Borisov, E., Pyatnova, I. [The Sun in the Cables]. Solntse v Provodakh.

Illustrations by U. Sooster.

Moskva, Izdatel'stvo Detskiy mir, 1963.
8vo, [18] pp.incl.wr., ill.

In original pictorial wrappers.
Near very good condition, lightly rubbed to spine edges, small stains to back cover, small owner’s mark to front cover.

First edition. The only edition with these illustrations.

This book focuses on solar energy and its direct conversion into electricity. It features illustrations by Ülo Sooster (1924-1970), an Estonian artist and a prominent figure of the Second Russian avant-garde. In 1944, Sooster was conscripted into the German army but later deserted. After the war, he attended Tartu Art College, but in 1949, he was arrested and sent to the Karaganda Corrective Labor Camp (Karlag). He was released and rehabilitated in 1956 and later moved to Moscow, where he worked as an illustrator and became associated with the underground culture scene. Sooster is considered the first Russian surrealist and participated in the 30th-anniversary exhibition of the Moscow Union of Artists at the Central Exhibition Hall (Manège), which was criticized by Nikita Khrushchev.
The book belonged to the children's collection of Inna Shmeleva (1929-2020), an artist who studied under Ely Bielutin, the founder of The New Reality artistic academy. Shmeleva also participated in the 1962 Manège exhibition, which marked the end of the Khrushchev Thaw period.

OCLC locates one copy of this edition in the USA only: in the Stanford University Library. Second copy locates in the Berlin State Library.