Aaltonen, Vainö. Okkonen, Onnen

Vainö Aaltonen 1915–1925: tutkielma [a study]. Resumé in French; With letter from the artist and 16 original photographs

Porvoo, Finland: Werner Södertström , 1925. Frontis. portrait + 32 hors-texte pls. 77 pp. (resumé, pp. 69-77). Brown boards with white leather spine; leather label printed in gilt on spine; original sepia photo mounted on front cover (edges of photo chipped, and emulsion somewhat bleached by adhesive). This copy bears the bookplate of Mildred Bliss, Dumbarton Oaks. An envelope mounted on the flyleaf is addressed to Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss at an address in Stockholm; it contains a letter to her dated 1927 from the artist in Helsinki that apparently accompanied 16 other photographs of his work, especially his famous nude sculpture, 1924–25, of the grear runner Paavo Nurmi. Nurmi had won 5 gold medals for Finland at the 1924 Olympics in Paris. The Finnish government immediately commissioned the sculpture. Twelve of the loose photos range from 23.2 x 17.4 cm to 23.8 x 17.9 cm. The other four are one postcard-size, two 17.9 x 11.8 cm, and one 21.1 x 16 cm; a few of the photos have minor defects at the edges, They came in a mania envelope that was addressed by hand to Mrs. Bliss in Washington but never mailed, suggesting that it arrived under diplomatic cover. Unfortunately, this thick envelope had been stored inside the front cover of the book, perhaps for decades, when I got it many years ago. The endpapers are broken cleanly at the hinge; it will be an easy repair for any binder; or it could be left as is and handled accordingly. **Free domestic shipping with direct order. Item #00061

Price: $250.00