PYATAKOV, G.L. (editor); ALPERIN, S., et al. (photographs)

USSR in Construction. 1936, No.6 (June)

Moscow: The State Publishing House of Graphic Arts, 1936. First Edition. Folio (42cm); printed wrappers, saddle-stitched; [40]pp; illus.; text is entirely in English. Wrappers with mild dust-soil and a few faint creases, neatly detached and split along spine-fold; contents clean and complete, with loosely inserted photographic leaf memorializing A.M. Gorky (1868-1936); Good.

Well-preserved issue of this landmark Soviet art magazine, issued from 1930 to 1941 to celebrate the achievements of the first two Five Year Plans and (through various foreign-language editions) to propagandize the stark contrast between the vibrant Soviet economy during this period and the stagnation of Western economies under capitalism. "All the visual strategies of the propaganda photobooks, designed by Lissitsky, Rodchenko and others...were developed in USSR in Construction, one of the most beautifully produced magazines of the twentieth century" (Parr-Badger, The Photobook, I:148).

The present issue is entirely devoted to the Soviet production of electricity ("White Coal"), in text and photographs. A visually stunning issue.

Price: $400.00

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