Help me identify this Constructivist book.

June 5, 2007 10:48 AM

I need to catalog a reprint of a book of Constructivist graphic designs. Everything's in Russian and German. Can anybody tell me more about it?

Cover
Cover (detail)
First page
Title page (cropped)
Back page 01 (detail)
Back page 02 (cropped)
Back page 03 (German, cropped)

It's a slim book, just 20 pages. Softcover, 8 1/2" x 11".

I'm looking for the title and the names of the designer, editors, and publishers (original and reprinter). "Back page 02" has a copyright notice for 1922 by the editors "Scythians" with an address in Leipzig. Were there Russian publishers?

posted by hydrophonic to media & arts (5 comments total)

I can't help, but that cover is phenomenal.
posted by OmieWise at 10:57 AM on June 5, 2007

El Lissitzky, About 2 Squares.
posted by scody at 11:50 AM on June 5, 2007

Cover: [title:] про 2 ■ [read про два квадрата pro dva kvadrata 'for two squares']
Cover (detail): eL lisitskiy [i.e., El Lissitzky]
First page: vsem rebyatkam ['to all the guys' (vsem 'to all' repeated)
Title page (cropped): el lisitskiy / suprematicheskiy skaz ['suprematist tale'] / pro dva kvadrata ['for two squares'] / v 6ti [read shesti] postroikakh ['in six buildings']
Back page 01 (detail): UNOVIS / postroeno 1920 vitebsk ['UNOVIS / built 1920 Vitebsk']
Back page 02 (cropped): 'assembled by the author for the publisher Skify ['Scythians'] in Berlin / printed in Leipzig at the Haberland printing house / fifty copies of this edition autographed and numbered'
Back page 03 (German, cropped): (discusses the details of producing a German edition of Lissitzky's work; I can translate it if you really want)

The whole Russian edition is reproduced here.
posted by languagehat at 12:11 PM on June 5, 2007

On non-preview: Bah!
posted by languagehat at 12:11 PM on June 5, 2007

Thanks! scody's got it, and that site has all the pages and a full translation. Thanks for the effort and the offer for more languagehat, but I'm set.

And now I realize I could've googled the only four English words.
posted by hydrophonic at 12:41 PM on June 5, 2007