Shchedrin, N. (Saltykov, M. E.) Trifles of Life (Melochi zhizni), 1939. Illustrated by M. Cheremnykh. In Russian.

Щедрин Н. (Салтыков М. Е.) Мелочи жизни. / Рисунки М. Черемных.
Ленинград : Художественная литература, 1939.
308 с., 14 л. ил. ; Увеличенный формат. Твердый издательский переплет. Тираж 15 000 экз.
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Shchedrin, N. (Saltykov, Mikhail). Trifles of Life. / Illustrated by M. Cheremnykh.
Leningrad : Khudozhestvennaya Literatura, 1939.
308 pp., 14 leaves of plates : ill. ; Enlarged format. Hardcover. Print run: 15,000 copies. In Russian.

This 1939 edition of Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin’s satirical cycle Trifles of Life (Melochi zhizni) is a notable example of pre-war Soviet book production, published by the Leningrad branch of Khudozhestvennaya Literatura. Written during the final years of the great satirist’s life, the work offers a scathing critique of the mundane "trifles" that erode the human soul—bureaucracy, philistinism, and the spiritual stagnation of late 19th-century Russian society. This specific volume is distinguished by the illustrations of Mikhail Cheremnykh, a foundational figure in Soviet graphic art and one of the creators of the "Windows of ROSTA." Cheremnykh’s sharp, caricature-inflected style perfectly mirrors Shchedrin’s biting prose, bringing to life the grotesque archetypes of the tsarist era through 14 full-page plates. The text provides a deep dive into the internal logic of the Russian social fabric, including the arrangement of character studies that transition from provincial petty-mindedness to the systemic failures of the imperial state.
Produced in an enlarged format, the book reflects the high aesthetic standards of the 1930s, prioritizing both durability and artistic merit. Despite a print run of 15,000 copies, well-preserved examples from 1939 are increasingly difficult to find, as many were lost during the Siege of Leningrad or through the heavy use typical of Soviet libraries. For the bibliophile, this edition represents a synergy between two masters of Russian satire—Saltykov-Shchedrin and Cheremnykh—making it a vital primary source for the study of 19th-century literature and 20th-century book illustration. It stands as a testament to the enduring power of social critique, captured on the eve of the cataclysmic shifts of the 1940s.