Kamensky, V. Mayakovsky's Youth (Yunost' Mayakovskogo), 1931. Cover by Konstantin Bor-Ramensky. In Russian.

Каменский В. В. Юность Маяковского. / Обложка работы Константина Бор-Раменского.
Тифлис: ЗАККНИГА, 1931.
84 с.: 1 л. портр. Твердый переплет, уменьшенный формат (18×12,8 см). Тираж 5000 экз.
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Kamensky, V. Mayakovsky's Youth (Yunost' Mayakovskogo). / Cover design by Konstantin Bor-Ramensky.
Tiflis: ZAKKNIGA, 1931.

84 pp.: 1 plate of port. Hardcover, reduced format (18×12.8 cm). Print run: 5,000 copies.

This 1931 edition is a remarkable fusion of Russian Futurism and Constructivist book design, published in Tiflis (Tbilisi) just a year after Vladimir Mayakovsky’s tragic death. The author, Vasily Kamensky (1884–1961), was one of the three "founding fathers" of Russian Futurism alongside Mayakovsky and Burliuk. In this volume, Kamensky blends intimate memoirs with a bold literary manifesto to recreate the formative years of the "Drummer of the Revolution."
The book offers a rare, first-hand account of the early 20th-century avant-garde scene. Kamensky vividly describes the young Mayakovsky’s explosive entry into the Moscow art world, their joint poetry tours across the Russian Empire, and the ideological foundations of LEF (The Left Front of the Arts). The text captures the raw energy of the period, portraying Mayakovsky not just as a poet, but as a revolutionary force of nature.
The visual identity of the book was crafted by Konstantin Bor-Ramensky, a key figure in the Caucasian avant-garde. His cover design is a quintessential example of Constructivist aesthetics: using a stark, sans-serif ("chopped") typeface and a dynamic asymmetrical layout. By enlarging and shifting the letters of the word "Youth" (Yunost'), Bor-Ramensky visually translates the Futurist obsession with breaking traditional forms and the restless energy of the new generation.
Published by Zakkniga (The Transcaucasian State Publishing House), this Tiflis imprint highlights the importance of Georgia as a vibrant laboratory for the Soviet avant-garde during the late 1920s and early 1930s.
For collectors of the Russian Avant-Garde, historians of Futurism, and admirers of Mayakovsky, this 1931 Tiflis edition is an invaluable document. It stands as a bridge between the radical artistic experiments of the pre-revolutionary years and the monumental legacy of the Soviet era’s greatest poet.