ნოღაიდელი, ჯემალ. აჭარის ხალხური სიტყვიერება : ზღაპრები, არაკები, ლექსები, გამოცანები, ანდაზები. წიგნი 1 / რედაქტორი გრიგოლ გორგაძე ; მხატვარი ვ. ილიუშინი. პირველი გამოცემა.
ბათომი : აჭარის სახელმწიფო გამომცემლობა, 1936. 160 გვერდი.
ნაბეჭდი გარეკანი. ჩვეულებრივი ფორმატი. ტირაჟი 3 000 ეგზემპლარი.
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Noghaideli, Jemal. Adjarian Folk Literature : Tales, Fables, Poems, Riddles, Proverbs. Book 1 / editor Grigol Gorgadze ; illustrator V. Ilyushin. First edition.
Batumi : Adjarian State Publishing House, 1936. 160 pp.
Original printed paper wrappers. Standard format. Print run of 3,000 copies.
Condition fair: wrappers show overall wear, spotting, and edge chipping; pages 5-6 have a neatly repaired tear with creasing, but no text loss; pages 79-80 have a small vertical tear without text loss; pages are age-toned throughout.
A rare and highly significant first edition of the inaugural volume of "Adjarian Folk Literature," compiled by Jemal Noghaideli and published in Batumi in 1936. This pioneering ethnographic collection was produced under the auspices of the Adjarian Scientific Bureau of Local Lore during a period of intense Soviet ethnographic documentation in the Caucasus. The book systematically preserves the rich oral traditions of the Adjara region, an area of southwestern Georgia known for its unique cultural synthesis shaped by centuries of Ottoman influence and deeply rooted Georgian heritage. The volume gathers an extensive array of local folktales, fables, traditional verses, riddles, and proverbs, many recorded and transcribed here for the very first time. The striking cover design by V. Ilyushin incorporates traditional Caucasian interlaced ornamentation, reflecting early Soviet attempts to blend national forms with regional specificities. Printed in a limited run of 3,000 copies in the regional capital of Batumi, pre-WWII provincial imprints from the Georgian SSR are notoriously difficult to find today. The fragile nature of the paper wrappers and the heavy reading use such folklore collections typically endured further contribute to its scarcity.