1920s Vintage Russian Magazine Jar-Ptitza - Thamar Stage Decoration
1920s Vintage Russian Magazine Jar-Ptitza - Thamar Stage Decoration
1920s Vintage Russian Magazine Jar-Ptitza - Thamar Stage Decoration

1920s Vintage Russian Magazine Jar-Ptitza - Thamar Stage Decoration

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Date: 1921 - 24
Size: 9 x 11.5 inches
Artist: Samoilovitch Bakst, Léon

Jar-Ptitza [Жаръ-Птица; Fire-Bird] was a Russian immigrant literary magazine published in Berlin between August 1921 and January 1926. By the end of its run, a total of fourteen issues had been printed. Depending on the type of illustration, three different kinds of paper were used, varying from a glossy finish to a more porous paper. The magazine ran articles on artists' biographies, poems and prose, and ballet and theatre show, publishing art produced by Russian painters, sculptors, writers, and photographers. Their target audience being Russian emigrants from the 1918 November Revolution, texts and captions were written in Russian. However, partial translations in German, English, and French resulted once they began to distribute in New York, London, and Paris. Editor and publisher: A.E. Kogan.

Monoskop explains the reason for creating a Russian magazine in Germany: "In the early 1920s, large Russian community had settled in Germany. Hyperinflation turned the country into the publishers’ paradise, as printing was much cheaper there than in any other European country. This caused real boom of Russian books: about 50 Russian publishing houses worked in Berlin only." (monoskop.org)

"Léon Samoilovitch Bakst (1866 – 1924) was a Russian painter and scene- and costume designer. He was a member of the Sergei Diaghilev circle and the Ballets Russes, for which he designed exotic richly-colored sets and costumes."
Thamar is a one-act ballet inspired by Lermontov's poem of the same name. Choreographed by Mikhail Fokine, the set and costumes were designed to be sumptuous and exotic, as can be seen in Bakst's illustration. The sheet is in great condition and is ready to be framed!