four signed in Cyrillic and dated in the negative
nine silver prints, printed later

Estate of the artist
Museum of Modern Art, Oxford
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Oxford, Museum of Modern Art, Alexander Rodchenko, February - March 1979

Exhibition catalogue, Alexander Rodchenko, Oxford: Museum of Modern Art 1979, pp.59-67 illustrated
N.Aseev, Aleksandr Rodchenko, New York: Museum Of Modern Art, 1998, pp.178-182 illustrated (original photocollages)

These prints are in overall very good condition. In the 'Photomontage for part I, Ballad of Reading Gaol, My Ballad and Ballads in General' print, there is a very small area of paper loss in the upper right corner.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This series of 12 photocollages is Rodchenko's interpretation of Vladimir Mayakovsky's love poems to Lily Brik. 

Photocollage was born of the mass-propagation of newly illustrated magazines and newspapers at the beginning of the 20th century. John Heartfield and Hannah Höch were among those who experimented with this new technique in western Europe, while Rodchenko and Gustav Klutsis were doing so in Russia. These compositions characterised by their unexpected combinations are a Soviet avant-garde alternative to painting.

The most remarkable photocollages are the cover and illustrations for Mayakovsky's poem Pro Eto (About This), 1923 in which Mayakovsky writes of his painful separation from Lily Brik. The abrupt juxtapositions of Rodchenko's collages evoke the vivid imagery and poetic ꦡleaps of Mayakovsky's verse.

Prints titles
i. Pro eto Cover
ii. Photomontage for Part I: Ballad of Reading Gaol - The Man from seven years back / I paw at my ears / In vain of course / It continues / My own / My own voice's echo / the knife of my voice / Cuts my ears through my paws.
iii. Photomontage for Part I: Ballad of Reading Gaol - The duel / ... out of cords / came jealousy crawling, / a cave dwelling monster, / a troglodyte. 
iv. Photomontage of Part I: Ballad of Reading Gaol - My ballad and ballads in general / She's in bed / Lying awake / He / At the telephone / By the table.
v. Photomontage for Part II: Christmas Eve - Recapitulation / I catch my balance / Waving crazily.
vi. Photomontage for part II: Christmas Eve - Friends / And again the walls / Like a blistering steppe / Sigh and ring / With the damned two-step.
vii. Photomontage for part II: Christmas Eve - Fyokla Davidovna's husband / Age upon Age / The same old sludge / Unwhipped / Domesticity's mare won't budge
viii. Photomontage for part III: Application to... / Four times I'll age / And glow young anew.
ix. Photomontage for part III: Application to... /🍨 Love / ... (she too loved beasts), / she'll come to see the zoo.