Evdokimov, I. The North in the History of Russian Art (Sever v istorii russkogo iskusstva), 1921. In Russian

Евдокимов И. Север в истории русского искусства.
Вологда : Изд. Союза Северных кооперативных союзов, 1921 (на обл. 1920).
[4], 230, [2] с., 23 л. ил. В иллюстрированной издательской обложке, формат 29 × 20 см.
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Evdokimov, I. The North in the History of Russian Art (Sever v istorii russkogo iskusstva).
Vologda : Izd. Soyuza Severnykh kooperativnykh soyuzov, 1921 (on cover 1920).
[4], 230, [2] pp., 23 plates of illustrations. In illustrated publisher's cover, format 29 × 20 cm.

This 1921 volume is the seminal art-historical work of Ivan Vasilyevich Evdokimov (1887–1941), a leading figure in the Northern Circle of Lovers of Fine Arts. Published in Vologda during the arduous post-revolutionary years, this monograph represents the first systematic attempt to define the "Russian North" as a distinct and vital artistic landscape. Evdokimov argues that the unique geography and spiritual isolation of the North preserved the purest forms of Russian aesthetic expression, from architecture to iconography.
The book is a treasure trove of primary research, much of which was introduced to the scientific community for the first time in this edition. Evdokimov meticulously analyzed forgotten manuscripts and local archives to trace the development of Northern wood carving, folk embroidery, and the distinct schools of painting found in monasteries and remote villages. The edition is particularly valued for its scholarly appendices, including a comprehensive "Dictionary of Northern Icon Painters" and an extensive bibliography of regional artistic culture, which remain essential tools for modern researchers.
Produced under difficult material conditions by the Union of Northern Cooperative Unions, the book is a masterpiece of early Soviet regional publishing. It features 23 separate plates of illustrations documenting rare monuments of Northern antiquity. Because it was printed on fragile paper with an equally delicate illustrated cover, finding a complete copy with all plates and its original binding intact is an exceptional challenge. It is a true bibliographical rarity, embodying both the academic rigor and the romantic preservationist spirit of the early 20th-century Russian intelligentsia.