Panteleev, L. The Packet (Paket), 1936. Illustrations by N. Tyrsa. In Russian.

Пантелеев Л.
Пакет. / Четвертое издание. Рисунки и переплет Н. А. Тырсы.
Москва — Ленинград : Детиздат (Издательство детской литературы ЦК ВЛКСМ), 1936.
95 с. : ил. ; Обычный формат. Твердый издательский переплет.
***
Panteleev, L.
The Packet. / Fourth edition. Illustrations and binding by N. A. Tyrsa.
Moscow — Leningrad : Detizdat (Children's Literature Publishing House of the CC YCL), 1936.
95 pp. : ill. ; Regular format. Hardcover. In Russian.

This 1936 volume is a classic of Soviet children's literature, featuring the gripping Civil War novella The Packet by L. Panteleev (the pseudonym of Alexei Ivanovich Eremeev). Written by a master of the "heroic" juvenile genre, the text provides a deep dive into the internal logic of revolutionary duty and youthful resilience, including the arrangement of the perilous journey undertaken by the young Red Army soldier Petya Trofimov. Tasked with delivering a secret dispatch to Budyonny himself, the protagonist’s mission becomes an epic test of character against the backdrop of the shifting front lines. Panteleev, celebrated for his authentic portrayal of street children and young revolutionaries in The Republic of ShKID, brings a similar grit and emotional honesty to this story, which became a staple of Soviet upbringing.
The edition is particularly significant for its artistic merit, featuring a binding and illustrations by Nikolai Tyrsa, one of the giants of Leningrad graphic art. Tyrsa’s minimalist yet expressive style captures the stark, dynamic energy of the 1930s avant-garde approach to book design, which was then beginning to harmonize with the emerging standards of Socialist Realism. Published by Detizdat in the mid-1930s, this 95-page hardcover represents the fourth edition of the work, demonstrating its immense popularity during the pre-war period. For bibliophiles, historians of Soviet illustration, and collectors of classic children's fiction, this 1936 Moscow-Leningrad imprint is a vital primary source, documenting the synergy between high-art graphics and revolutionary storytelling in early Soviet publishing.