С. Чехонин ["S. Chekhonin"], by Abram Efros and Nikolay Punin. Moscow-Petrograd: Государственное Издательство [State Publisher], [ca. 1924]. Russian.
Two articles by 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 (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.
Illustrated cover.
In addition to the Russian edition, the book was published in 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.
112, [1] pp. + [12] plates., 29 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains (numerous stains to cover). Notation in pen on front flyleaf. Inked stamps on back flyleaf and back cover. Several leaves partly detached. Closed and open tears edges of cover and several leaves, some restored.
Sergey Chekhonin (Сергей Васильевич Чехонин), influential Soviet Russian graphic artist, painter, and ceramic artist; member of the "Mir Iskusstva" ("Мир искусства": "World of Art") movement. Developed the idea of using porcelain vessels as a medium for disseminating Soviet propaganda. Became politically active following the revolution of 1905, and maintained close ties with revolutionary circles. This involvement was expressed through the political caricatures he created for magazines and the books he illustrated and designed. In the years 1918-23, he became the first artistic director following the October Revolution (1917) of the "State Porcelain Factory" (formerly the "Tsarist Porcelain Factory") that operated under the auspices of the Fine Arts Department of the Narkompros – the People's Commissariat for Education, under the directorship of Anatoly Lunacharsky. Chekhonin adhered to a Constructivist design concept that conformed with the spirit of the times under the dictates of the new ideology. He was at one point replaced by Nikolay Punin, but returned to his position as the institution's artistic director in the years 1925-27. As a graphic designer, he was responsible for the design of currency bills and postage stamps, and was a partner in the design of the flag of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). Left Russia in 1928, and took up residence in France and Germany, where he continued to design ceramic vessels and theater sets and illustrate and design books.
