[DESIGN BY TELINGATER] Slovo predostavlyaetsya Kirsanovu [i.e. The Word Belongs to Kirsanov]

Moscow: GIZ, 1930. [84] pp. 20,5х9 cm. Original wrappers with letterpress lettering and photomontage illustrations. A very good copy. Some restoration of the covers.

One of 3000 copies. An exceptional example of innovative constructivist typographic design by Telingater that intended to enhance the work of the leftist poet Semyon Kirsanov.

Solomon Telingater (1903-1969) was a Russian graphic artist, designer and typeface designer. Telingater wrote influential books on typography and designed some of the most memorable books of the Soviet period. He was the first Soviet citizen to receive the Gutenberg award for his achievements in designing books and typefaces. The pioneer in printing arts was El Lissitzky who saw the book
as a visual object, but the widespread acceptance of these ideas did not occur until the turn of the 1920s and '30s as a result of the efforts of his young followers. First among them was Telingater. He designed books as if they were films, or a monumental poster - as sophisticated artistic construction. This kind of book was produced for its collective impact, not merely for the joy of the individual reader. His work is akin to the art of declamation: letters react to slightest fluctuations of poetic intonation instantly changing the size and color. His vision also affected what literary genres he chose to work with, and Kirsanov's poetic work provided appropriate material to match Telingater's extraordinary visual imagination. The front wrapper suggests a combination of agitprop and Dadaist elements via collage techniques. For one particular poem, the type is laid out in the shape of a man. All elements of the book, including the text itself, are connected as one visual art object which makes a very strong impression on its readers.