Auction 69 - Part II - Avant-Garde Art from the Collection of Uzi Agassi
Skulptur [Sculpture], by Joseph Tchaikov. Kiev: Melukhe-farlag, 1921. Yiddish. From the Kleine Bibliotek 'Lyric' series.
A short treatise by Joseph Tchaikov dealing with avant-garde sculpture and the place of sculpture in Jewish art; accompanied by twelve plates depicting various sculptures. This book is considered to be the first Yiddish book on sculpture (see: Tradition and Revolution, The Jewish Renaissance in Russian Avant-Garde Art 1912-1928, p. 67).
14, [1] pp + [12] plates, 12.5 cm. Good condition. Stains (many stains on the cover). Creases and small tears to edges of cover.
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Joseph Moisevich Tchaikov (1888-1979; also spelled Chaikov) – a Jewish sculptor, graphic designer, painter and theoretician, born in Kiev.
Tchaikov studied in Paris during the years 1910-1914 and participated in the Parisian Salon d'Automne exhibition in 1913. After World War I, he was one of the founders of Kultur Lige in Kiev, taught sculpture and illustrated books – mostly children's books – and in the years after the revolution, also designed propaganda banners and posters. In 1921, the Melukhe-farlag publishing house in Kiev published his treatise "Sculpture" (see item 224), which is considered the first Yiddish book on sculpture and focuses on avant-garde in sculpture and the place of sculpture in Jewish art. During the years 1923-1930 he taught cubist sculpture inspired by Russian futurism in Moscow, at the Vkhutemas – Higher Art and Technical Studios (alongside Alexander Rodchenko and El Lissitzky) and was also appointed the head of the union of Russian sculptors.
During the next decades, Tchaikov continued to work in a variety of artistic styles and media, moving away from the style that characterized his early work. The booklets and books featured in this catalog, published between 1919 and 1923, all represent his part in Constructivism and the Russian avant-garde movement and document his early works of art as a cubo-futurist artist and sculptor. Tchaikov's illustrations and cover designs are influenced by the spirit of the times and historical events – the pogroms, wars and revolution (see, for example, items 227, 229, 231, 232); yet also show the spirit of innovation and hope. See for example, the figure depicted on the cover of the journal "Baginen" (Yiddish: "dawn", "awakening" or "beginning" – see item 225) which is blowing the Shofar on the backdrop of the rising sun, its body upright, muscular, pointing to the east and its face divided, combining old and new.
Baginen, Chodesh Zshurnal, Ershter Buch [Dawn, Monthly, First Booklet], edited by A. Litvak [pseudonym of Khayim Yankl Helfand]. Kiev: Aleukrainishen literarishen komitet, idishe sektsye, June 1919. Yiddish.
Cover design, the title page illustration and additional illustrations throughout the issue, all by Joseph Tchaikov.
The issue contains passages of poetry and prose, plays, translations and critique by David Hofstein, Leib Kvitko, Sholem Asch, Israel Joshua Singer and others. Alongside Tchiakov's illustrations, the issue contains several pictures of works by Belgian painter and sculptor Constantin Meunier (1831-1905).
No other issues published (see: "Jewish Publications in the Soviet Union" [Hebrew], editor: C. Shmeruk. Jerusalem 1961. p. 341; item 3545).
125, [1] pp + [5] plates, 25 cm. Lacking back cover. Good-fair condition. Stains. The front cover and two leaves are detached. Tears to edges of several leaves. Stamp on title page. Stains, small tears and blemishes to front cover.
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Joseph Moisevich Tchaikov (1888-1979; also spelled Chaikov) – a Jewish sculptor, graphic designer, painter and theoretician, born in Kiev.
Tchaikov studied in Paris during the years 1910-1914 and participated in the Parisian Salon d'Automne exhibition in 1913. After World War I, he was one of the founders of Kultur Lige in Kiev, taught sculpture and illustrated books – mostly children's books – and in the years after the revolution, also designed propaganda banners and posters. In 1921, the Melukhe-farlag publishing house in Kiev published his treatise "Sculpture" (see item 224), which is considered the first Yiddish book on sculpture and focuses on avant-garde in sculpture and the place of sculpture in Jewish art. During the years 1923-1930 he taught cubist sculpture inspired by Russian futurism in Moscow, at the Vkhutemas – Higher Art and Technical Studios (alongside Alexander Rodchenko and El Lissitzky) and was also appointed the head of the union of Russian sculptors.
During the next decades, Tchaikov continued to work in a variety of artistic styles and media, moving away from the style that characterized his early work. The booklets and books featured in this catalog, published between 1919 and 1923, all represent his part in Constructivism and the Russian avant-garde movement and document his early works of art as a cubo-futurist artist and sculptor. Tchaikov's illustrations and cover designs are influenced by the spirit of the times and historical events – the pogroms, wars and revolution (see, for example, items 227, 229, 231, 232); yet also show the spirit of innovation and hope. See for example, the figure depicted on the cover of the journal "Baginen" (Yiddish: "dawn", "awakening" or "beginning" – see item 225) which is blowing the Shofar on the backdrop of the rising sun, its body upright, muscular, pointing to the east and its face divided, combining old and new.
Dos Kelbl [The Calf], by Mendele Mocher Sforim. Kiev: Kiyever Farlag, [1919]. Yiddish. Illustrations by Joseph Tchaikov.
A chapter from "Seyfer Habeheymes" (The Book of Beasts) by Mendele Mocher Sforim, with seven in-text illustrations by Joseph Tchaikov. An additional illustration by Tchaikov appears on the title page and on the front cover.
The logo of the Kiyever Farlag publishing house which appears on the first page and on the back cover was designed by El Lissitzky.
16 pp, approx. 28.5X22.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Unopened pages. Stains. Small tears to edges of leaves. Restored tears to left edge of all leaves. Minor creases. Vertical fold line to all leaves. Blemishes to cover.
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Joseph Moisevich Tchaikov (1888-1979; also spelled Chaikov) – a Jewish sculptor, graphic designer, painter and theoretician, born in Kiev.
Tchaikov studied in Paris during the years 1910-1914 and participated in the Parisian Salon d'Automne exhibition in 1913. After World War I, he was one of the founders of Kultur Lige in Kiev, taught sculpture and illustrated books – mostly children's books – and in the years after the revolution, also designed propaganda banners and posters. In 1921, the Melukhe-farlag publishing house in Kiev published his treatise "Sculpture" (see item 224), which is considered the first Yiddish book on sculpture and focuses on avant-garde in sculpture and the place of sculpture in Jewish art. During the years 1923-1930 he taught cubist sculpture inspired by Russian futurism in Moscow, at the Vkhutemas – Higher Art and Technical Studios (alongside Alexander Rodchenko and El Lissitzky) and was also appointed the head of the union of Russian sculptors.
During the next decades, Tchaikov continued to work in a variety of artistic styles and media, moving away from the style that characterized his early work. The booklets and books featured in this catalog, published between 1919 and 1923, all represent his part in Constructivism and the Russian avant-garde movement and document his early works of art as a cubo-futurist artist and sculptor. Tchaikov's illustrations and cover designs are influenced by the spirit of the times and historical events – the pogroms, wars and revolution (see, for example, items 227, 229, 231, 232); yet also show the spirit of innovation and hope. See for example, the figure depicted on the cover of the journal "Baginen" (Yiddish: "dawn", "awakening" or "beginning" – see item 225) which is blowing the Shofar on the backdrop of the rising sun, its body upright, muscular, pointing to the east and its face divided, combining old and new.
In fayerdikn doyer, zamlung fun revolutsionerer lyrik in der nayer yidisher dikhtung [In Fiery Duration: Collection of Revolutionary Lyric in New Yiddish Poetry], edited by E. [Ezra] Korman. Kiev: Melukhe-farlag, 1921. Yiddish. Cover design by Joseph Tchaikov.
An anthology of Yiddish revolutionary poetry with works by Peretz Markish, Leib Kvitko, Moyshe Kulbak, Moishe Broderzon, Kadia Molodowsky and others. The anthology's name is taken from its opening cycle of poems – "In Fayerdikn Doyer" by David Hofstein. Cover design by Joseph Tchaikov.
63, [1] pp, 17 cm. Good-fair condition. Several unopened pages. Dampstains and foxing. Creases. Two leaves are detached. Pinholes to cover and to the lower corner of each of the leaves. Numerous stains and minor blemishes to cover. Loose cover.
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Joseph Moisevich Tchaikov (1888-1979; also spelled Chaikov) – a Jewish sculptor, graphic designer, painter and theoretician, born in Kiev.
Tchaikov studied in Paris during the years 1910-1914 and participated in the Parisian Salon d'Automne exhibition in 1913. After World War I, he was one of the founders of Kultur Lige in Kiev, taught sculpture and illustrated books – mostly children's books – and in the years after the revolution, also designed propaganda banners and posters. In 1921, the Melukhe-farlag publishing house in Kiev published his treatise "Sculpture" (see item 224), which is considered the first Yiddish book on sculpture and focuses on avant-garde in sculpture and the place of sculpture in Jewish art. During the years 1923-1930 he taught cubist sculpture inspired by Russian futurism in Moscow, at the Vkhutemas – Higher Art and Technical Studios (alongside Alexander Rodchenko and El Lissitzky) and was also appointed the head of the union of Russian sculptors.
During the next decades, Tchaikov continued to work in a variety of artistic styles and media, moving away from the style that characterized his early work. The booklets and books featured in this catalog, published between 1919 and 1923, all represent his part in Constructivism and the Russian avant-garde movement and document his early works of art as a cubo-futurist artist and sculptor. Tchaikov's illustrations and cover designs are influenced by the spirit of the times and historical events – the pogroms, wars and revolution (see, for example, items 227, 229, 231, 232); yet also show the spirit of innovation and hope. See for example, the figure depicted on the cover of the journal "Baginen" (Yiddish: "dawn", "awakening" or "beginning" – see item 225) which is blowing the Shofar on the backdrop of the rising sun, its body upright, muscular, pointing to the east and its face divided, combining old and new
Vokal-syuite, tsen kinder-lider fun I. L. Perets, far shtime mit piano [Vocal Suite, Ten Children's Songs by I. L. Peretz, for Voice and Piano], edited by M. Millner. Kiev: Kultur Lige / Melukhe-farlag, 1921. Yiddish. Cover design by Joseph Tchaikov.
Sheet music for children's songs by Isaac Leib Peretz (Yitskhok Leybush Peretz), edited by composer and conductor Moses Millner (1886-1953).
Color cover illustration by Joseph Tchaikov.
30, [2] pp, 34 cm. Good condition. Several creases and small tears to edges. The booklet is stapled, with tears to leaves and cover around staples. Several stains on back cover.
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Joseph Moisevich Tchaikov (1888-1979; also spelled Chaikov) – a Jewish sculptor, graphic designer, painter and theoretician, born in Kiev.
Tchaikov studied in Paris during the years 1910-1914 and participated in the Parisian Salon d'Automne exhibition in 1913. After World War I, he was one of the founders of Kultur Lige in Kiev, taught sculpture and illustrated books – mostly children's books – and in the years after the revolution, also designed propaganda banners and posters. In 1921, the Melukhe-farlag publishing house in Kiev published his treatise "Sculpture" (see item 224), which is considered the first Yiddish book on sculpture and focuses on avant-garde in sculpture and the place of sculpture in Jewish art. During the years 1923-1930 he taught cubist sculpture inspired by Russian futurism in Moscow, at the Vkhutemas – Higher Art and Technical Studios (alongside Alexander Rodchenko and El Lissitzky) and was also appointed the head of the union of Russian sculptors.
During the next decades, Tchaikov continued to work in a variety of artistic styles and media, moving away from the style that characterized his early work. The booklets and books featured in this catalog, published between 1919 and 1923, all represent his part in Constructivism and the Russian avant-garde movement and document his early works of art as a cubo-futurist artist and sculptor. Tchaikov's illustrations and cover designs are influenced by the spirit of the times and historical events – the pogroms, wars and revolution (see, for example, items 227, 229, 231, 232); yet also show the spirit of innovation and hope. See for example, the figure depicted on the cover of the journal "Baginen" (Yiddish: "dawn", "awakening" or "beginning" – see item 225) which is blowing the Shofar on the backdrop of the rising sun, its body upright, muscular, pointing to the east and its face divided, combining old and new.
Three poetry booklets published by Kultur Lige. Kiev, 1922. Yiddish. Covers designed by Joseph Tchaikov (two covers feature illustrations by Tchaikov, signed in the plate with the Hebrew letter tet).
1. Di Kupe [The Pile], by Peretz Markish. A poem dedicated to the victims of the 1917-1920 pogroms in Ukraine ("the Petliura pogroms").
35, [1] pp, 18 cm.
2. Samet [Velvet], by Lipa Reznik (from the Kleine Bibliotek 'Lyric' series).
39, [1] pp, 18.5 cm.
3. Otem [Breath], by Ezra Feinenberg (from the Kleine Bibliotek 'Lyric' series).
31, [1] pp, 19 cm.
Overall good-fair condition. Stains and minor blemishes throughout the booklets. Pen notations on some of the pages. Ownership inscriptions on each of the title pages. Stains and small tears to edges of covers. In the first booklet, the front cover, the back cover and two of the leaves are detached.
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Joseph Moisevich Tchaikov (1888-1979; also spelled Chaikov) – a Jewish sculptor, graphic designer, painter and theoretician, born in Kiev.
Tchaikov studied in Paris during the years 1910-1914 and participated in the Parisian Salon d'Automne exhibition in 1913. After World War I, he was one of the founders of Kultur Lige in Kiev, taught sculpture and illustrated books – mostly children's books – and in the years after the revolution, also designed propaganda banners and posters. In 1921, the Melukhe-farlag publishing house in Kiev published his treatise "Sculpture" (see item 224), which is considered the first Yiddish book on sculpture and focuses on avant-garde in sculpture and the place of sculpture in Jewish art. During the years 1923-1930 he taught cubist sculpture inspired by Russian futurism in Moscow, at the Vkhutemas – Higher Art and Technical Studios (alongside Alexander Rodchenko and El Lissitzky) and was also appointed the head of the union of Russian sculptors.
During the next decades, Tchaikov continued to work in a variety of artistic styles and media, moving away from the style that characterized his early work. The booklets and books featured in this catalog, published between 1919 and 1923, all represent his part in Constructivism and the Russian avant-garde movement and document his early works of art as a cubo-futurist artist and sculptor. Tchaikov's illustrations and cover designs are influenced by the spirit of the times and historical events – the pogroms, wars and revolution (see, for example, items 227, 229, 231, 232); yet also show the spirit of innovation and hope. See for example, the figure depicted on the cover of the journal "Baginen" (Yiddish: "dawn", "awakening" or "beginning" – see item 225) which is blowing the Shofar on the backdrop of the rising sun, its body upright, muscular, pointing to the east and its face divided, combining old and new.
Der Galaganer Hon [The Boastful Rooster], by Peretz Markish. Berlin: Klal, 1922. Yiddish.
Children's tale by Peretz Markish. Illustrated by Joseph Tchaikov – black and white in-text illustrations and a large, color illustration on the front cover.
30 pp, 31 cm. Good condition. Creases and small tears to edges of leaves. A few stains throughout the booklet. Stains and creases to cover. Tears to spine and to edges of cover, including open tears (not affecting the illustration).
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Joseph Moisevich Tchaikov (1888-1979; also spelled Chaikov) – a Jewish sculptor, graphic designer, painter and theoretician, born in Kiev.
Tchaikov studied in Paris during the years 1910-1914 and participated in the Parisian Salon d'Automne exhibition in 1913. After World War I, he was one of the founders of Kultur Lige in Kiev, taught sculpture and illustrated books – mostly children's books – and in the years after the revolution, also designed propaganda banners and posters. In 1921, the Melukhe-farlag publishing house in Kiev published his treatise "Sculpture" (see item 224), which is considered the first Yiddish book on sculpture and focuses on avant-garde in sculpture and the place of sculpture in Jewish art. During the years 1923-1930 he taught cubist sculpture inspired by Russian futurism in Moscow, at the Vkhutemas – Higher Art and Technical Studios (alongside Alexander Rodchenko and El Lissitzky) and was also appointed the head of the union of Russian sculptors.
During the next decades, Tchaikov continued to work in a variety of artistic styles and media, moving away from the style that characterized his early work. The booklets and books featured in this catalog, published between 1919 and 1923, all represent his part in Constructivism and the Russian avant-garde movement and document his early works of art as a cubo-futurist artist and sculptor. Tchaikov's illustrations and cover designs are influenced by the spirit of the times and historical events – the pogroms, wars and revolution (see, for example, items 227, 229, 231, 232); yet also show the spirit of innovation and hope. See for example, the figure depicted on the cover of the journal "Baginen" (Yiddish: "dawn", "awakening" or "beginning" – see item 225) which is blowing the Shofar on the backdrop of the rising sun, its body upright, muscular, pointing to the east and its face divided, combining old and new.
1919, by L. [Leib] Kvitko. Berlin: Idisher literarisher farlag, 1923. Yiddish. Cover design by Joseph Tchaikov.
A volume of poetry by Leib Kvitko dealing with the pogroms in Ukraine during the Russian Civil War, especially in 1919 ("the Petliura pogroms"). Front cover illustration by Joseph Tchaikov.
Leib Kvitko (1890-1952), a poet, writer and editor, one of the most prominent Yiddish children's authors in the Soviet Union and a member of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee. He was executed in 1952, by Stalin's orders, on what is known as The Night of the Murdered Poets.
163 pp, [2] leaves, 19 cm. Good condition. Foxing, mostly to cover and margins of leaves. The two last leaves' upper edges are unopened. Tear to one of the leaves. Tears to edges of cover and spine.
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Joseph Moisevich Tchaikov (1888-1979; also spelled Chaikov) – a Jewish sculptor, graphic designer, painter and theoretician, born in Kiev.
Tchaikov studied in Paris during the years 1910-1914 and participated in the Parisian Salon d'Automne exhibition in 1913. After World War I, he was one of the founders of Kultur Lige in Kiev, taught sculpture and illustrated books – mostly children's books – and in the years after the revolution, also designed propaganda banners and posters. In 1921, the Melukhe-farlag publishing house in Kiev published his treatise "Sculpture" (see item 224), which is considered the first Yiddish book on sculpture and focuses on avant-garde in sculpture and the place of sculpture in Jewish art. During the years 1923-1930 he taught cubist sculpture inspired by Russian futurism in Moscow, at the Vkhutemas – Higher Art and Technical Studios (alongside Alexander Rodchenko and El Lissitzky) and was also appointed the head of the union of Russian sculptors.
During the next decades, Tchaikov continued to work in a variety of artistic styles and media, moving away from the style that characterized his early work. The booklets and books featured in this catalog, published between 1919 and 1923, all represent his part in Constructivism and the Russian avant-garde movement and document his early works of art as a cubo-futurist artist and sculptor. Tchaikov's illustrations and cover designs are influenced by the spirit of the times and historical events – the pogroms, wars and revolution (see, for example, items 227, 229, 231, 232); yet also show the spirit of innovation and hope. See for example, the figure depicted on the cover of the journal "Baginen" (Yiddish: "dawn", "awakening" or "beginning" – see item 225) which is blowing the Shofar on the backdrop of the rising sun, its body upright, muscular, pointing to the east and its face divided, combining old and new.
Lot 232 "In Shturem fun Geshikhte", by David Koigen – Berlin, 1923 – Cover Design by Joseph Tchaikov
In shturem fun geshikhte, aroysgerisene bletlakh fun tog-bukh, 1914-1921 [In the whirlwind of history, pages wrested from a diary, 1914-1921], by David Koigen. Translated from German: Z. Kalmanovitsh [Zelig Kalmanovičs]. Berlin: Idisher literarisher farlag, 1923. Yiddish. Cover design by Joseph Tchaikov.
Excerpts from the diary of David Koigen, documenting, firsthand, the events that took place in Eastern Europe during the years 1914-1921: the outbreak of World War I, the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War, the pogroms against the Jews of Ukraine and the author's escape from USSR after the conquest of Ukraine. Front cover illustration by Joseph Tchaikov.
David Koigen (1879-1933), a philosopher and sociologist, was born to a Jewish-Hassidic family in the Volhynian Governorate (today in Ukraine). In 1896, he left home to study in several European cities – Paris, Bern, Zurich and Munich, finally settling in Berlin. During this period, he wrote his most important works. In 1912, he returned to Russia and started teaching at the St. Petersburg University. After the collapse of the Tsarist rule he founded an institute for study of the Russian revolution. In 1918 he decided to leave Russia and immigrated to Kiev and in 1921, after the city fell to the Red Army, he fled the USSR and returned to Berlin, where he died.
This is the first edition of the composition, which was published approximately two years before the German original.
247, [1] pp, approx. 18.5 cm. Good condition. Minor stains and a few tears. Stamps on the first pages and on the last one. The last gathering is loose. Hard cover, with the original paper cover laid down. Minor blemishes to cover edges.
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Joseph Moisevich Tchaikov (1888-1979; also spelled Chaikov) – a Jewish sculptor, graphic designer, painter and theoretician, born in Kiev.
Tchaikov studied in Paris during the years 1910-1914 and participated in the Parisian Salon d'Automne exhibition in 1913. After World War I, he was one of the founders of Kultur Lige in Kiev, taught sculpture and illustrated books – mostly children's books – and in the years after the revolution, also designed propaganda banners and posters. In 1921, the Melukhe-farlag publishing house in Kiev published his treatise "Sculpture" (see item 224), which is considered the first Yiddish book on sculpture and focuses on avant-garde in sculpture and the place of sculpture in Jewish art. During the years 1923-1930 he taught cubist sculpture inspired by Russian futurism in Moscow, at the Vkhutemas – Higher Art and Technical Studios (alongside Alexander Rodchenko and El Lissitzky) and was also appointed the head of the union of Russian sculptors.
During the next decades, Tchaikov continued to work in a variety of artistic styles and media, moving away from the style that characterized his early work. The booklets and books featured in this catalog, published between 1919 and 1923, all represent his part in Constructivism and the Russian avant-garde movement and document his early works of art as a cubo-futurist artist and sculptor. Tchaikov's illustrations and cover designs are influenced by the spirit of the times and historical events – the pogroms, wars and revolution (see, for example, items 227, 229, 231, 232); yet also show the spirit of innovation and hope. See for example, the figure depicted on the cover of the journal "Baginen" (Yiddish: "dawn", "awakening" or "beginning" – see item 225) which is blowing the Shofar on the backdrop of the rising sun, its body upright, muscular, pointing to the east and its face divided, combining old and new.
Der Retakh [The Radish]. Adaptation: Ben-Tsion Sidilkovski. Booklet no. 1 of the series "Farn kleynem oylem" [For Little Children]. Odessa: Aleukrayinisher Melukhe-farlag, Yidsektsye, 1921. Yiddish. Illustrations by Ya'akov Apter.
A tale for children, illustrated by Ya'akov Apter. A story about a grandfather trying to pull up a radish he had planted in his garden. Successively, more people are recruited to help: the grandmother, the granddaughter, the dog, the cat and the mouse, and only together, they succeed in pulling it up and preparing it for the Sabbath.
The tale is based on a Russian tale titled "The Giant Turnip" (Репка) which was first published in 1863 in Alexander Afanasyev's Russian Fairy Tales (Народные русские сказки). The tale was translated into many languages and adapted repeatedly; Hebrew-readers are most familiar with the adaptation by Levin Kipnis, "Eliezer VeHagezer" (Eliezer and the Carrot).
The illustrator, Ya'akov Apter (1899-1941), born in Ukraine, received traditional Jewish education and during the years 1915-1918 studied at the Odessa School of Arts. During the early 1920s, he worked as an illustrator of Hebrew and Yiddish books and was part of a group of Jewish artists ("The Group of Painters") who together illustrated several books of the "Gamliel Library" of the Omanut publishing house in Odessa. In 1941, he was killed during the Battle of Moscow (see: Ayala Gordon, "Hebrew Illustrations – The Hebrew Illustrated Book for Children" [Hebrew], Tel Aviv, 2005. p. 169).
[6] leaves, approx. 22.5 cm. Good condition. Dampstains to margins. The leaves are detached from each other and from the cover. Stains, tears and minor blemishes to cover.
Only one copy in OCLC.
Der Ber [The Bear], by Feter Ben Zion [Benzion Raskin]. Kiev-St. Petersburg: Yiddisher Folks-Farlag, [1919]. From the "Kinder-Garten" series of children's books. Yiddish.
A tale for children, illustrated by El Lissitzky.
In April 1919, El Lissitzky and Benzion Raskin signed a contract with the Yiddisher Folks-Farlag publishing house in Kiev, in which they committed themselves to selling it the rights for eleven Yiddish illustrated children's books under the general title "Kinder-Garten". According to the contract, which they most probably signed due to financial distress, they had to accomplish the eleven books in about five months. Eventually, only three books were published as planned: "Der Ber" [The Bear], "Di Hun vos hot Gevolt hoben a Kam" [The Hen that Wanted a Comb], and "Der Milner, di Milnerin un di Milshtayner" [The Miller, the Milleress and the Millstones]. At the same time, Lissitzky returned to Vitebsk, to teach architecture, painting and graphic arts at the school of art managed by Marc Chagall. See: Tradition and Revolution, The Jewish Renaissance in Russian Avant-Garde Art 1912-1928, p. 118.
10, [2] pp, 19.5 cm. Good condition. Pen notations on the first page and stamps on three pages. Several minor stains. Minor creases and very small tears to margins. Loose leaves. Blank cardboard binding.
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El (Eliezer Lazar Markovich) Lissitzky (1890-1941), a Jewish-Russian artist, designer, photographer, teacher, typographer and architect, one of the most prominent and important members of the Russian avant-garde.
Lissitzky, an architect by training, contributed much, together with his teacher and friend Kazimir Malevich (see items 255-257), to the conceptualization and development of the Suprematism movement – the abstract art focused on geometric forms. He also designed numerous books and journals, exhibitions, and propaganda posters for the communist regime in Russia and influenced the Bauhaus and Constructivist movements in Europe. In his early days, Lissitzky showed much interest in the Jewish culture and many of his works integrated Jewish motifs (during the years 1915-1916, he took part in the ethnographic expedition headed by S. An-sky to various Jewish settlements). Wanting to promote Jewish culture in Russia after the revolution, he became engaged in designing and illustrating Yiddish children's books, creating several children's books which are considered pioneering masterpieces due to their graphics and typography (see for example, the series of children's book he illustrated in 1919, items 234-236, as well as additional children's books he illustrated, items 237, 241). However, several years later, he abandoned the Jewish motifs in favor of developing a more abstract and universal artistic language.
In 1921, Lissitzky moved to Germany, where he served as the Russian cultural ambassador, engaged in forming connections between Russian and German artists and continued to design books and journals; there he also created some of his most well-known works in the field of book design, including the issues of the journal "Veshch/Gegenstand/Objet", which he founded together with the writer Ilya Ehrenburh (see item 244 and item 249) and a volume of poetry by Vladimir Mayakovsky (see item 245 and item 250).
Lissitzky, who perceived books as immortal artifacts, "monuments of the future" by his definition, used the medium as a tool for spreading the messages of avant-garde and his artistic perception, as indicated by the variety of books in whose design, production or illustration he took part – beginning with children's books and books of poetry (see items 242 and 243) and ending with catalogs, guidebooks and research books (see items 246 and 248).
Lissitzky died in Moscow at the age of 51. In his final years, his artistic work was dedicated mainly to soviet propaganda; yet it seems that the same worldview accompanied his works throughout his life – the belief in goal-oriented creation (Zielbewußte Schaffen, the German term he coined) and the power of art to influence and bring about change.
Di Hun vos hot Gevolt hoben a Kam [The Hen who Wanted a Comb], by Feter Ben Zion [Benzion Raskin]. Kiev-St. Petersburg: Yiddisher Folks-Farlag, [1919]. From the "Kinder-Garten" Series of Children's Books. Yiddish.
A tale for children, accompanied by illustrations by El Lissitzky. One of the three children's books of the "Kinder-Garten" series which were published by Yiddisher Folks-Farlag in 1919 (see previous item).
14 pp, approx. 15X11 cm. Good condition. Stains. Small wormhole in all the leaves. Minor creases. Very small tears to the edges of several leaves.
Provenance: The Uriel Kahana Collection (his signature appears on the upper left corner of the front cover).
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El (Eliezer Lazar Markovich) Lissitzky (1890-1941), a Jewish-Russian artist, designer, photographer, teacher, typographer and architect, one of the most prominent and important members of the Russian avant-garde.
Lissitzky, an architect by training, contributed much, together with his teacher and friend Kazimir Malevich (see items 255-257), to the conceptualization and development of the Suprematism movement – the abstract art focused on geometric forms. He also designed numerous books and journals, exhibitions, and propaganda posters for the communist regime in Russia and influenced the Bauhaus and Constructivist movements in Europe. In his early days, Lissitzky showed much interest in the Jewish culture and many of his works integrated Jewish motifs (during the years 1915-1916, he took part in the ethnographic expedition headed by S. An-sky to various Jewish settlements). Wanting to promote Jewish culture in Russia after the revolution, he became engaged in designing and illustrating Yiddish children's books, creating several children's books which are considered pioneering masterpieces due to their graphics and typography (see for example, the series of children's book he illustrated in 1919, items 234-236, as well as additional children's books he illustrated, items 237, 241). However, several years later, he abandoned the Jewish motifs in favor of developing a more abstract and universal artistic language.
In 1921, Lissitzky moved to Germany, where he served as the Russian cultural ambassador, engaged in forming connections between Russian and German artists and continued to design books and journals; there he also created some of his most well-known works in the field of book design, including the issues of the journal "Veshch/Gegenstand/Objet", which he founded together with the writer Ilya Ehrenburh (see item 244 and item 249) and a volume of poetry by Vladimir Mayakovsky (see item 245 and item 250).
Lissitzky, who perceived books as immortal artifacts, "monuments of the future" by his definition, used the medium as a tool for spreading the messages of avant-garde and his artistic perception, as indicated by the variety of books in whose design, production or illustration he took part – beginning with children's books and books of poetry (see items 242 and 243) and ending with catalogs, guidebooks and research books (see items 246 and 248).
Lissitzky died in Moscow at the age of 51. In his final years, his artistic work was dedicated mainly to soviet propaganda; yet it seems that the same worldview accompanied his works throughout his life – the belief in goal-oriented creation (Zielbewußte Schaffen, the German term he coined) and the power of art to influence and bring about change.