136, 132 pp. 21x16 cm. Original illustrated wrappers. Wrapper design by Andrei Teviashev. Paper labels on the spines, spines are slightly chipped and with tears. Stamps of the Russian church library in Los Angeles in both volumes. Complete with subscription leaf, pasted inside vol. 2.

First and only edition.

Important almanac of the Russian diaspora, compiled by the prominent San Francisco–based Russian author Pyotr Balakshin (1898–1990). Balakshin arrived in California in 1925 and pursued his studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He is widely recognized for his definitive historical work, Final in China, which documents the collapse of the White Army in the Far East and its subsequent retreat across the Chinese border.

The periodical brings together works by local writers and poets (including T. Bazhenova and B. Volkov) alongside distinguished literary figures from abroad. Among the important contributors is Tamara Andreeva, who immigrated to the United States from Harbin, where she had previously published in the journal Rubezh. She later served on the editorial staff of Columbus’s Land and published extensively in both Russian-language periodicals and American publications like Blue Book and California Anthology.

The inaugural issue of Columbus’s Land features a short essay titled “Let’s Rejoice!” by Nikolai Roerich (with whom Balakshin maintained a brief correspondence), as well as one of Balakshin’s own most accomplished stories, “Spring over Fillmore.” Through this publication, Balakshin intentionally created a platform for authors of the Russian diaspora from China, facilitating the first American appearance of poems by Lev Grosse, Natalia Reznikova, Lydia Khaindrova, and Arseny Nesmelov (writers with whom he corresponded for many years.)

While preparing the third issue, Balakshin entered into correspondence with Marina Tsvetaeva, who agreed in principle to contribute her poetry. However, the project was discontinued due to financial difficulties before this collaboration could be realized.

Both volumes contain substantial advertising sections listing businesses owned by the Russian diaspora in San Francisco, including tea rooms, beauty salons, hat shops, music studios, the Novinka bookshop, and the Siberian Market.

Worldcat locates a copy at the following institutional libraries: NYPL, Stanford, Harvard, Amherst College, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Library of Congress, Toronto, University of North Carolina.