October 1932. · [Moscow]
by Lissitsky, El, and M. Alpert [design]
[Moscow]: State Publishing House of Graphic Arts, October 1932.. Folio (41.5 x 30cm). Pictorial wrappers. A good copy only: the extreme lower forecorners are a bit creased and occasionally ragged; the front wrapper has the lower extreme fore- corner chipped away and, there is a short tear near the toe of the spine resulting in the loss of the extreme lower spine corner of the lower wrapper and last leaf; there is a small chip in the lower wrapper at the spine crown; there is an 11 cm internally mended tear in the rear wrapper up from the lower edge and another internally mended 7 cm tear in the fore-edge, each with small chips associated; and one panel of the enormous center four panel gatefold is neatly separated along the fold; still, a reasonably good copy of an issue seldom found in ideal condition. Founded by Maxim Gorky and published in the Soviet Union from 1930 to 1941 (and 1949), under the general editorship of G. Piatakov. An important issue of this innovative periodical, devoted to the Dnieprostroy hydroelectric project, with the 'plan' of the issue by El Lissitsky and M. Alpert. The text is by Boris Agapov, translated for this English version by D. S. Mirsky. Of special note are four preliminary pages in tribute to H. G. Wells. The photographic component drew on a number of official sources, with additional special photography by Alpert and A. Shaykhet. "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. Versions were also published in Russian, German and French. PARR-BADGER I:148. (Inventory #: WRCLIT76600)