The Celluloid Heart, by Vladimir Mayakovsky and Lilia Brik.
(Poestenkill, NY): Edition Kaldewey, 1984. Octavo. (16)pp. One of 70 copies. The book retells the story of Brik and Mayakovsky's 1918 film, "Chained by the Film," which was largely destroyed in a fire in the 1930's. Here, Brik's retelling—Mayakovsky died by apparent suicide in 1930—turns into text the story lost on film: a bored artist falls in love with a ballet dancer on a poster, and in a Pygmalion-like turn of events, the dancer comes to life and falls in love with the artist. In the 1960s, Brik found a fragment of the original film, which was acquired by the Press. Stills from the film are presented in multi-colored negatives throughout the text, and a three-meter length 16mm film print from the original movie accompanies the book. The roll of film and the book are housed together in a circular aluminum film canister. Labels to upper cover of the book and to the lid of the canister recreate the film's poster. Fine. Item #31580
(von Lucius, pp. 156-159).
Price: $2,500.00