The Communist Manifesto In Pictures

by John Holbo on May 13, 2016

I just added an item to my collection of graphical curiosities: a 1948 pamphlet, published by The International Book Store in San Francisco, “The Communist Manifesto In Pictures”.
manifestoinpictures

You can get the PDF version for free. I’m interested in it mostly as a data point in the history of American graphic design. The International Book Store seems to have had some graphical flair:

fullfaceherberthoover

I don’t own that one. I don’t imagine the contents – apparently republished from Soviet Russia Today – are as fun as the cover.

{ 5 comments }

1

js. 05.13.16 at 4:27 am

Holy shit, Holbo, this is the kind of stuff I can totally get into! Thanks. (It’s not quite an, oh I don’t know, an El Lissitzky collection—but still great.)

Also, is the International Book Store in SF associated with International Publishers? I guess I could look this up, couldn’t I?

2

Jim Fett 05.13.16 at 11:21 am

Lorne Bair (lornebair.com) specializes in that kind of stuff. A lot of it is relatively affordable (for rare books). No affiliation, I just like the catalog. Ymmv.

3

Ken MacLeod 05.14.16 at 10:52 am

This is the ugliest illustrated version of the Manifesto I’ve ever seen.

4

F. Foundling 05.17.16 at 12:55 am

The title seems a bit misleading, I thought the pictures would actually illustrate the text or even attempt to convey its message visually in a condensed way. I remember that there used to be a Soviet comic book history of the October revolution (published in 1987), which I now see can be found online in Spanish translation under the title Así fue la revolución rusa 1917. Even more intriguingly, I find that the same Soviet publishing house has also produced a 1991 comic book version of Engels’ ‘The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State’! Those interested can google the Russian title “Происхождение семьи, частной собственности и государства” (комикс). Obviously, in view of the subject matter, it’s not *quite* safe for work.

5

John Holbo 05.17.16 at 6:34 am

“The title seems a bit misleading, I thought the pictures would actually illustrate the text or even attempt to convey its message visually in a condensed way.”

I was hoping for that myself. I agree with Ken that it is definitely the ugliest illustrated Manifesto, which is fine. But I was hoping for something even better.

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