8vo, 539 pp., 9 p.ill. 

In original white cloth and slipcase. 

In good condition, very light wear to slipcase corners. With advertising leaflets inserted in the book.

The book was illustrated by Iurii Vasilev, also known as Vasilev-MON (1925-1990), a versatile artist who excelled in painting, graphic design, theater art, and sculpture. He received his artistic education at the Moscow Academic Art College commemorating the 1905 Revolution and later at the Surikov Art Institute. Additionally, he pursued private instruction under the guidance of Evgenii Kropivnitskii, an artist and poet who led the influential underground Lianozov group. In 1962, along with other artists, he participated in the notorious exhibition at Moscow Manege, which was visited and heavily criticized by Nikita Khrushchev. This event marked the beginning of the end of the Cultural Thaw in the USSR. Vasilev was also involved in staging numerous performances at renowned Soviet theaters, including the Taganka Theater, where he collaborated with Vladimir Vysotsky in leading roles. After Vysotsky's death, Vasilev created a postmortem mask of him.

Since the late 1950s, Vasilev was interested in Japanese art, especially woodcuts. From the late 1960s onward, his illustrations appeared in Japanese translations of works by Russian writers such as Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Tolstoy, and Platonov. Vasilev made three visits to Japan, and in 1981, he created costumes and decorations for a Japanese performance of Chekhov's 'The Seagull' ('Chaika'). Additionally, in 1978, he held a solo exhibition in Yokohama, which is believed to be the artist's only solo exhibition during his lifetime.

OCLC doesn't locate any copies outside Japanese libraries.