Prikliucheniia Boba (The Adventures of Bob) (Lily Hildebrandt)

Saddle up a bird and let’s go for a ride. This is the first Russian edition of a book that details the adventures of Boba—or, Bob. We know Bob is fearless because he hugs a clown. He rides a whale. He walks with geese. He sees pigs. He catches giant mice. He sees a monkey riding a tricycle. Written and illustrated by Lily Hildebrandt (1887–1974), a Stuttgart-based painter and photographer. Lily designed this book for her son with colored paper cut-outs. The Getty (where the papers of Lily and her husband are held) reports that this is considered one of the first modern children's books, published in German 1918 and translated into Russian by Sasha Chorny in 1924. (Side note: She was having an affair with Walter Gropius at the time this was first published in German. And this is the second time in recent weeks that we’ve referenced Gropius getting around. See here.) From the collection of Inge Druckrey.

We’re skimping on photos above, so watch a flip-through here »