"Shtilim" – Illustrated Journal for Children – Bound Volume of Issues – Moscow, 1917 – Illustrations by El Lissitzky

Shtilim, illustrated journal for youth and children. Editor: M. Ben-Eliezer, publisher: M. Zlatopolsky. Moscow: "Omanut Hadfus" (Russian), July-December 1917. Bound volume of first year issues.
Issues no. 1-12 of "Shtilim", an illustrated journal for children edited by the journalist Moshe Ben-Eliezer (9 booklets; some are double issues).
"Shtilim" was the first publication by "Omanut" which was founded in Moscow at the time (when Shoshana Persitz acquired the printing house "Omanut Hadfus"), initiated by the editor, Moshe Zlatopolsky, son of the philanthropist Hillel Zlatopolsky.
The journal was published in Moscow irregularly in the course of less than a year, featuring works by leading writers and poets, such as: H. N. Bialik, Shaul Tchernichovsky, Ya'akov Fichman, Eliezer Steinman, and others, alongside tales and translations from around the world, as well as news from Palestine and other parts of the world.
Fine illustrations accompany the journal’s issues. Illustrations by Eliezer Lissitzky for the story "Shlomo HaMelech" by H. N. Bialik appear in issue no. 6-7. These are the only known illustrations by Lissitzky for a text originally written in Hebrew. (See: Tradition and Revolution, The Jewish Renaissance in Russian Avant-Garde Art 1912-1928, item no. 77; p. 107).
9 booklets bound together (new binding). Missing wrappers. Volume: 24.5 cm. Good overall condition. Stains and creases. Small tears to margins of a number of leaves. The inner margins of a number of leaves are reinforced with paper strips and adhesive tape. Tear along the first leaf of the first issue slightly affecting text, reinforced with adhesive tape. Some notes and scribbles in pencil. Minor blemishes to binding.