1blue.eyes2
Today I received a copy of the 1933 LEC Anna Karenina. I was lucky to get this two volume book in near fine condition with the ML and design note. I'll try to post a review once I've finished reading it.
Earlier I had purchased the Heritage Press Anna Karenina.
A few questions:
1. The introduction to the Heritage Press edition is by Lionel Trilling, while the 1933 LEC edition has an introduction by Lunacharsky. Who has given the introduction to the 1951 LEC edition?
2. Except for the fact that the 1951 LEC Anna Karenina is in two volumes and the Heritage Anna Karenina is in one, is there any difference between the two editions? I read somewhere that the quality of the illustrations is the same and a reading of the ML for the 1951 edition and the Heritage Press sandglass inform me that the font type (Ehrhardt) also remains the same. I suppose the font size is also the same, although I anticipate the quality of paper in the 1951 LEC would be superior to the heritage. Are the size of the 1951 LEC and the Heritage books the same?
3. Has anyone figured out which chapters of the 1933 LEC Anna Karenina (and also no doubt the 1951 LEC and the Heritage) constitute the previously suppressed chapters which were specially translated for this edition as mentioned in the ML of the book?
Earlier I had purchased the Heritage Press Anna Karenina.
A few questions:
1. The introduction to the Heritage Press edition is by Lionel Trilling, while the 1933 LEC edition has an introduction by Lunacharsky. Who has given the introduction to the 1951 LEC edition?
2. Except for the fact that the 1951 LEC Anna Karenina is in two volumes and the Heritage Anna Karenina is in one, is there any difference between the two editions? I read somewhere that the quality of the illustrations is the same and a reading of the ML for the 1951 edition and the Heritage Press sandglass inform me that the font type (Ehrhardt) also remains the same. I suppose the font size is also the same, although I anticipate the quality of paper in the 1951 LEC would be superior to the heritage. Are the size of the 1951 LEC and the Heritage books the same?
3. Has anyone figured out which chapters of the 1933 LEC Anna Karenina (and also no doubt the 1951 LEC and the Heritage) constitute the previously suppressed chapters which were specially translated for this edition as mentioned in the ML of the book?
2blue.eyes2
Ok, the ML for the 1951 LEC edition informs me that the book has an introduction by Trilling. So I have both the introductions.
3BionicJim
> On question 3, I've tried to find this out, too, but have had no luck. This great article from last month mentioned the censorship: https://theconversation.com/how-should-dostoevsky-and-tolstoy-be-read-during-rus...
I contacted the author, Ani Kokobobo, and asked her if she knew which sections were censored. Here's her response:
"The chapters were only censored in 1878; they were published shortly thereafter in the full version of the novel as part of Tolstoy's collected works. They make up part 8 of the novel now."
I skimmed part 8 of the LEC "enhanced" edition with a copy of the Constance Garnett translation I found on Project Gutenberg, but didn't notice any differences. I'm starting to wonder if the story is apocryphal and Garnett made the translation after the full version was restored.
I contacted the author, Ani Kokobobo, and asked her if she knew which sections were censored. Here's her response:
"The chapters were only censored in 1878; they were published shortly thereafter in the full version of the novel as part of Tolstoy's collected works. They make up part 8 of the novel now."
I skimmed part 8 of the LEC "enhanced" edition with a copy of the Constance Garnett translation I found on Project Gutenberg, but didn't notice any differences. I'm starting to wonder if the story is apocryphal and Garnett made the translation after the full version was restored.
4blue.eyes2
>3 BionicJim: Thanks for sharing your research on this. I'll post here if I come across anything relevant pertaining to this issue.
5Django6924
The 1933 Anna Karenina has a feature which is unique, I believe, to all the Macy-era LECs--apart from being printed in the USSR. Setting aside details such as paper, typography, and artist, which are of course different for every production--do you know what that unique feature is?
6BionicJim
It’s the only LEC I own with ribbon markers. Maybe that’s the feature you are alluding to?
7blue.eyes2
>5 Django6924:
That font type used in the book was very peculiar. And then they use single angular brackets and double angular brackets instead of italics and quotation marks.
To be honest I did not like the font type used in the 1933 LEC Anna Karenaina, nor did I like the font type used in the Heritage Anna Karenina (which felt too squished in). I believe the font type used in Heritage AK is also used in the 1951 LEC AK.
That font type used in the book was very peculiar. And then they use single angular brackets and double angular brackets instead of italics and quotation marks.
To be honest I did not like the font type used in the 1933 LEC Anna Karenaina, nor did I like the font type used in the Heritage Anna Karenina (which felt too squished in). I believe the font type used in Heritage AK is also used in the 1951 LEC AK.
8Django6924
>6 BionicJim: Gets the cigar! Apparently the Macys did not like ribbon markers as the 1933 AK is the only one I ever saw that had them.
9BionicJim
This 1933 edition of Anna Karenina is one of my special treasures and I had it out again this morning to admire it, which led me down a rabbit hole; always fun!
I was wondering if the signature was actually of the illustrator since there is a hanging tail in the middle of the signature that doesn't seem to be in his name - but his name may be anglicized.
It took a bit of sleuthing, but doing an image search on Google, I eventually found an original work of art attributed to Piskariov that had an exact match of this signature. I'm assuming the "iov" in english would be a "yov" in his signature.
Falling into the rabbit hole at this point, one of the links I found was to a PhD Thesis by Timothy Ormond on Russian and Soviet Illustrations of Anna Karenina. To my immense satisfaction, the University of Toronto makes it free to view this thesis in .pdf form. Sure enough, Ormond does a deep-dive into this artist, the making of the book, and especially the imagery and symbols used in the illustrations. It's a fascinating read, but unfortunately the .pdf strips the photos so it's important to have a copy of the book to reference each illustration he discusses.
One of his themes is the way that Anna "sits outside of nature" in the way Piskariov consistently portays her. His discussion really added a lot to my appreciation of the amount of thought and planning that went into illustrating this work, if not all LECs. In this example (one of the most beautiful illustrations in the book):
Ormond discusses how Anna is riding her horse between a dead stump and a grave marker, which indicates that she is dead in this book, as opposed to the living natural imagery consistently used with Levin, who is awakening to nature in the course of the novel.
Ormond also points out that the entire book was designed by Piskariov and every little detail was in his control, mainly due to the distance he was from the LEC office. He was up to the task because of his training in what was the latest technologies available to him (and specifically no longer available) in Russia so soon after the revolution. Each page number has an image of a branch under it which I figured was a static printer's ornament, but Ormond points out how the branch changes: "These floral motifs, though small, vary according to the season in which the story takes place. During winter chapters, the motif is bare branches. In spring chapters it is blossoms. Summer chapters are adorned with luscious vegetation. This system of ornamentation remains more or less intact throughout the book and establishes a rhythm that supports the story (Gorlenko 142). There are a few moments when Piskarev departs from this pattern in order to comment on thematic issues. So, for example, even though Parts II, V and VI all begin in winter, buds appear in the decorations around the title page of Part II in order to indicate Kitty and Anna’s awakening feelings and flowers accompany the title page of Parts V and VI in order to offer symbolic support to Kitty and Levin’s wedding and then the birth of their son (142)."
Overall, this discussion furthered my appreciation of this great edition of this classic work.
Here's the link to the document at University of Toronto. The discussion of the LEC edition starts on page 62.
https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/68982/1/Ormond_Timothy_R_20130...
I was wondering if the signature was actually of the illustrator since there is a hanging tail in the middle of the signature that doesn't seem to be in his name - but his name may be anglicized.
It took a bit of sleuthing, but doing an image search on Google, I eventually found an original work of art attributed to Piskariov that had an exact match of this signature. I'm assuming the "iov" in english would be a "yov" in his signature.
Falling into the rabbit hole at this point, one of the links I found was to a PhD Thesis by Timothy Ormond on Russian and Soviet Illustrations of Anna Karenina. To my immense satisfaction, the University of Toronto makes it free to view this thesis in .pdf form. Sure enough, Ormond does a deep-dive into this artist, the making of the book, and especially the imagery and symbols used in the illustrations. It's a fascinating read, but unfortunately the .pdf strips the photos so it's important to have a copy of the book to reference each illustration he discusses.
One of his themes is the way that Anna "sits outside of nature" in the way Piskariov consistently portays her. His discussion really added a lot to my appreciation of the amount of thought and planning that went into illustrating this work, if not all LECs. In this example (one of the most beautiful illustrations in the book):
Ormond discusses how Anna is riding her horse between a dead stump and a grave marker, which indicates that she is dead in this book, as opposed to the living natural imagery consistently used with Levin, who is awakening to nature in the course of the novel.
Ormond also points out that the entire book was designed by Piskariov and every little detail was in his control, mainly due to the distance he was from the LEC office. He was up to the task because of his training in what was the latest technologies available to him (and specifically no longer available) in Russia so soon after the revolution. Each page number has an image of a branch under it which I figured was a static printer's ornament, but Ormond points out how the branch changes: "These floral motifs, though small, vary according to the season in which the story takes place. During winter chapters, the motif is bare branches. In spring chapters it is blossoms. Summer chapters are adorned with luscious vegetation. This system of ornamentation remains more or less intact throughout the book and establishes a rhythm that supports the story (Gorlenko 142). There are a few moments when Piskarev departs from this pattern in order to comment on thematic issues. So, for example, even though Parts II, V and VI all begin in winter, buds appear in the decorations around the title page of Part II in order to indicate Kitty and Anna’s awakening feelings and flowers accompany the title page of Parts V and VI in order to offer symbolic support to Kitty and Levin’s wedding and then the birth of their son (142)."
Overall, this discussion furthered my appreciation of this great edition of this classic work.
Here's the link to the document at University of Toronto. The discussion of the LEC edition starts on page 62.
https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/68982/1/Ormond_Timothy_R_20130...
10UK_History_Fan
Excellent and most interesting rabbit hole. Thanks for sharing.
12GardenOfForkingPaths
>9 BionicJim: Fascinating! Thank you for your detective work.
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