Knaknisi un Moyenkayser [“The Nutcracker and King Rat”]. Classic tale by Ernst Theodore Hoffman. Translated from the German by L. RESNICK

(TCHAIKOV, JOSEPH)

Kooperativer Farlag-Kultur Lige

Kiev

1922

Cover illustration by TCHAIKOV

Israel Museum Catalogue, Tradition and Revolution. The Jewish Renaissance in Russian Avant-Garde Art 1912-28 (1987), no.61 (illustrated)

Striking cover design, with theatrical themes. At the top, are marching toy soldiers, complete with fife and drumsman. Toy clowns pelt cannon balls from a cannon, while in the lower left corner, a wooden pirate brandishes his sword at the King Rat and his accolades who spill out of the darkness to fill the lower half of the cover. The expresionless tumbling dancers add to the panic and drama of the scene. As always, Tchaikov’s signature Hebrew letter “Teth” is at the lower right corner of the illustration