V Taige [In The Taiga]. Borovskaia, Anna.

First edition, square 8vo (22.2 x 19 cm); colour illustrations throughout; original printed wrappers, a fine copy. A vividly illustrated story set in the Siberian taiga tells the story of Churaul', a brave and sharp-eyed Evenk hunter who catches foxes, sables, and squirrels. The local vodka-drinking merchant doesn't offer him a fair price for his beautiful furs but Churaul' has no choice but to accept in order to feed his daughter. He also has to pay taxes to the Tsar and so must head out in to the wilderness again in bad weather to catch more furs. The story ends positively, however, as the new people have come to the taiga - Russians. With them comes fair prices for furs and soviet meetings are convened to discuss local matters. The illustrator Anna Borovskaia was born in Konevo, a tiny village in Arkhangelsk province in 1901. Her rural and northerly upbringing no doubt inspired the beautiful illustrations for this book. Borovskaia first studied at the Vologda school of art and then Vkhutemas-Vkhutein between 1923 and 1929. A pristine example of a scarce work.