Modern modes of transport were emblems of progress in Soviet Russia in the 1920s and 1930s, and they featured often in picture books. Sisters Galina and Olga Chichagova used engineering instruments such as compasses to create their precise images. In their book Charlie’s Journey, film star Charlie Chaplin travels around the world taking different forms of mechanised transport in each country. Japan is the only exception, where he rides in a rickshaw and sympathises with the hardworking runner.

Illustration: Galina and Olga Chichagova illustration for Charlie’s Journey by Nikolai Smirnov 1924