Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This massive book of Soviet propaganda posters, many rare and never before published, is at once a revealing historical document and a sublime example of graphic art at its best. Dating from 1917 to the beginning of the Cold War, the posters in this book feature the work of such major Russian ground-breaking avant-garde designers as El Lissitzky and Alexander Rodchenko as well as extraordinary works by anonymous artists. Presented in full color, the 250 posters gathered here range in themes from warnings about the dangers of alcohol abuse and the creeping Nazi menace to illustrations of utopian harmony and the Soviet industrial machine. A brief illustrated introduction offers a chronological overview of the period that produced such eloquent art, which has long been a major source of inspiration to artists and designers.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

The enduring visual appeal of Soviet propaganda posters has resulted in many publications, both in Russia and abroad. Lafont's brief introduction states that the approximately 210 poster reproductions in this volume are drawn from a collection compiled by Sergio Grigorian, who is not otherwise identified. The posters are a mixture of the well known and the obscure, arranged in chronological sections that follow the history of the Soviet state. The book is attractive and well produced, but its usefulness as a substantive source for the study of this topic is limited by sparse commentary. The captions, in German and English, are reasonable translations from the Russian, but with rare exceptions the reader is given no background information. Even the captions are difficult to read because of a light typeface and placement aside the illustrations. More helpful is a concluding inventory of the posters, together with thumbnail biographies of the artists. Although intended primarily for a general audience, the book will offer most to those who bring a thorough knowledge of the historical and political context for the posters. In short, this is a book for browsing. Summing Up: Optional. General readers. W. C. Brumfield Tulane University