Collection of seven Russian-language broadsides announcing concerts in Essentuki, Kislovodsk, and Piatigorsk to benefit Russian soldiers fighting during World War I, 1915-1918.

Russia: 1915-1918. Original printed announcements; various sizes, max. 45 × 16 cm. Rather good, with occasional nicks to margins only.

Seven announcements for concerts held during WWI in three famous resort cities of the North Caucasus, WWI: Piatigorsk, Essentuki, and Kislovodsk. These cities, made famous in the Romantic era of Russian literature by figures like Pushkin and Lermontov, were also major military outposts for retired and recuperating soldiers. These concerts were held as benefits for the front-line soldiers on the Western front. The musical fare was light and popular (Chaikovsky, Glinka, Musorgsky), intended for a wide and patriotic audience, and catered to the broadly bourgeois tastes of the Russian middle-class for whom the Caucasus resorts were most accessible. A curious memento from the domestic history of Russia’s World War I experience.

Book ID: P002888

Price: $175.00