[Georgian avant-garde] Sevdiani. Sergia Eristavi's Jokes (Sergia Eristavis okhunjoba / Shutki Sergii Eristavi). 1926. In Georgian.

სევდიანი
სერგია ერისთავის ოხუნჯობა / ავტორის წინასიტყვაობით. პირველი გამოცემა.
ტფილისი : ტფილისის აღმასრულებელი კომიტეტის სტამბა, 1926. 35 გვერდი.
ნაბეჭდი გარეკანი. 19 სანტიმეტრი. ტირაჟი 8 100 ეგზემპლარი.
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Sevdiani
Sergia Eristavi's Jokes / with a preface by the author. First edition.
Tbilisi: Tbilisi Executive Committee Printshop, 1926. 35 pages.
Original illustrated paper wrappers. 19 cm. Print run of 8,100 copies.
Title page and covers bear the previous owner's inscriptions.
Condition fair: wrappers show overall age-toning, edge wear, and small corner losses; text block exhibits moisture stains, dog-eared corners, and heavy ink and pencil scribbles on the preliminaries and endpapers.

A remarkably scarce and visually striking example of 1920s Georgian avant-garde book design. Published during the complex transitional period of the New Economic Policy (NEP) in Soviet Georgia, this booklet presents a collection of satirical anecdotes about the life of a fictional nobleman, Sergia Eristavi, who attempts to navigate the new communist reality. As noted by modern catalogers of Georgian graphic design, the narrative is replete with biting sarcasm and is deeply critical of Soviet Georgia, explaining why the author, likely fearing for his safety, chose to hide behind the pseudonym "Sevdiani" (The Sad One). The true identity of the writer remains a mystery. Equally enigmatic is the striking constructivist cover art; major reference works on Georgian book design attribute this chaotic, dynamic wrapper to an "unknown artist." Featuring bold typography integrated with a distorted, modernist illustration of urban chaos, the cover is a masterpiece of early Soviet avant-garde aesthetics. Despite an initial print run of 8,100 copies, first editions of this socially critical and fragile paperback are exceedingly rare on the market today. This copy, though showing the wear of heavy historical usage, survives in its original uncredited wrapper, making it a highly desirable acquisition for collectors of Soviet constructivism and Caucasian satirical literature.