakovsky’s Vozʹmem vintovki novye [Let Us Take New Rifles] belongs to the broader Soviet campaign of military-patriotic education directed at children and youth during the interwar years. Written in the poet’s characteristic energetic and rhythmic style, the poem transforms military preparation into a collective game, encouraging participation in shooting clubs, first-aid training, and reconnaissance exercises while emphasizing discipline, physical readiness, and devotion to the state. Appearing at a time when the Soviet leadership remained deeply conscious of the recent Civil War and increasingly concerned about the possibility of future international conflict, the poem reflects official efforts to familiarize children with the ideals of civic duty and national defense through accessible and highly memorable verse. The repeated marching commands, fragmented typography, and simple vocabulary were designed to imitate military cadence and make the text easily recitable by young readers.

The poem acquired renewed relevance in 1945 (our edition was printed in October of 1945), when it was republished at the conclusion of the Second World War. In the aftermath of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, works celebrating preparedness, courage, military service, and collective sacrifice were actively reissued for a generation whose childhood had been shaped by war. Read in the context of 1945, Mayakovsky’s poem appeared almost prophetic: the children whom it urged to become marksmen, medics, and scouts had in many cases grown up to serve in precisely those roles during the Great Patriotic War. Its republication therefore linked the revolutionary optimism of the 1920s with the triumphalist memory culture emerging in the Soviet Union after victory, reaffirming the notion that patriotic education and readiness for national defense were among the essential virtues of Soviet citizenship.

Quote: 'When the war-blizzard comes again, we must know how to aim, we must know how to shoot.’

The illustrator of this book, Alexandra Yakobson (1903-1966), was a Soviet graphic artist, children's book illustrator, painter, easel lithographer, and representative of the Leningrad school of graphic art. Her work is characterized by its treatment of female images through the prism of folk culture. She was the younger sister of the poet Klavdia Yakobson.

Price: $450.00