Pushkin in Translation
This 1943 Limited Editions Club edition of Alexander Pushkin's Eugene Onegin (first published in 1833) is not just a book — it’s a carefully crafted object. The volume features original lithographs by German-American illustrator Fritz Eichenberg (1901-1990) and a special rag paper with the smooth hand-finished, deep-toned surface made exclusively for this volume by The Worthy Paper Company. The binding is of boards covered with polished black leather and a printed pattern developed from a drawing by Eichenberg, using early “repeat-pattern” photography.
The text itself was translated by American poet Babette Deutsch (1895-1982) and edited by her husband Avrahm Yarmolinsky (1890-1975), a leading figure in Slavic studies in New York. Printed on custom paper with elegant Bodoni type, the book reflects a moment when literature, design, and craftsmanship came together as one.
Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), is often called the creator of modern Russian literature because he brought everyday spoken language into “high” literature. At a time when the aristocracy preferred French or English, he chose to write in Russian and to describe ordinary life and real emotions, especially in Eugene Onegin, influenced by Romanticism and writers like Byron. His work helped shape the Russian literary language, but it was also deeply connected to the imperial world he lived in. He wrote about freedom and individuality, yet at the same time contributed to a cultural tradition that later became central to imperial identity. This contradiction is what makes Pushkin so interesting — not just as a great writer, but as a figure who shows how culture is created within systems of power.
The illustrations by Fritz Eichenberg add another layer to this intersection. A German artist who fled Europe during World War II, he brought his mastery of printmaking into this edition. His work transforms the text into something visual and atmospheric, multiplying meaning through image just as Pushkin did through language.
This book is more than a classic — it’s a meeting point of cultures, histories, and artistic traditions.
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-- Kate, Special Collections Graduate Art History Fieldworker
