#N4-028
1957
195 pp., 4 leaves of illustrations, 20x14 cm. Original printed wrappers. Small tear to the bottom of the spine, the first endpaper with two discolored spots from two small traces of paper, but otherwise near fine.
First and only edition. Rare in original wrappers. In Russian.
An important collection of works by the San Francisco Literary and Art Circle, covering more than three decades of its existence.
The Circle was founded in 1923 by Russian youth arriving from China, part of the "White Russian" exodus following the Bolshevik Revolution and the Civil War. After the 1921 closure of the newspaper Russkaya zhizn, its editorial board (F. Postnikov, M. Rot, I. Yelovskiy, and Elena Grot) established biweekly meetings for poetry, art, and literary debate. While two collections of the circle's work were published in the 1920s and 1930s, the World War II temporarily halted these meetings. Following the war, a second wave of Russian immigrants arrived in San Francisco, leading to a resurgence of the group and the assembly of this specific collection.
Unlike the two previous collections produced by the circle, this volume not only features work by prominent members (including Nina Fedorova, Nikolay Nabokov, Rodion Berezov, Pyotr Balakshin, and Elena Pechatkina), it also serves as a comprehensive "manifesto" of the Russian presence in San Francisco. The book includes detailed articles on Russian libraries and artists throughout the state, theatrical activities in the city, and a bibliography of works published by Russian writers and scientists in English, accounting for their achievements across a wide range of professional fields.
The advertisements at the end of the volume further illustrate a vibrant Russian community life, featuring local enterprises such as Alla Sviridoff’s piano studio, Lizetta Kolova’s violin studio, numerous ballet schools, and youth organizations like the Scouts and Sokol.
Worldcat locates a copy at the following institutional libraries: University at Albany, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, National Library of Israel, Cleveland Public Library, Harvard Library, Amherst College Library, Yale University Library, Columbia University Libraries, New York Public Library, Princeton University Library, University of Virginia Libraries, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries, University of Michigan Libraries.
