Our Notes & References

Excellent example of the first and only edition of this experimental children’s book, “among the best books of Russian Futurism” (Karpov, our translation here and below).

Uncommon: we could locate only two physical copies in the US (MoMA and Johns Hopkins), to which OCLC adds a copy at Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. We were able to locate only three examples passing through auctions in the West over the past decades.

“One of the first experiments in the development of Soviet children’s books” (quoted in Karpov), the productions of the artists’ collective Segodnia [Today] were intended to “fill a gap in children’s literature, almost non-existent [at that time]” (Karpov). Active only in 1918–19, the group was founded by the artist Vera Ermolaeva, who designed Segodnia’s cubo-futurist publishing mark, present on the lower wrappers of all its editions. At a time of acute shortages of paper and technology, the artists resorted to semi-manual production, relying on traditional techniques of engraving and lithography. Their small-format series of books — just eight pages including wrappers — were printed in runs of 1,000 on a hand press, with 125 copies hand-coloured. The illustrations were cut in linoleum and printed from the original blocks, without aid of zincography.

Annenkov’s 1/4 Past Eight “stands out among other editions by Segodnia, as it is the only publication written and designed by a single author” (Karpov). Apparently Annenkov’s first literary work, it presents phantasmagorical scenes through enigmatic vignettes and more developed compositions, informed by the aesthetics of both Cubo-Futurism and the World of Art group, which Annenkov (1889–1974) had joined a few years earlier. In 1924 Annenkov will leave the USSR and then develop an artist’s career in France.

Provenance

Private NYC collection

Bibliography

MoMA 216; Rozanov 2430; Karpov, Dmitrii. “Artel khudozhnikov ‘Segodnia'” // Antikvariat. Predmety iskusstva i kollektsionirovaniia. Dec. 2003.