Abramov, A.
Conveyor. First edition of rare activity book.
Conveyor. First edition of rare activity book.
Abramov, A. [Conveyor]. Konveyer.
Illustrations by A. Laptev.
Moskva, OGIZ, Molodaya gvardiya, 1931.
8vo, 16 pp. including wrapper, ill.
In original pictorial wrappers and contemporary clamshell box.
In good condition, worn and cracks to cover, carefully repaired, owner's mark to front cover.
First edition.
This rare Soviet activity book describes how to make origami balloons as a team, where everyone has their own role. However, it's not just an activity book; it's an uncommon 'guide for the new minds of the future', briefly explaining the principles of using a conveyor belt. In 1928, Stalin introduced an economic policy based on a series of Five-Year Plans. That's why, for many years, one of the primary objectives of Soviet ideology was to cultivate a new generation of workers ready to contribute to a socialist future.
Nadezhda Krupskaya, Lenin's wife and the Soviet Union's Deputy Minister of Education, emphasized the importance of instilling work skills and habits in the younger generation: 'Polytechnical education must imbue the younger generation with the romantic spirit of socialist economic development and enable them to actively participate in building socialism… Lenin particularly noted Marx's statement in the first volume of Das Kapital concerning the combination of children and adolescents' instruction with productive labor… labor should be made compulsory for all adolescents and closely associated with education' (Inside the Rainbow: Russian Children's Literature 1920-1935: Beautiful Books, Terrible Times, London, Redstone Press, 2013).
The illustrations were created by the graphic artist Aleksey Laptev (1905-1965). He studied at the School-Studio under F. Rerberg and later at VKhUTEMAS under N. Kupriyanov. This work represents his early career, and Laptev is best known for his post-World War II illustrations.