presentation copy inscribed by the space fantasy artist Andrei Sokolov

Presentation copy of the first edition inscribed by the space fantasy artist Andrei Sokolov to Fuad Borisovich Yakubovskiy, Soviet minister for 'special construction projects'.

A striking portfolio of Soviet space art with thirty four plates depicting imaginary spacewalks, satellite constructions, curious spacecraft, dreamy constellations and unexplored planets and moons. One of the artists, A. Leonov, was the pioneering cosmonaut who made the first spacewalk, exiting the capsule during the Voskhod 2 mission. Art, however, was his first love and he was the first person to sketch earth from space. He often collaborated with his close friend Andrei Sokolov, who unlike Leonov did not have first hand experience of space and instead chose to paint a more fantastical picture.

The album was published to mark the 15th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik and is a glorious example of ambitious propaganda. It was clearly designed to make an impact with the elaborate portfolio case and wonderful illustrations which are often highlighted with silver. The inclusion of real life space missions alongside imagined realities of the future is an assertion of the potential for Soviet cosmonauts.

First edition, presentation copy signed by A. Sokolov on the verso of the upper portfolio board, folio (38 x 28.5 cm); complete with 34 plates (of which 16 are double page), each with descriptive text on the verso, 36pp. of text by Denisov and Alimov in a separate booklet (also with an introduction by Yuriy Gagarin); housed together in the original blue leatherette portfolio, enamel and metal USSR medallion to upper cover and title in silver, a very good copy.