Potolok mira [The Ceiling of the World]. By A. Harry, L. Kassil’. 130, [2] pp. Illustrated throughout with photographs and photomontage. Small folio, 265 x 205 mm., bound in publisher’s boards with the original photographic dust-jacket. [Moscow]: Sovetskaia literatura, 1934.
First Edition. A book created to celebrate the record breaking stratospheric ascent achieved by Soviet engineers and pilots in 1933 in which a manned balloon ascended 19000 meters over Moscow. The achievement is documented through dozens of photographs, several of which are artistic photomontages. Another dramatic non-photographic illustration features a double page spread where a plane and a rocket took off above the Palace of Soviets and crowded city at night. Design was produced by VKUTEMAS graduate, Efim Pernikov (1903-1966) who worked on posters and books tending to agitational photomontages. For this edition, he used pictures provided by photograph A. Sorokin.
Despite the large limitation as is common with Soviet books of this period (15000 copies), the book is uncommon with the inclusions of the dust-jacket as here. Jacket with a little edge wear and a few small professional repairs, overall very good.
Karasik & Heiting, The Soviet Photobook 1920-1941, pg 334-5.
