Mayakovsky / Lissitzky – For the Voice / для голоса – 1923

A rare example of this landmark piece of Russian avant-garde book publishing, designed and illustrated by the artist El Lissitzky with verse by Vladimir Mayakovsky.

For the Voice was published in Berlin in 1923 by the State Publishing House (RSFSR), which had opened a branch in the city in the early 1920s due to paper and other material shortages in Russia.

It contains 13 poems by Mayakovsky, which were meant to be read aloud (hence the title of the collection) and were indexed using a thumbnail column designed by Lissitzky, which runs down the right-hand side of the book.

They cover popular themes from the Russian post-civil war period, including the struggle of the working class, anger against the bourgeoisie, and the role of culture. Each is strikingly illustrated by Lissitzky with his signature red-and-black geometric and abstract shapes, all in the Constructivist style.

The book is regarded as a masterpiece of collaboration between two of the most important cultural figures of the early Soviet period. An enthusiastic early supporter of the Bolshevik revolution, Mayakovsky later became disillusioned with the Stalinist regime and wrote a number of satirical, critical plays, notably The Bedbug (1929). He committed suicide in 1930 at the age of just 36.

El Lissitzky (1890-1941) was a prominent artist, printmaker and typographer. In the early 1920s he relocated to Weimar Berlin, then a hub for Russian emigre artists and writers, where he created For the Voice. He is listed in the opening pages as the ‘Constructor’ of the book.

Softback. Housed in Lissitzky’s original orange wrappers, which fold vertically around the booklet. With a later custom-made slipcase showing the front cover of the book on its front. 135 x 188mm. 61 pages.

In good+ condition. Externally some toning and spotting, creasing to the bottom front corner. Some minor, subtle restoration work to the top-left corner. No writing or inscriptions inside.

A wonderful piece of avant-garde publishing which rarely comes available outside of institutional collections.