Konveyer. [The Conveyor].

Moskva, OGIZ, Molodaya gvardiya, 1931.
Limited to 200 000 copies.
First edition.

This rare Soviet activity book describes how to make origami balloons in team, where everyone has their own role. However, it isn't just an activity book, it's the uncommon 'guide for the new mind for people of the future', which briefly explains the principles of using conveyor belt. In 1928 Stalin introduced an economic policy based on a cycle of Five-Year Plans. That's why, for many years one of the key tasks of the Soviet ideology was to raise new generation of workers ready to fight for a socialist future. Lenin's wife and the Soviet Union's Deputy Minister of Education, Nadezhda Krupskaya wrote about the importance of work skills and habits for younger generation: 'Polytechnical education must inspire the younger generation with the romantic character of socialist economic development and enable them to participate in building socialism… Lenin particularly noted Marx's statement in the first volume of Das Kapital concerning combining the instruction of children and adolescents with productive labour… labour should be made obligatory for all adolescents and should be closely associated with instruction' (Inside the Rainbow: Russian Children's Literature 1920-1935: beautiful books, terrible times. London, Redstone Press, 2013.). Illustrations were created by graphic artist Aleksey Laptev (1905-1965). He studied at the School-studio under F. Rerberg and later at VKhUTEMAS under N. Kupriyanov. This is his early work. Laptev is best known for his after WWII illustrations.

We couldn't trace any copy of this edition in USA.