[COVER DESIGN BY ZDANEVICH] Semi tserkvam: poema [To the seven churches: a poem]

by Rafalovich, Sergei and Kirill Zdanevich (1892-1969), designer

$3,504 · Offered by Biblio

Tiflis (Tbilisi): Iz-vo "Kavkazskii posrednik", 1919. Octavo (18.4 × 12.7 cm). Original staple-stitched pictorial wrappers with a design by Kirill Zdanevich; 15, [1] pp. Small chip to lower right corner; wrappers somewhat toned and fragile; else about very good. Rare volume containing a long poem by Sergei L'vovich Rafalovich (1875-1943), a Russian poet and translator, who lived in Paris after 1909. During the Russian Civil War he also lived in various cities in the Caucasus, including Tbilisi, Baku, and Batumi, and published the journal "Orion" in Tbilisi together with Sergei Gorodetskii. In a contemporary review, Vladimir Nabokov was critical of Rafalovich's choice of metaphors and themes, while conceding occasional moments of genuine poetic talent. The final leaf contains a list of Rafalovich's numerous publications. Wrappers designed by Kirill Zdanevich (1892-1969), painter, book, and set designer and a key figure in avant-garde circles in the Caucasus. After a brief association with Vladimir Tatlin and Liubov Popova, he gravitated towards Mikhail Larionov and Natalia Goncharova, and was a signatory of the Rayonist Manifesto in 1913. He became known for his experiments with Cubo-Futurism and his interest in primitive art. After being wounded during WWI and settling in Tbilisi, he co-founded the futurist group 41 Degrees (41 Gradus), which also included his brother Il'ia Zdanevich (Ilyazd), Aleksei Kruchenykh, the poet Kara-Darvish and the theater director Igor Terent'ev,

• Binding: unknown

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