Abstract
In this introduction, Pristed explains why the highly obtrusive, but largely ignored, problem of contemporary Russian book design merits attention, and outlines the three parts of her book: a graphic cultural history of fiction publishing in Russia; an analytical, diachronic comparison of editions of classic, popular, and contemporary fiction, respectively; and a presentation of the individual works of contemporary Russian book designers belonging to three different generations. Pristed positions her study of contemporary Russian book design between the disciplines of literary studies, book history, visual studies, and media studies. Entering a much-needed East–West dialogue, Pristed points out fundamental cultural differences in the concept of the book and the book cover. In Western research tradition, the modern book has been defined and described as a trade object made by the agents of an industrialized publishing business. But in (Soviet) Russia, where market mechanisms were temporarily disabled, the research tradition came to rely on a normative approach. Pristed dates this tradition back to the idealized philosophical concept of the book set forth by the Russian religious philosopher Pavel Florenskii and the Nestor of Soviet book graphics Vladimir Favorskii.
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Notes
- 1.
The term “grafisk kulturhistorie” has been suggested by the book historian Henrik Horstbøll (Lund University) in his identification of book history as a discipline that bridges textual studies, bibliography, and graphical cultural history (Horstbøll February 28, 2013). I find it more accurate than “visual culture,” because my object of study combines pictures, words, and decoration in the material form of the book.
- 2.
Apart from later mentioned Russian sources, the present study is informed by Western studies of Russian print culture. In addition to the large body of research on avant-garde books and book art, recent titles include (Lovell 2000; Lovell and Birgit Menzel (eds.) 2005; Becker 2003; Remnek (ed.) 2011; Leving and Bertram (eds.) 2013.
- 3.
In the latest edition (2006) of a standard German work of book history, Buchkunde: ein Überblick über die Geschichte des Buches, by Fritz Funke, former head of The German Museum of Books and Writing in Leipzig, GDR, the chapters on modern book art have not been revised, since Funke opined that “one can hardly observe any particularly distinctive design trends” in newer work (p. i). Hence, the text on Russian book art still appears imbued with Soviet propaganda. The point is not to dismiss Funke’s meritorious work in any way. It is in itself impressive that a handbook originally published in 1959 in the former GDR has survived, been revised six times, and is still today found relevant in all German-speaking areas. The example is only to illustrate the necessity of an update and revision of the contemporary history of Russian book art and design.
- 4.
In ordinary Russian speech, “pereplet” (binding) and “oblozhka” (cover) are often used synonymously, which, outside the field of book studies, may lead to some confusion of ideas. In this work, I rely on the Russian encyclopedia of the book and the official definitions by The Russian Book Chamber, both of which sources clearly distinguish between the two terms, see Zharkov and Barenbaum, eds. 1999, 451–452, 475–476, 621; and Mezhgosudarstvennyi standart - Izdaniia, oblozhki i pereplety GOST 7.84-2002, http://www.gsntinorms.ru/norms/common/doc.asp?2&/norms/stands/7_84.htm (accessed June 17, 2013).
“Pereplet” is related to the verb “pereplesti” (to bind) and, in addition to its use to denote the finished object, also refers to the entire operation of binding a book. More accurate, but seldom used, is “perepletnaia kryshka” (binding cover), which refers to a spine and two rigid paper boards, which are pasted together with the endpapers of the text block and are covered with durable materials such as leather, cloth, plastic, or strong paper. An “oblozhka,” in comparison with the hard-wearing “pereplet,” is made of a softer, flexible paper material and is often used for booklets or pocket-size books. Hence, the Book Chamber defines oblozhka as simply a “pokrytie izdaniia” (cover of the publication) and the “pereplet” more precisely as a “prochnoe pokrytie izdaniia” (durable cover of the publication).
Owing to the comparative and contrastive aims of this work, I will use “hardback” when referring to a book with a “pereplet” and “paperback” when referring to a book with an “oblozhka.” However, I wish to emphasize that the Russian hardback and paperback differ from their Western counterparts: The Western publishing practice of releasing a first edition in hardback, followed up by a cheaper mass-market paperback edition has never become an established publishing standard in Russia. While the Western hardback edition is often printed on acid-free paper of better quality than the paperback edition, the majority of both Russian hardback and paperback editions are printed on the same type of pulp paper. While the Western paperback is often associated with a certain lurid cover style with popular visual motifs, the Soviet paperback did not aim to tempt the reader with daring drawings and the like.
- 5.
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie in 20 Bänden, vol. 3 (Wiesbaden: Brockhaus, 1967), 376, as cited by Migon.
- 6.
Abram Barsuk, “K opredeleniiu poniatiia “kniga””, Izdatel’skoe delo. Knigovedenie (1970), vol. 6 (12): 6, as cited by Migon.
- 7.
Miranda Remnek’s commendably edited anthology The Space of the Book: Print Culture in the Russian Social Imagination offers a short introduction to both Russian “knigovedenie” and Western book theories. Remnek briefly mentions that the notion of “the space of the book” (“prostranstvo knigi”) was suggested by a Russian colleague (Remnek 2011, xi), but she does not trace the Russian term back to its origins in Florenskii’s and Favorskii’s concept of the book. Instead, she relates the term to the recent “spatial turn” within Western humanities (Remnek 2011, 10). This is a good example of how Western and Russian scholars can talk about the same topic, and even use the same expressions, while at the same time their thinking is framed by very different sets of references; this can lead to quite creative conceptual blends.
- 8.
For further information on the semantic connection between left::right as wrong::right see Jirina van Leeuwen-Turnovcová (1993).
- 9.
Florenskii’s texts seem to have found less resonance in the English-speaking world, while extensive translations into Italian and German have been made, including the first five volumes of a planned ten-volume collected works edition by the German Aufbau Verlag, Berlin 1993–2004 (publication thereafter suspended).
- 10.
Apart from the important and still published annual Kniga: issledovaniia i materialy (1959–) (The Book: Research and Materials), yearbooks presenting the award-winning books in the new Soviet book art competitions were launched, such as Iskusstvo knigi (Book Art) (1960–1987), Luchshie knigi (The Best Books) (1961–1968), subsequently renamed Luchshie izdaniia (The Best Publications) (1970–1984). The most important research centers were located at the Lenin State Library, the All-Union Book Chamber, and (under changing names) MGUP (Migon 1990, 50). The year 1964 saw the founding of the state-run publishing house Kniga (The Book), which specialized in publications within the field of book studies (see Chapter 9). Since 1971, large all-union conferences on “knigovedenie” have been held regularly, but Soviet book studies received little attention outside the Soviet Union and remained isolated in the larger international context (Kasinec and Davis 1999, 257).
- 11.
- 12.
The equivalent Russian expression “padenie kul’tury knigi” (decline of book culture) is used for example by V. E. Barykin (1997, 81).
- 13.
See, for example, Knizhnoe delo (1992–) (Book Affairs); Knizhnyi biznes (Book Business); Vladimir Krichevskii’s and Elena Chernevich’s short-lived DA! Russkii zhurnal dlia dizainerov-grafikov (Yes! Russian Journal for Graphic Designers,1994 to 1996); KompiuArt. Zhurnal dlia poligrafistov i izdatelei, http://www.compuart.ru (Computer Art: A Journal for Printers and Publishers) with several contributions on the history of book graphics; [kAk) – zhurnal i portal o dizaine, http://www.kak.ru (How: a journal and web portal on design, 1997–).
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Pristed, B.B. (2017). Introduction: Research Design. In: The New Russian Book. New Directions in Book History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50708-8_1
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