Aizman, Garri (i.e. Harry Eisman).

[AVANT-GARDE – AMERICAN COMMUNISM FOR SOVIET CHILDREN] Krasnye galstuki v strane dollara [Red neckties in the land of the dollar].

Moscow: Izdatel'stvo TsK MOPR SSSR, 1932. Octavo (17.5 × 11 cm). Original staple-stitched pictorial wrappers by Vladimir Vysotskii; 39, [1] pp. Light overall wear with some discoloration and fraying to wrappers; pre-war stamps of a Soviet school; else good or better. Item #55360

First edition of this popular autobiography for children, written by the Jewish-American communist activist Harry Eisman (1913–1979), who rose to prominence as an organizer of the communist youth movement in the Bronx, before being exiled to the Soviet Union. The introduction to the text reads: “The book is written by American pioneer Harry Eisman, who is currently living in the USSR and working at the Stalin factory in Moscow,” highlighting Eisman's employment, in contrast to widespread unemployment of this period in the West. The book follows Eisman’s path from first joining the communist youth movement, to his activism in his school PS 61 in the Bronx, participation in various protests and eventual arrests at the age of fourteen, his conviction, and exile. In a particularly troubling section in the book, Eisman discusses the fates of the other incarcerated children he encounters while in prison, who are arrested for working illegally, then arrested again for trying to escape, arguing for the absurdity of the economic and legal system that makes children into outlaws. A longer version of this autobiography intended for young adults and titled “Khausorn”, named after the Hawthorn Jewish Reform School for Boys where Eisman served a six-month sentence, appeared in the same year. It was this shorter version however that became a classic, published twice in 1932, and republished again in 1966 and 1973.

Born in modern-day Moldova, then part of the Russian empire, Eisman immigrated to New York with his older sisters at the age of seven. His activism, arrests, and a six-year conviction and his eventual return to the Soviet Union made headlines in the US and the Soviet Union. In Moscow he received a warm welcome and went on a “victory tour” with his release criticized in the American press as a mistake in the battle against communism. Eisman went on to study journalism in Moscow and authored several other volumes, including “International education of Children and Ozet” (1930). The dynamic wrapper design for the volume was done by the Soviet graphic artist Vladimir Vysotskii (1911–1983), who studied at the AKhR (Association of Artists of the Revolution) studio with avant-garde master Ilia Mashkov in 1928–1930.

As of October 2025, KVK, OCLC locate only one copy of the first edition, in Germany.

Price: €600.00

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