Had Gadya:The Only Kid – Facsimile of El Lissitzky Lissitzky′s Edition of 1919

This illustrated version of the popular Passover song "Had gadya" was the wonderfully playful offspring of the avantgarde artist El Lissitzky (1890-1941). It dates to a little-known period early in his career when he immersed himself in the Jewish cultural renaissance that flourished in Russia between 1912 and 1920. Signed with his Hebrew given name, this volume - with its wraparound cover, colourful lithographic montages, and stylised use of Yiddish and Aramaic words - celebrates Lissitzky's interest in Jewish folk traditions while looking forward to the dynamic graphic and typographic designs for which he is best remembered. This near-scale facsimile - including the rarely seen cover - allows readers to experience Lissitzky's Had gadya as originally envisioned. It is accompanied here by Nancy Perloff's discussion of the work's cultural and artistic context, Arnold J. Band's English translation of Lissitzky's Yiddish version of the song, sections on Lissitzky's iconography and vocabulary, and lyrics set to music.