Member of the International Confederation of antique and art dealers Anatoly Borovkov summarizes auction Bloomsbury October 29, 2008 «Russian literature and art»

October 29, during the global financial crisis, in New York was already the second, in general, weak selection, the auction house Bloomsbury , entitled« Russian literature and art »(the first was May 21 this year).

At the auction was put up 251 the lot, mostly books and graphic sheets. As a result of the auction were sold, only 47 lots, some of them in relation to the Russian market has shown good results. On these results I would like to stay more.

Over 5 000 dollars was sold to the book-album NP Feofilaktova « 66 images » 1909 edition (lot number 43). Not so long ago in Moscow auction «Gelos» a similar book in the worst condition but gift inscribed with the artist was sold for no more than 1 000 dollars.

small book Yuri Yurkuna «bad company», issued in 1918, with illustrations Yu Annenkova also left 5 000 U.S., thanks to the annotations, speaking on the author's affiliation to the gay culture and, in particular, its affinity with the poet M. Kuzmin. Russian price at the auction for this book now unlikely, and could exceed $ 500.

Sam Mikhail Kuzmin, presented at past May, the auction is the first official gay Russia, also showed good results. Three books of his stories in the publication «Scorpio» 1910-ies (lot number 78) were sold for the same initial 5 000 dollars, and the manuscript of his work at 22 pages already gone over U.S. $ 6 000.

But not able to sell the autograph of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov on the book of his novels and short stories for 20 000 dollars (lot number 29). However, this is not the first edition of the autograph, has already exhibited a year ago at an auction Christie, and also failed to sell.

is insulting for the campaign book Vl. Mayakovski «A story about how to learn Fadey laws to protect working people» was written jointly by Tretyakov and Adlivankinym in 1924 and became very rare. It was sold for only 800 dollars.

gladdened the correct price received for complete sets of journals «Scales» 1904-1909 (U.S. $ 30 000) and «The Golden fleece» 1906-1909 (50 000 dollars).

nice to look like the result of the sale of rare, hard cover N. Altman for materials «Congress workers and farmers, 1919» , size 44,0 x 62,5, performed in a spirit of Suprematism (lot number 199, U.S. $ 30 000).

And the surprise and dismay caused the lot number 243 with obviously fake books registered if I. Pugni , with his poems and collages. For its foundation to take some old pages from an unidentified pre-revolutionary publications. They are folded in half, decorated with graffiti, made watercolors and gouache paints and collages using paper 1950. All this is inserted in a folded in half, the back cover of the pre-revolutionary journal «world of art», is also decorated with an inscription from collage and held together with a block. Similar falshaki five years ago the deceased was produced two years ago umelets Valery, and I had to meet with them. I recently had the privilege to handle such false альбомчик - a book that brought to the consultation, entitled «Kruchenykh», with a picture, painted in oil on paper from old books, in vanguard style, it is not inherent futurist torsion. In fact in the history of Russian avant-garde known for only one book, produced in this way. This book Varvara Stepanova «Gaust Csaba» 1919, with its recondite poems, written and decorated with colored gouache collages. Stepanova produced 50 copies of a book on folded sheets of newspaper «News» № 160 (424). This was her only one experiment, more than anyone not repeated.

struck me, and three drawings of the same alleged Pugni (lots № 235-237). They are made in the style of Suprematism, the sound of old letterhead postcards, and entitled «you»; «I», and the third - with the image of man, holding something resembling a phallus with Suprematist head, similar to the character's head, that is «head of the ...» In provenanse stated that on the back of the «works» is stamped monogram IM Pugni a garland with initials. Illustrated in this catalog are clearly visible initials P. M - that is, it is more or Miturich Peter Pupkin Mitya. Evaluate these «masterpieces» 5 to 000 dollars apiece! Thank God, nobody bought them.

Now the good. Auction house Bloomsbury announced on December 4, now in its third auction of Russian books, which will be presented indeed rare Russian avant-garde publications, including Constructivism folder-album «Art in everyday life» 1925 (25 000 dollars), a book with collages «October in Cuba» (60 000-80 000 dollars); «ABC» A. Benoit (5 000-7 000) and the «ABC» In . Lebedev, 1925 (8 000-12 000).

Anatoly Borovkov, a member of the International Confederation of antiques and art dealer, an expert on books and the printed schedule of the Russian avant-garde