"Mayselakh", by David Roikhel – Published by Kultur Lige – Kiev, 1922 – Illustrations by Mark Epstein

"Mayselakh", by David Roikhel – Published by Kultur Lige – Kiev, 1922 – Illustrations by Mark Epstein
Mayselakh [Tales], by David Roikhel. Kiev: Kultur Lige, 1922. Yiddish. Illustrations by Mark Epstein.
Five tales about rabbits by Aleksander Afanasyev, Vladimir Dal and Hans Christian Andersen, adapted and translated into Yiddish by writer and translator David Roikhel (1890-1941); illustrated by Mark Epstein.
Mark Epstein (1897-1949), graphic artist, painter, sculptor and stage designer, born in Babruysk. He was educated in a traditional cheder and later studied at the Kiev School of Art. In 1918 he studied in the studio of Alexandra Ekster. In the same year he participated in a Jewish artists' exhibition in Moscow and was one of the founders of the art section of Kultur Lige. His artistic style was greatly influenced by his friendship with a group of Kiev-based Modernist writers and poets, including Der Nister (Pinchas Kahanowitz), David Bergelson and Yechezkel Dobrushin.
Epstein continued to work in Kiev even after the establishment of the Soviet government and the communization of the Kultur Lige organizations, while his partners in the art section had chosen to leave the city. During the years 1923-1931, he directed the Jewish Arts and Trades School in Kiev (the new name given to the Art Section of Kultur Lige under communist management). At the same time, he worked as a stage and costume designer for theaters in Kiev and Kharkiv.
In 1932, after the Jewish Arts and Trades School was closed, together with the remaining Kultur Lige organizations, he had to leave Kiev and moved to Moscow. In his last years, he did not participate in exhibitions.
30, [1] pp, 20 cm. Good condition. A few stains. Faded stamp to p. 3. Minor blemishes to cover.
Provenance: The Uzi Agassi Collection.