Online Auction 026 – Jewish and Israeli History, Art and Culture
"Alefbeys" – Yiddish Reader for Learning the Yiddish Alphabet – Moscow, 1947
Opening: $100
Sold for: $125
Including buyer's premium
Alefbeys, by Leib Kvitko. Moscow: "Der Emes," 1947. Yiddish. Illustrations: Mikhail Yo (Ioffe).
Reader for learning the Yiddish alphabet conforming with the system established by the Soviet authorities, which does not allow for terminal letters, and determines that words originating in Hebrew must be spelled according to modern Yiddish phonetic rules. The reader was published by "Yevsektsiya," the Jewish section of the Soviet Communist Party.
The cover and the individual letters of the alphabet were rendered by the artist Meir Ioffeh (1895-1960), who went by the pen name "Mikhael Yo." Ioffeh – a graphic artist, painter, and theoretician – was one of the most notable figures in Riga's artistic and cultural circles. He worked both for the Jewish Theater in Riga and the Jewish State Theater in Moscow.
Accompanying each letter of the alphabet is a short poem in rhyme pertaining to that letter. The reader also features Yiddish poems and short stories (including a poem by Vladimir Lenin and lyrics to the anthem of the Soviet Union), as well as a table listing the letters of the Yiddish alphabet along with their corresponding characters in the Cyrillic alphabet.
47 [1] pp., 25.4-5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Creases, mostly to edges and cover. Minor tears to cover edges. Final leaf and cover slightly loose.
Provenance: The Uzi Agassi Collection.
Reader for learning the Yiddish alphabet conforming with the system established by the Soviet authorities, which does not allow for terminal letters, and determines that words originating in Hebrew must be spelled according to modern Yiddish phonetic rules. The reader was published by "Yevsektsiya," the Jewish section of the Soviet Communist Party.
The cover and the individual letters of the alphabet were rendered by the artist Meir Ioffeh (1895-1960), who went by the pen name "Mikhael Yo." Ioffeh – a graphic artist, painter, and theoretician – was one of the most notable figures in Riga's artistic and cultural circles. He worked both for the Jewish Theater in Riga and the Jewish State Theater in Moscow.
Accompanying each letter of the alphabet is a short poem in rhyme pertaining to that letter. The reader also features Yiddish poems and short stories (including a poem by Vladimir Lenin and lyrics to the anthem of the Soviet Union), as well as a table listing the letters of the Yiddish alphabet along with their corresponding characters in the Cyrillic alphabet.
47 [1] pp., 25.4-5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Creases, mostly to edges and cover. Minor tears to cover edges. Final leaf and cover slightly loose.
Provenance: The Uzi Agassi Collection.
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