Collection of sixteen original drawings and illustrations by Mendel Gorshman. Includes illustrations for works by Sholem Aleichem – "Tevye the Dairyman" and "Motl Peyse dem Khazns" – I.L. Peretz, and others. [Russia, ca. 1940s-70s].

Ink on paper.

Verso of most illustrations bear handwritten notes (in Russian) with names of stories and works for which the illustrations were created, dates, printing instructions, and additional information. Verso of two plates bear sketches of additional illustrations. All illustrations tipped in to paper boards.

[16] plates. Size and condition vary. Overall good condition.

Mendel Gorshman (Мендель Хаимович Горшман; 1902-1972), Soviet-Jewish graphic artist, illustrator and painter, born to a traditional Jewish family in Borisov, Minsk region, Belarus. Studied at Yakob Kruger's art school in Minsk, later at Nikolai Kupreyanov's art workshop in Kostroma and in the graphics department of Vkhutemas in Moscow.

Member of several Soviet art groups, including OST (OCT) and "Four Arts" (Четыре искусства). Worked for several important publishing houses in Russia, illustrating works by major Jewish writers and poets including Isaac Babel, Sholem Aleichem, I.L. Peretz, Mendele Mocher Sforim, Peretz Markish and others. His illustrations also accompanied several classic works of Russian literature. His works were exhibited over the years in several important exhibitions in the Soviet Union and abroad and are now preserved in important collections and museums in Russia, including the Pushkin Museum and the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.