Arkhitektura. Ezhemesiachnik, 3-5 (Architecture. Monthly Review, No. 1-2)

Moskva (Moscow): Moskovskoie Arkhitekturnoie Obshchestvo, 1923. Good. First editions, 1 of 2000 copies, issue1-2, bound with the wraps of issue 3-5 (publisher's error); rebound in (unfortunately-garish burgundy, green, and yellow) felt-over-boards, with the original wraps bound-in; 12 1/2 x 10; pp. [1], 2-50 +14 pp. of publisher's advertisements; illustrated with numerous photographs and drawings; repair of 2"-loss of paper to fore-edge and very faint traces of erased pencil notes to front wrap; back hinge and gutter between pp. 6 and 7 of the advertisements reinforced with more-recent strips of linen; in about good to very good condition.With an introductory article by Aleksei Shchusev, "Arkhitektura" would be the first architectural magazine in the Soviet Union. Shchusev (1873 - 1949) was a renowned Russian architect, said to have bridged the Russian Revival-style architecture of Imperial Russia and the Socialist Classicism-style under Stalin. He also thought at Vkhutemas in the early 1920s. Turning to Constructivism after 1920, some of his most famous designs included the Kazan Railway Station (part of the Trans-Siberian Railway), and the Ministry of Agriculture in Moscow. Lenin's Mausoleum had also been attributed to him, although, later, it was allegedly proven that one of his architects, Jewish-Russian Izidor Frantsuz, was the true designer, but the Soviet Government wanted to cover the Jewish origin of the creator.Of only two double numbers (1-2 and 3-5) ever published, this one began, interestingly enough, with two articles, which featured several photographs of grain elevators in Buffalo, New York. It also contained chapters on the Kremlin restorations in 1917 and 1922, the contest for the overall design of the the First Russian Agricultural Exhibition, etc. The cover design of the journal was created by Aleksandr Vesnin (1883 - 1959) - architect, a leading figure of Constructivist architecture, graphic artist, and theater designer.