Book of Honor, with blank unissued certificates of achievement for foremost workers of a Machine & Tractor Station of a collective farm, with ledger to record the awards, 1955.
Large format measuring 12" x 16". Beveled hardcover wrapped in brown leatherette with high-relief embossed profiles of Lenin and Stalin against the background of a red banner, above the title "BOOK OF HONOR" in Ukrainian, underlined by a deeply embossed agriculture-themed ornament stemming from the Soviet hammer and sickle emblem.
The title page follows two pages of quotes from Lenin and Stalin on the virtue of hard self-motivated work of millions of the working class to bring about the bright communist future. The wording on the title page reads "Book of Honor of ___[name]____ Ma
Large format measuring 12" x 16". Beveled hardcover wrapped in brown leatherette with high-relief embossed profiles of Lenin and Stalin against the background of a red banner, above the title "BOOK OF HONOR" in Ukrainian, underlined by a deeply embossed agriculture-themed ornament stemming from the Soviet hammer and sickle emblem.
The title page follows two pages of quotes from Lenin and Stalin on the virtue of hard self-motivated work of millions of the working class to bring about the bright communist future. The wording on the title page reads "Book of Honor of ___[name]____ Machine & Tractor Station, Kiev Region". The page is lavishly decorated with wreaths of oak leaves, symbols of strength, focusing on the image of the badge of VSKhV (All-Union Agricultural Exhibition) at the bottom.
The rest of the book contains blank achievement certificates, followed by a section entitled "Brief Description of Achievements in the Socialist Competition for the Increase of Agricultural Production", and ending with a 3-page ledger to record the names of the awardees. Even though a couple of certificates have been cut out of the book, the last two sections are blank. The first few certificates have slits cut into them with a razor blade at an angle, similar to those found in photo albums of that period. Were they prepared to hold photos or textual material is impossible to guess but interesting to know. We have never seen this approach to honorary certificates of achievement.
The book is in excellent condition. The cover shows negligibly minor scuffing to the head and foot of the spine. Lenin's profile shows a couple of red spots where the gold paint wore off on the high points. The internal pages are pristine.
Note that the book was issued in 1955, and was probably one of the last publications featuring Stalin's image. Khrushchev's secret speech "On the Cult of Personality and its Consequences" in 1956 triggered a period of "de-stalinization" which included removal of Stalin's name and image from all publicly accessible objects and places.
Please note that the pen in our photo is for size reference.
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