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[BLUE BLOUSE] Siniaia bluza: Dvukhnedel’nik izdatel’stva “Trud i kniga” [i.e. Blue Blouse: Two Week Magazine of “Trud i Kniga” Publishing]. #41, September, 1926.

Item #525

Moscow: Trud i kniga, 1924-1928. 48 pp.: ill. 21,5x16 cm. In publisher’s constructivist wrappers. Good, careful restoration of the spine and tear on p.23, a few marks in text (pen and pencil).

First and only edition. Very rare. One of 7200 copies.
“Blue Blouse” was a popular theater collective of the early Soviet era. First a small troupe, it was soon replicated across the country, and by 1927 there were 5000 troupes with more than a hundred thousand actors involved. Essentially, they filled the gap left by the pre-revolutionary phenomenon of folk-theater. The “Blue Blouse” founded the style of agitprop theater, a corollary of the poster propaganda of the day. Most of the well-known Soviet poets and writers were involved in “Blue Blouse” productions: Osip Brik was the ideological creator of the theater; Vladimir Mayakovsky and Vasily Lebedev-Kumach were among its writers. A tour of the theater to Germany, Lithuania and China connected with a wide public.
The magazine “Blue Blouse” was published in Moscow from 1924 to 1928. It was intended for different collectives of ‘blue-blousers’ and included troupes’ repertoires, directors’ guidelines, comments, recommendations, Moscow groups’ program texts, etc. The periodicity of the magazine was constantly changing (from two weeks to month depending on the number of subscribers) as well as its appearance. This issue is dedicated to a three year anniversary of the phenomenon of “Blue Blouse”. Among contributors to this issue are S. Tretyakov, O. Brik, V. Shershenevich, V. Ardov, S. Yutkevich. The cover and the design of the issue present the golden age of Soviet constructivism in magazine cover design (group of artist responsible for artwork of the performances and magazine mentioned in the end - Akhtyrko, Aizenberg, Yutkevich, Semenova).

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