I thought this might be of interest to Safranim:
Had gadya: The Only Kid
Facsimile of El Lissitzky's Edition of 1919
Edited by Arnold J. Band
Introduction by Nancy Perloff
In 1919 at a pivotal point in his career, avant-garde artist El Lissitzky
created an enchanting illustrated version of the traditional Passover song
"Had gadya." Sung at the end of the Seder, the song introduces a new
character in each verse that destroys the character from the previous verse
until, at the end, God slays the Angel of Death to halt the cycle of
violence. Lissitzky's Had gadya is replete with bold and colorful
lithographs and makes use of Yiddish and Aramaic texts, which he rendered
in a stylized fashion. Only seventy-five copies were produced during his
lifetime.
Getty Publications is issuing a complete facsimile of Lissitzky's rare
work, titled Had gadya: The Only Kid, wrapped in a reproduction of the dust
jacket that covered the original publication. Only three copies of the
dust jacket are known to have survived to the present. A separate section
in the new publication provides a translation of each verse of the text and
explores the subtleties of Lissitzky's images and his use of texts. For
readers not familiar with Lissitzky's treatment of the Passover song, the
book's explanation of the images and text proves a valuable counterpart to
the lithographs themselves and provides the context for a full
understanding of the work. A list translating theYiddish and Aramaic words
into English and a musical setting for the verses complete the discussion
of the work. The overview of Lissitzky's life, presented in the book's
introduction, situates the artist's Had gadya in the development of his
style and places him within the context of this turbulent, but vibrant,
time in Russian history.
42 pages, 9 5/8" x 11"
33 color illustrations, 1 color foldout
$24.95 t, paper
0-89236-744-X
To order, call 800-223-3431 or your favorite wholesaler.
David G. Hirsch
Middle East Bibliographer
Charles Young Research Library
UCLA
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
tel: +1-310-825-2930
fax: +1-310-206-4974
efax: +1-707-313-7712
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