In the introduction, Heiting says they chose book spreads that showed how successful the bookmakers were at “conveying an unequivocal message of dominant power.” The book covers a broad range of subjects, as did the original publications: politics, industrialization, the military, arts and letters, nature, children, and political struggles in foreign nations, to name a few.

Just a few of the creatives represented in this weighty volume, chock full of a dizzying number of images on its 600+ pages, are writers Semion Kirsanov and Vladimir Mayakovsky; artistic directors Gustav Klutsis, Valentina Kulagina, and El Lissitzky; and photographers Dmitry Debabov, Boris Ignatovich, Alexander Rodchenko, and Georgy Petrusov.

The book’s design reflects its subject matter well and includes three pages of index and an extensive glossary of those involved with the creation of or published in the books. I’ll be looking at this for years.

The Soviet Photobook 1920–1941, published by Steidl, can be purchased here. All images courtesy and © Steidl.