Избрань, Стихи, 1912-1922, [Selection, Poems, 1912-1922], by Nikolai Aseev. Moscow-St. Petersburg: Круг (Krug), 1923. Russian, Cover design by Alexander Rodchenko.
A volume of poetry by Russian Futurist poet Nikolai Aseev (Николай Асеев, 1889-1963), member of the Left Front of the Arts (LEF) association. Cover design by Alexander Rodchenko.
128, [4] pp, 20.5 cm. Good condition. Stains (mainly to back cover and first and last leaves). Small tears to edges of cover, small open tears to lower part of spine. A tear along the entire spine splits the book into parts. Bookplate on the second page. Handwritten inscription (Russian) on the first page, dated 1925.

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Alexander Mikhailovich Rodchenko (1891-1956) – a Russian artist, graphic designer, sculptor and photographer, a member of the Constructivist movement.

Rodchenko studied art in Kazan (Tatarstan) and Moscow. In his early days, he was inspired by Cubism and Futurism; yet later was influenced by the Suprematism and the geometric abstraction of Kandinsky and Malevich. Rodchenko was a student of Vladimir Tatlin, and also his assistant. In 1916 he participated in an exhibition curated by Tatlin. In 1919, under Tatlin's influence, he started creating three-dimensional works made of a variety of materials (wood, metal and more), characterized by integrated geometrical forms forming airy and dynamic compositions.

During the 1920s, he worked regularly with the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, illustrating his books (see items 250 and 252) and contributed photographs and illustrations to the issues of "LEF" (see item 251) as well as to books and publications by other writers, members of the Russian avant-garde movements (see, for example, items 249 and 254); he also regularly published his photographs in the press.

Rodchenko is considered one of the most versatile artists of Russian avant-garde: he was one of the leaders of the Productivist group, which advocated the incorporation of art into everyday life, and subsequently, turned also to applied arts and furniture design; later, he became engaged in the art of photography and photomontage (he is considered one of the pioneers of the field), designed posters, illustrated books, worked as a graphic artist and designed theater and cinema sets.