Reading the Sergei Dovlatov book really got me thinking, particular the section on his connection with the Cherkasov family. I’ve always been a huge fan of Eisenstein’s films, watching”Battleship Potemkin” back in my teens and moving onto the others when they appeared on TV. They were among the first I bought when domestic videos became available, and I have several on DVD too. One of the most stunning visually is “Ivan The Terrible”, which starts Cherkasov in the titular role, and I recall back in the day researching the actor. It transpired that he’d written a memoir, “Notes of a Soviet Actor” but in those pre-Internet days, access to old and obscure books was not easy.
Cherkasov as Ivan
However, reading “The Suitcase” reminded me of the book, and I had a little search online. The very lovely Abebooks had several copies, and one was a reasonably priced UK seller. It sounded like potentially a nice edition, as it’s from the Foreign Languages Publishing House, and my version of “Aelita” from them is very pretty. So I sent for it – and it arrived – and it is really lovely!
The dustjacket, although a bit aged and grubby, is pretty much all there, which is an achievement for a start! And the insides are in very nice condition:
Title page
Like “Aelita” this book has little illustrations at the beginning of each chapter:
And it also has copious illustrations – here’s one of my favourite shots from Ivan:
However, one of the most exciting things for me is that there’s a whole chapter and plenty of pictures about the time Cherkasov played Mayakovsky!
I’m not sure I was actually aware that he’d taken on that role, and boy, I wish I could see it! As you can see, it looks like he really got into the part…
I doubt I’d ever have had the chance of tracking down a copy of this book in the past, and it’s easy to take for granted how nowadays we have so much available at the click of a button or two. As it is, this is one of those books I’ve had off and on my mental wishlist for decades, and to finally find such a beautiful copy is a real treat. Good old Foreign Languages Publishing House – I shall have to investigate their books further! 🙂
Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings 
Sep 10, 2016 @ 08:18:49
Is that the Soviet publisher in Moscow? I read several Gorky works by them when I was in my teens. This one of yours looks good.
Sep 10, 2016 @ 08:30:46
It is indeed! I think they must have been another alternative to Progress who produced a lot of Russian classics I picked up in my teens and twenties in Collets in London. Both publishers’ books are very aesthetically pleasing – the FLPH books seem to have nice covers, good paper and illustrations, and the Progress were always on thinnish paper which was somehow quite appealing, and always asked you to write with your views on the book to Moscow! I tend to pick up any of their books I find, regardless of who they’re by!
Sep 10, 2016 @ 08:21:34
It is amazing, isn’t it – you can ask the hive mind of the internet what a book is you half-remember, you can search and find a copy second-hand in moments, rather than having to keep a list in a notebook and check in all shops you visit for years. Also, you can buy a book twice by mistake and have a friend you met online to send it to! All good!
And what a lovely, special book which you’ve obviously relished!
Sep 10, 2016 @ 08:31:59
It’s a bit of a change, isn’t it? I used to lug a notebook around the many second hand bookshops that used to exist, but it was always very hit and miss. I don’t think I bought many duplicates in those days, though…. ;))))))) But yes, this is a special one and I’m very excited about it!
Sep 10, 2016 @ 08:36:49
‘The hive mind’ – I like that, Liz. Bit sinister though!
Sep 10, 2016 @ 09:31:08
The Internet *is* a mixed blessing!
Sep 10, 2016 @ 08:38:08
What a glorious book, one of those it’s as much a pleasure to look at as it is to read. Those photos are so evocative. The internet is both a blessing and a curse. It means I can look up authors from other countries thwt simply get a look in at bookshops these days. If it wasnt for the Internet I would never have read some of the authors I’ve discovered over the last few years. But of boy do the sites make it too easy to buy…..
Sep 10, 2016 @ 09:30:50
It *is* easy to buy, isn’t it? Which is good and bad…. I’m being more restrained nowadays and trying to go for things I really know I want – and I did want this one, very much! 🙂
Sep 10, 2016 @ 08:45:27
Lovely! I really like the illustrations at the start of the chapters. Hooray for the internet!
Sep 10, 2016 @ 09:30:05
Yes, I curse it sometimes, but it *has* brought plenty of positives too!
Sep 10, 2016 @ 08:51:27
I agree – I rather do take for granted how easily I can track down more obscure titles online. That book was a superb find for you, I’m sure you’ll treasure it.
Sep 10, 2016 @ 09:29:39
Indeed – if I’d had access to the Internet in my younger years I hate to think how big the TBR would have been! And I will treasure the book – it’s lovely!
Sep 10, 2016 @ 14:50:53
It is true that I can get precisely the book I want and before the Internet was dependent utterly on chance and serendipitious thick paper catalogues. I could not have written my Trollope book in the time frame I did without the Internet bookstores. I could not be delving topics so precisely.
But there has been a great loss in community within local neighborhoods.
Sep 10, 2016 @ 15:37:29
Oh, nothing beats browsing a good bookstore, whether new or used. Back in the 1980s I used to work in Salisbury and there were about a dozen different bookshops. Charing Cross Road in London was the same, stuffed to the gills with them. But now there are a handful left and it’s a great shame. I don’t think it’s only the Internet – I think maybe (some) people read less because of the distractions of modern media. But if the Internet and all the electric systems collapse one day, I’ll still have my books!
Sep 10, 2016 @ 16:03:12
The Internet did make a big difference for me. I discovered Amazon only last year on the recommendation of a friend. I live in Rouen, France, and even though we have very good bookshops here, including an English bookshop, I couldn’t find Jane Eyre in the Norton Critical Editions, or Margaret Drabble’s earlier novels… That’s how it started. Now I’m an addict. My next purchase will probably be a Persephone book, a publisher I would certainly never have heard of, if it hadn’t been for Simon and his blog (which led me to yours !)but I don’t know which one to choose !
Sep 10, 2016 @ 17:34:21
I must admit that living in somewhere where there isn’t a great deal of bookshopping to be had does mean the Internet is a lifeline. I switched to Amazon when I went into Waterstones one time in search of a Mishima biography and was told they couldn’t order in books from the USA. This was in the early days, of course, and the bookshops have caught up a bit, but I got frustrated with not being able to get the book I wanted. Persephones are quite lovely, but I would recommend ordering them from the shop because then you’ll get the bookmark. It depends what kind of book you want, but I’d highly recommend The Hopkins Manuscript by R.C. Sherriff, or The Woman Writer by Diana Gardner. Happy reading!
Sep 10, 2016 @ 22:31:31
Oh, I thought I would get the bookmark even if I ordered from Amazon. Because I’m afraid the shipping cost might be prohibitive if I order from the shop. I haven’t noticed the titles you mention, they are non-fiction perhaps ? I hesitate between Every Eye, by Isobel English, Because of the Lockwoods,by D. Whipple, or The Wise Virgins, by Leonard Woolf, or Tea With Mr Rochester…Greedy me :-D.
Sep 10, 2016 @ 22:39:43
Well, I’m not 100% sure but I’ve seen Persephones in other shops and you don’t get the bookmarks there. You’d need to check it guess. The Sherriff I mentioned is a Wells- style sci fi sort of title and excellent. The Gardner is short stories and again very wonderful. I’ve read Every Eye (one of my earliest Persephone reads I think) and it too is excellent.
Sep 11, 2016 @ 09:36:32
Thank you for the all information, Karen. I think I will try ordering a Persephone from Am, and if I don’t get the bookmark I will send the book back. I did it once for a particular edition of Dickens which was so huge it wouldn’t even fit in my bookcase ! Have a nice sunday.
Sep 11, 2016 @ 12:00:11
Good luck! And let me know how it goes and which one you choose!
Sep 11, 2016 @ 13:06:38
I agree finding a book is very different from ordering one online. The inside pages are in excellent condition (they are still so white). SO good find indeed
Sep 11, 2016 @ 18:32:02
It’s in lovely condition inside and a wonderful find – I’m very happy! 🙂
Sep 12, 2016 @ 05:36:01
Beautiful photos and illustrations. What a gem of a book! Online shopping saves me, but on the other hand it’s responsible for the death of bookshops. A dilemma
Sep 12, 2016 @ 07:02:50
It is a gem but given the choice I’d always prefer a town full of bookshops!