Bookvica

[THE GREATEST SPORTS FESTIVAL IN THE USSR] Spartakiada narodov SSSR 1956 [i.e. 1956 Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR]

Moscow: Fizkul’tura i sport, 1957. Item #846

[154] pp.: ill. 29,5x23 cm. In publisher’s cloth with lettering on the front cover and spine. Endpapers illustrated with photographs. Some soiling on covers, block occasionally broken, otherwise very good.

First and only edition. Extremely rare.
Design produced by Alexander Zhitomirsky (1907-1994) who created advertising posters for ‘Exportfilm’ and ‘Inturist’ companies as well as photomontage satirical caricatures. This book contains photographs of athletes, advertising programs on each section with dates of events as well as half-titles illustrated with drawings.
This attractive full-illustrated book is dedicated to the first Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, the most significant sporting event in the state. It was preceded by local sports competitions over the country when the champions had set the new records and gained the higher classes, in spite of raising standards. The mass competitions of Spartakiad itself were held in 20 largest venues. The opening ceremony took place in the biggest sporting arena, the Central Lenin Stadium (now Luzhniki Stadium) that was constructed shortly before that. The book lists overall 20 kinds of sports, including running and cycling, ball sports, boxing, swimming, gymnastics, fencing and even horse riding. For each of them the photographs, results and rankings are published.
Worldcat shows copies in Library of Congress and University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.

Sold