Our Notes & References

A fine poster, here in fine condition in spite of the fragility of the paper. An appealing and symbolic production of the young USSR, perhaps unexpectedly featuring classical productions of tsarist Russia, including a book which evokes Church manuscripts. Interestingly, this poster suggests strongly that the new Russia shouldn’t destroy everything from the old regime, and should even look after them – something at odds with some ideological trends then and of course with the behaviour of the new regime, which would later blow up Moscow’s largest cathedral.

The same Soviet ministry published another poster by the same artist and very much in the same style, encouraging the Soviet citizens to look after their books and libraries – a rare poster too, which we handled some time ago.

The young Kupreianov (1894-1933) also worked as a book illustrator, designing this same year 1919 the wrappers for the first edition of Blok’s Iamby.

Printed on fragile cheap paper and destined to be put on facades and other surfaces in the open-air, posters were usually short-lived. Survivors in such fine condition as this one are a rare find.