Eric Chaim Kline, Bookseller

Soviet Cinema [Design and photomontage by V. Stepanova and A. Rodchenko]

Arossev, A. (ed.); A. Stetsky; E. Weismann; S. Dinamov; V. Turkin; B. Atzizan,; A. Arsharuni et al

Moscow: VOKS, (1935). First edition. Hardcover. Quarto. 312 (2,10)pp. Original red faux half leather over paper covered boards illustrated with film imagery and red lettering on covers, black on spine, protected by modern mylar. Inside covers and endpapers illustrated with film images on photo paper, printed in orange. Color illustrated half-title and title page, both with film strips in color. Each chapter with cover page showing its number in a lithographically printed red square. Design and photomontage by V. Stepanova and A. Rodchenko. Elaborate publication celebrating fifteen years of Soviet cinema with contributions by B. Shumyatsky, A. Stetsky and A. Arossev and many others.

Chapter two elaborates on the basic trends in Soviet film art as well as literature on the subject, followed by twenty-one biographical notes on the premiere Soviet filmmakers, incl. A. Dovzhenko, V. Pudovkin, S. Eisenstein and others. The volume covers cinematography in "Soviet White Russia, the Ukraine, Armenia and the Central Asia Republics of the USSR. Chapter five is dedicated to the film "Chapayev", chapter six introduces Soviet newsreels, the film "Chelyuskin" and scientific-educational cinematography.

Chapter seven treats the Soviet film industry, its popularization and cinema in the Collective Farms. Chapter eight with thirty short contributions of Soviet film art by thirty authors, including André Gide and Cecil B. de Mille and finally, in chapter nine, a chronology of Soviet film starting with Lenin's Decree on the nationalization of the film industry on August 27th, 1919, and a list of honors bestowed on workers in Soviet cinematography.

The volume is profusely illustrated with b/w offset reproductions of cinematographer portraits, film stills throughout, some in color or sepia-toned, including a b/w fold-out of a cinema's audience in front of a big screen with a cutout, as issued, showing Lenin's head depicted in a photograph on the next page respectively the Lenin quote "Cinema is for us the most important for arts" on the previous page; this ploy is repeated on page 273 with a cutout, as issued, revealing a film still from the Eisenstein film "October" on the next, a head shot of Eisenstein on the previous page; missing the tipped-in celluloid sheet with Stalin's silhouette.

Four pages of advertisements at rear followed by ten pages with b/w offset reproductions of film still and posters, all posters featuring photomontages. Text printed to regular, photographs to glossy paper. Recto of back endpaper with stamp "4) N A7." Pages 197 through 200 with straight cuts in pages. Various pages with ball-point pen lines in geometrical fashion framing or connecting film imagery of the page. Very good condition. Item #48601

Price: $650.00