YUTKEVICH, Sergei Iosifovich (1904-1985). Two autograph manuscript and illuminated books, Teatr ekstsentrikov [The Theatre of Eccentrics], Sevastopol 1919-1921, and Pesochnyi chelovek [The Sandman], St. Petersburg 1921. 2 volumes, 4to (c.275 x 250mm); the first title comprising 9 pages of manuscript with watercolour vignettes; the second title comprising 18 pages of manuscript with 14 watercolour drawings on the versos and one drawing on an inserted leaf, and some vignettes; each volume in the original stitched paper wrappers with pen and ink and watercolour designs on the front covers (some soiling and light wear).

TWO STRIKING AVANT-GARDE -PAINTED BOOKS BY THE AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR, produced near the beginning of his studies with Vsevolod Meierhold. The first, Teatr ekstsentrikov, evidently an original harlequinade, was made the year before Yutkevich co-founded the Factory of Eccentricity (FEKS). The Factory, and the associated workshop for eccentric actors, stressed the development of actors' physical abilities, and blended traditional performances like circus and music hall with modern developments including the mechanization and electrification of productions. The Factory of Eccentricity made lasting contributions to the theatre, and to the development of cinematic language. The second work is a richly-illustrated treatment in the same vein of E.T.A Hoffmann's The Sandman. Yutkevich won Best Director at Cannes in 1956 for Othello, and in 1966 for Lenin in Poland. Yutkevich came into contact with a number of artists in the European avant-garde; his collection included, for instance, paintings and drawings presented to him by Picasso and Léger. In 2012 the Russian National Association of Bibliophiles included a Yutkevich painted book of this period in their exhibition of artist's books. Kniga khudozhnika, Moscow: Natsional'nyi soiuz bibliofilov, 2012, pp.10-12.

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