Lot 265
"Nathan Altman's Portrait" / "S. Chekhonin" – Two Books by Abram Markovich Efros – Covers in the Style of Russian Avant-garde – 1920s
Two books by the Russian-Jewish art critic Abram Markovich Efros (1888-1954):
1. портрет натана альтмана ["Nathan Altman's Portrait"], by Abram Efros. Moscow: Шиповник, 1922. Russian.
Brief monograph on the output of the Russian-Jewish avant-garde artist Nathan Altman (Натан Исаевич Альтман, 1889-1970), with pictures representing several of his works. An illustration by Altman (a reproduction, reduced in size, of a painting from the series "Judische Graphik" – "Jewish Graphics") appears on the front cover.
101, [3] pp., 18.5 cm. Good condition. One gathering detached. Loose leaves. Minor stains. Cover partly detached, with tears (including some open tears, not affecting print) to edges. Spine torn, mended (non-professionally) with strips of adhesive tape. Notation in red pencil on back cover.
2. S. Chekhonin, by Abram Efros and Nikolay Punin. Moscow-Leningrad: State Press, [ca. 1924]. English.
Abram Markovich Efros (1888-1954) and Nikolay Punin (1888-1953) dealing with the life and work of the multi-disciplinary Russian artist and designer Sergey Chekhonin (Сергей Васильевич Чехонин, 1878-1936). With 12 plates (on paper of varying thickness; some in color), as well as numerous in-text illustrations, featuring Chekhonin's works: paintings, book illustrations, porcelain plates, stamps, currency bills, bookplates, and more.
The book was published in Russian, French, German, and English.
See: Nina Gurianova et al., "The Russian Avant-Garde Book 1910-1934," exhibition catalogue, MoMA, New York, 2002, Item No. 530.
104, [2] pp. + [12] plates, 30 cm. Good condition. Stains. Several leaves and plates detached. Cover detached. Tears (including some open tears, not affecting print) to cover and spine. Notation in blue pencil on back cover.
