Krylov, Ivan, author and V[era] Ermolaeva, illustrator.

[AVANT-GARDE FOR SOVIET CHILDREN – FUTURIST WOMEN ARTISTS] Two Krylov fables illustrated by the pioneer of avant-garde children’s illustration Vera Ermolaeva: Vorona i lisitsa. Basnia Krylova [The Crow and the Fox: A Fable by Krylov]. WITH: Dve sobaki. Basnia Krylova [Two Dogs: A Fable by Krylov].

Vorona i lisitsa. Basnia Krylova [The Crow and the Fox: A Fable by Krylov]. Leningrad: Gosudarstvennoe izdatel’stvo, 1930. Octavo (17.5 × 12.5 cm). Original staple-stitched chromolithographed wrappers; 6, [2] pp. Black and white illustrations throughout, with three full-page. Light foxing throughout; some discoloration due to stock; markings in orange pencil to some illustrations. Still about very good.

Dve sobaki. Basnia Krylova [Two Dogs: A Fable by Krylov]. Leningrad: Gosudarstvennoe izdatel’stvo, 1930. Octavo (17.5 × 12.5 cm). Original staple-stitched chromolithographed wrappers; 6, [2] pp. Black and white illustrations throughout, with three full-page. Light foxing throughout; some discoloration due to stock; still about very good. Item #55790

Тwo children's books of classic fables by Ivan Krylov (1769–1844), the well-known Russian fabulist, illustrated by the graphic artist and painter Vera Ermolaeva (1893–1938), one of the most energetic members of the Russian avant-garde, especially notable for her contribution to children's book publishing. The two volumes belong to a series of Krylov fables illustrated by Ermolaeva, all initially published in 1930, including “Kot i povar” [The cat and the cook], “Strekoza i muravei” [The dragon fly and the ant], “Lzhets” [The liar], “Kvartet” [Quartet], “Kukusha i petukh” [The cokoo and the rooster], some of these released in second edition in 1931. Ermolaeva studied art in St. Petersburg with Mikhail Bernshtein (alongside Tatlin, Shklovsky, and Altman), later traveling to Paris to study Cubism. In 1915 she became one of the founding members of the Futurist group “Bloodless murder”, which published an eponymous journal “similar to the Futurist publications of Kruchenykh.” Ermolaeva held a deep interest in folk art and “primitive forms,” graduating with a degree in Archeology from St. Petersburg University in 1917. In 1918, she founded the Artel “Segodnia” with the objective of creating affordable illustrated editions of works by “leftist poets” for children. The group also organized cultural evenings for children, decorating these with “enormous drawings of animals and papier maché sculptures,” as well as “live newspaper” evenings, the first of which included readings by Eikhenbaum, Akhmatova, Kuzmin, and Zamiatin (Marzio Marzaduri, Russkii literaturnyi avangard: materialy i issledovaniia, pp. 37–50). In 1919 Ermolaeva was summoned to Vitebsk to teach at the Vitebsk Art Institute alongside Chagall and Lissitzky, eventually taking over the directing position after Chagall’s departure. Malevich came to Vitebsk on Ermolaeva’s invitation, where with her support he founded UNOVIS (The Champions of New Art), a Suprematist group active 1919–1922. Starting in 1923, Ermolaeva was the head of the colour laboratory at GINKhUK (State Institute of Artistic Culture), an innovative center for the scientific study of art. In later years, Ermolaeva worked closely with the Futurist OBERIU (Union of Real Art) poets at Detgiz (Children’s National Publishing House), illustrating books by A. Vvedensky, N. Zabolotsky, N. Oleinikov, D. Kharms, as well as classic works such as these fables.

Ermolaeva was arrested in 1934 and accused of anti-Soviet activities along with a group of other avant-garde artists. She was executed in 1937 or 1938, which would have marked her books for destruction and her name for removal from printed materials, making her work especially scarce. Ermolaeva’s contribution to the Russian avant-garde remains understudied, despite the nearly two dozen of her works, held at MoMA including the UNOVIS manifesto, and a copy of “Dve sobaki” [Two dogs] (no. 358). “Vorona i lisitsa” is not in the Lur'e collection (Kniga dlia detei 1881–1939, Moscow: ULEI, 2009). "Dve sobaki" No. 358 in Lur'e.

As of July 2026, KVK, OCLC show two copies of “Dve sobaki” worldwide, both in North America. Only one copy of “Vorona i lisitsa” worldwise, in North America.

Price: €2,000.00

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