Kurorty Kryma. Spravochnik.

Octavo17x12.5 cm., wrappers, 190 pp. Cover design by Aleksandr Rodchenko. Crimea was a health and vacation spot for the upper classes from Tsarist times. After the Civil War it was designated as a Vserossiiskaia Zdravnitsa (All-Russian Health Resort). The palatial estate of the Tsar and family members were nationalized and converted in sanitoriums and doma otdykha (R & R resorts) managed by various state entities. Soon, a potiovka v Krym (voucher for stay in a sanitorium or health resort) became a sought for perk a Soviet worker could hope to earn through good standing. The present work is the first comprehensive reference work for Crimean health resorts, differing from regular travel guides by the depth of information about the medical services available at the sanitoriums and spas. For book collectors, this work's cover presents an early example of Rodchenko applying photomontage in book design. He began incorporating photographic images into graphic design in 1923-24 and came to see photomontage and photocollage as natural tools in the Constructivist toolbox. At the time, the artist didn't even own a camera; the image used here for the cover came from a stock photo "Cypresses/Crimea Above a Moonlit Sea" familiar to postcard and stamp collectors. It was just this juxtaposition that pushed Rodchenko through photomontage to develop into a master photographer. Not found in worldcat, Getty, or MOMA. A fine copy