[SOVIET UNION] PIATAKOV, G[eorgy] (editor)

USSR in Construction. 1934, No.5 (May)

Moscow: State Art Publishing House "Iskusstvo" 1934. First Edition. Folio (42cm); printed wrappers, saddle-stitched; [28]pp, with an incredible four-panel foldout plate with photos of workers in the slaughterhouse on both sides; illus. Wrappers dust-soiled, wear to spine-fold and extremities, with a few faint creases, and an early bookseller's label to front wrapper; contents clean, complete; Very Good or better.

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 meat industry, with stunning photos covering all aspects of production, transport, and refinement. 84033.

Price: $500.00

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