Large format, measuring 10" x 14", 24 pp. including 4 additional pages in front with congratulations from different political organizations to Stalin on getting Hero of the Socialist Labor in celebration of his 60th birthday. Circulation only 7,000 copies. Very unusual design features! Internal pages of heavy-stock matte coated paper are within a cover of thick rough pulpy paper; the graphic on the cover is a color plate glued on to it; and finally, the contents are listed on the outside page of the back cover. The magazine is abundantly illustrated. All illustrations are b/w.

In very good to excellent condition. The cover shows just bare minimum of storage wear, mostly along the top edge. The internal pages are also in great shape, showing barely visible use and storage wear.

It goes without saying that the December 1939, Stalin's 60th birthday, issue of Tvorchestvo is almost entirely dedicated to the image of the beloved leader in visual arts. Either Stalin's image was somehow still underrepresented in Soviet art in 1939, or the artists who were still outside the GULAG barbed wire fences, worked overtime to maintain the status quo.

That is probably less important than the fact that, for all the socialist labor he had wrought by then, Stalin became the first recipient of the Hero of Socialist Labor award, which, coincidentally, had just been instituted a year prior. Interestingly enough, the second Hero of Socialist Labor was given to the designer of the famous Soviet machine gun, Vasiliy Degtyaryov, in 1940.

Please note that the pen in our photo is for size reference.