Lot 37: [ROJANKOVSKY, FEODOR STEPANOVICH. 1891-1970.] Russian Books and Photographs

Le Théâtre érotique de la rue de la Santé. Paris: 1932. 8vo.134 pp. Illustrated with 20 pochoir plates. Original wrappers with glassine dust jacket within gray papered slipcase. Lower spine wear, some pages uncut. No 122 of 250 copies on vélin out of an edition of 270.A collection of short plays from the famous erotic puppet theater that operated from 1862 to 1864; its writers and artists had no restrictions on what they wished to express.When the Latvian-born Russian émigré artist arrived in Paris, "Rojan" (as he was known at the time) published several suites of erotic drawings anonymously for the clandestine market. He also illustrated French children's books for "Père Castor"and the Domino Press and produced a lot of advertising and magazine work.After the Germans entered Paris, Rojankovsky and his wife fled France and settled in the United States.He became famous for his Little Golden Books and won the Caldecott Medal in 1956.His light, ebullient style is abundantly evident in the hand-colored line drawings forLe Théâtre érotique that display a deep debt to the Mir Iskusstva group of artists, particularly K. A. Somov and his Livre de la marquise (1918).Dutel 2498.