[A SOVIET CHILDREN'S MAGAZINE] Ogon'ki. Zhurnal dlya detey srednego vozrasta [i.e. Sparks. A Magazine for Middle-Aged Children]

Moscow: 1927-1932. 21.7x16.5 cm. #1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 of 1929; #2,6 of 1930; #8 of 1931. 14 issues bound in 1 volume. Print run varied. Binding rubbed, #5, 8, 12 of 1929 with the loss of the front wrappers, light soiling of all issues, otherwise in a good condition.

A compilation of fourteen issues (bound in 1 volume) of the popular Soviet children's magazine Ogon'ki [i.e. Sparks]. The periodical was published by Rabochaya Gazeta [i.e. Worker's Newspaper] with a fluctuating print run and frequency in Moscow from 1927 to 1932. The collection boasts vibrant cover designs, primarily illustrating short stories featured in the issues. Notably, issue #1 and 10 of 1929 showcase striking wrapper designs by renowned Soviet artists Mikhail Ivanov-Radkevich and Konstantin Gol'shtein. The collection includes numerous monochrome drawings and photographs by Boris Vladimirsky, Vsevolod Filippov, Vadim Rostovtsev, Dementiy Shmarinov, Konstantin Zotov, etc. Some of the most captivatin vernacular photographs show children of the Koopinsoyuz kindergarten in Ryazan engaged in a war game, a little boy performing on the harmonica at a competition in Moscow, kids reading newspapers on a collective farm amidst a field in Astrakhan, a children's hygiene committee inspecting the cleanliness of youngsters' ears and hands, etc. There's also a remarkable doublespread
photomontage of young Komsomols working in factories, operating tractors, handling machines, etc. (#8 of 1931)
The magazine comprises the following sections: "Far from Us," "Latest News," "DIY," "Solve It", etc. The issues occasionally feature the "Children's Life" segment, showcasing letters from youngsters across the Soviet Union. One curious letter reads: "When I got home, my big brother was stumbling around the room, all drunk and swearing. He saw me, grabbed me by the collar, brought me to the table, poured some vodka, and made me drink it." (Kolya Chernov. Nizhny Novgorod) The message is accompanied by a staged photograph of an adult pouring
vodka for a kid. Another section "Know-it-all" features concise notes about the achievements of children both in the USSR and abroad. In one of the letters, an eight-year-old Lyalya from Kimry proudly writes: "Mom brought me a piggy bank. I put money there. I named the piggy bank 'Soviet power'." The assortment of poems and short stories for children presented in the issues mostly focuses on themes of aviation, factories / plants, North pole, Jews, and African Americans. One of the stories by V. Zinde tells the tale of a Jewish child Sara, who endures severe bullying in school and finds support from the school administration and pioneers (#4 of 1929). Among the contributors to the literary content of the magazine are: Tatyana Pilchevskaya, Andrey Khutoryanin, Sergey Nevskiy, Gennadiy Solovyov, etc.