Set of Eight Soviet Leaflets for the 1939 World’s Fair in New York

A rare set of eight pamphlets produced for the iconic 1939 World’s Fair in New York, each highlighting different aspects of the USSR. The Soviet pavilion at the 1939 fair was an enormous structure in white marble, with a tower topped with a worker holding a red star. It cost some $4m in 1939 terms, and was designed as a strong propagandistic message of Soviet achievements and modernity. It also featured a special Arctic pavilion, highlighting Soviet achievements in exploring the region. In 1938 a Soviet icebreaker had become the first to reach the North Pole, with other achievements in the late 1930s including the first aircraft landing on ice, the first non-stop trans-polar flight, and the first drifting scientific station. The fair was held at Flushing Meadows in New York, over 1939-40, and carried the theme of ‘The World of Tomorrow’. It opened just months before the outbreak of the Second World War and the Nazi invasion of Europe. The Soviet pavilions were demolished at the end of the 1939 season and were not replaced for the 1940 season, partly due to the conflict and the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact. Published by the Foreign Languages Publishing House in Moscow, which produced various foreign-language material designed for overseas messaging and communication. The pamphlets are: New Moscow under Construction, by Dimitry Chechulin. The author was a renowned architect who worked on various projects in Moscow, including the Metro, and became the city’s chief architect from 1945-49. Reviews various Stalinist architectural projects completed during the 1930s. 32 pages with six photographs. The Moscow Subway, by Y Abukumov. Design by B. Schwartz.  A profile of the Moscow metro and its wonderful station architecture completed during the 1930s. 24 pages with photos. New People of the Soviet Countryside by P Kovardak. Designed by Sarra Shor, a prominent female artist and printmaker of the 1930s. The Soviet Theatre. I Moskvin. The author was a stage and screen actor who in 1943 would become director of the Moscow Art Theatre. Design by G  Eicheistow from Pogodin’s play The Man with the Gun. Mineral Resources of the USSR. Designed by A Shitomirsky, a prolific graphic artist born in the early 20th century. He rose to further prominence in the Second World War, and died in 1993. 24 pages with four photos. Socialist Farming by I Moskvin. The author was a combine harvester operator and a member of the Supreme Soviet. 32 pages with four photos including a double-page spread. Parachute Jumping by Y Moshovosky, design by A Suvorov. 32 pages with five photos. Palaces of Culture and Clubs by M Kuznetsov. 24 pages with five photographs. All are in very good condition, bright and crisp externally. Small numbers written to the top-right corner of front boards, no other writing inside. No major folds or creases. All stapled bindings.