[The Wolverine and The Fox] Rossomakha i lisitza. An evenki folktale.

[The Wolverine and The Fox] Rossomakha i lisitza. An evenki folktale.

Moscow: Detgiz, 1956. 8vo (217 x 165 mm), 16 pp.

In original illustrated wrappers; lightly worn. Pages yellowed. Overall in very good condition.

The first and only edition with these illustrations.

Cover art and illustrations by Vadim Synanie (1909-1980), a prominent soviet artist. Best known for working with children’s literature and making detailed paintings of Leningrad’s post-war restoration. He tended to use warm, bright colors that evoke a sense of joy, whether working on a cover of a children’s book or an urban panorama.

After the war, Vadim Synanie took part in an ethnographic expedition to the north of the USSR. Despite not directly including the Evenki settlements, the trip did give him a broader understanding of Siberian nature, which undoubtedly influenced his artistic work. In the world before television and the country where people were, for the most part, unable to travel far from home, well-drawn children’s books were one of a few possible mediums of learning about other sights and cultures.

We couldn’t trace any copy of this edition in USA or European libraries via OCLC.