Orders and Medals of USSR (Little Funky Book)

***Art*** · 02-26-2002, 07:23 PM

This I picked up on EBay, It was said to be a rare minature book printed by Izvestia in 1987. Who knows what REAL story is :) It's very well made though, and the quality of the photos inside are excellent. The detail is amazing. To bad it's all Russian, might be something good in there! Quarter is in there to give scale.

Inside of little book. It's fairly thick for it's size, a little over 1/2".

Tal Inbar · 02-27-2002, 05:18 AM

So Art, it was YOU! I also bid on this book...

***Art*** · 02-27-2002, 05:56 PM

Tal,

This guy had a few of these. I checked a few days after the auction to see what else he had for-sale and he had another copy of it up for auction already. I did the "buy it now" thing. I didn't want to wait...I really liked it because it was so unique so I knew I had to have it no matter what the buy it now price was.

I hate it when I get into my impulse buying moods :D

CZ · 02-28-2002, 05:50 PM

Dear Art,

I have the "full-size" version of your book in my collection. 100 % the same design - outside and layout. I got it 7 years ago at a Viennese dealer for about USD 60,-. Very nice done and the book was brand new. I have never seen it before or after that at the market in Vienna.

Regards from Vienna

***Art*** · 02-28-2002, 07:48 PM

Christian,

Hey, that's neat..does yours have the name "Izvestia" on the inside? What are the measurements of your book?

CZ · 03-01-2002, 04:15 AM

Dear Art,

Izvestia 1987, 224 pages, text only russian.

22,0 cm (length)

14,8 cm (heigth)

1,7 cm (thickness)

It seems to me, that our two books where the official catalogue of awards from the soviet union by the soviet government. You have the pocket edition and I have the table editon - somehow.

Regards from Vienna

new world · 08-24-2002, 08:21 PM

Gentlemen,

There was the same funky book on eBay with the funniest description I've ever seen. I think this could easily qualify for "Disinformation" thread:

"The official Soviet Guide to Medals & Orders - in Mini-Book format!

Published by Izvestiya in Moscow, 1986
I want to let the pictures do the talking - this is a great book, the official Guide to Orders & Medals in the USSR, published in mini-book format. "

This is my favorite part:

"In the Soviet Union, space was at a premium due to communal living and a simple lack of space, so the mini-books became very popular. These were exact duplicates of larger books, but in a super-small format. These quickly became collector's items as they did not survive long following the fall of the Soviet Union. In Russia, these books cost from five to ten times as much as the original volume from which they were replicated. "

"This is the guide to Orders and Medals. Every pair of pages highlights a different Order or Medal with a full-color picture and a short textual explanation of significance. In all there are 217 full-color, glossy pages in this leather bound volume that is only 1 3/4" by 2 3/4" in size! "

Nota Bene · 08-25-2002, 12:22 AM

Gentlemen,

I just thought I'd mention that there is whole bunch of collectors of those mini books in Russia, and I am one of them them. Most of them are real works of art, some have beautiful engravings, special typefaces, leather binding, etc. I have about 50 in my collection, mostly poetry.

Alexei

***Art*** · 08-25-2002, 09:42 PM

Alexei,

I was pleasantly suprised regarding the quality of the printing and the excelllent color and color registration. These little books still pop-up on EBay from time to time, I've seen several with different style embossed jackets.

Art

Tal Inbar · 09-06-2002, 06:54 AM

Set of 14 miniature books by Stalin:

02-27-2002, 05:56 PM	#3
*Art* Forum Founder Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Buffalo NY Age: 58 Posts: 1,646	Tal, This guy had a few of these. I checked a few days after the auction to see what else he had for-sale and he had another copy of it up for auction already. I did the "buy it now" thing. I didn't want to wait...I really liked it because it was so unique so I knew I had to have it no matter what the buy it now price was. I hate it when I get into my impulse buying moods :D __________________ Visit the main site to the forum: The Soviet Military Awards Page Want to sell awards on the forum? Please read the FAQ Important Links: Forum announcements and rules \| Image posting FAQ

02-28-2002, 07:48 PM	#5
*Art* Forum Founder Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Buffalo NY Age: 58 Posts: 1,646	Christian, Hey, that's neat..does yours have the name "Izvestia" on the inside? What are the measurements of your book? __________________ Visit the main site to the forum: The Soviet Military Awards Page Want to sell awards on the forum? Please read the FAQ Important Links: Forum announcements and rules \| Image posting FAQ Last edited by Art; 02-28-2002 at 08:17 PM.

08-25-2002, 09:42 PM	#9
*Art* Forum Founder Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Buffalo NY Age: 58 Posts: 1,646	Alexei, I was pleasantly suprised regarding the quality of the printing and the excelllent color and color registration. These little books still pop-up on EBay from time to time, I've seen several with different style embossed jackets. Art __________________ Visit the main site to the forum: The Soviet Military Awards Page Want to sell awards on the forum? Please read the FAQ Important Links: Forum announcements and rules \| Image posting FAQ

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02-27-2002, 05:18 AM	#2
Tal Inbar Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Israel Age: 55 Posts: 2,302	So Art, it was YOU! I also bid on this book...

02-28-2002, 05:50 PM	#4
CZ Banned Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 103	Dear Art, I have the "full-size" version of your book in my collection. 100 % the same design - outside and layout. I got it 7 years ago at a Viennese dealer for about USD 60,-. Very nice done and the book was brand new. I have never seen it before or after that at the market in Vienna. Regards from Vienna

03-01-2002, 04:15 AM	#6
CZ Banned Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 103	Dear Art, Izvestia 1987, 224 pages, text only russian. 22,0 cm (length) 14,8 cm (heigth) 1,7 cm (thickness) It seems to me, that our two books where the official catalogue of awards from the soviet union by the soviet government. You have the pocket edition and I have the table editon - somehow. Regards from Vienna

08-24-2002, 08:21 PM	#7
new world Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: NYC, USA Posts: 1,086	Gentlemen, There was the same funky book on eBay with the funniest description I've ever seen. I think this could easily qualify for "Disinformation" thread: "The official Soviet Guide to Medals & Orders - in Mini-Book format! Published by Izvestiya in Moscow, 1986 I want to let the pictures do the talking - this is a great book, the official Guide to Orders & Medals in the USSR, published in mini-book format. " This is my favorite part: "In the Soviet Union, space was at a premium due to communal living and a simple lack of space, so the mini-books became very popular. These were exact duplicates of larger books, but in a super-small format. These quickly became collector's items as they did not survive long following the fall of the Soviet Union. In Russia, these books cost from five to ten times as much as the original volume from which they were replicated. " "This is the guide to Orders and Medals. Every pair of pages highlights a different Order or Medal with a full-color picture and a short textual explanation of significance. In all there are 217 full-color, glossy pages in this leather bound volume that is only 1 3/4" by 2 3/4" in size! "

08-25-2002, 12:22 AM	#8
Nota Bene Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: New York USA Posts: 2,296	Gentlemen, I just thought I'd mention that there is whole bunch of collectors of those mini books in Russia, and I am one of them them. Most of them are real works of art, some have beautiful engravings, special typefaces, leather binding, etc. I have about 50 in my collection, mostly poetry. Alexei

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