Between the Covers

An important collection of 14 rare pamphlets and magazines printed clandestinely by Yugoslav Partisans during the last two years of World War II. The Partisans were the most successful resistance movement against the Axis occupation of Europe. During the four years of their existence they created a complete underground society, with their own distinct social customs, visual culture, literature, performing arts, schools, legal and governmental systems, communication networks, and methods of conducting guerrilla and conventional warfare. Most of their publications were printed by clandestine or underground presses hidden from their enemies within occupied Yugoslavia.

The corpus of their surviving works is diverse, and considering the circumstances of their production, by turns crude or surprisingly sophisticated in content, graphic design, and illustration. This collection features 14 pamphlets chosen for their subject matter and rarity: *OCLC* locates no copies of 11 titles, and only two copies each of the other three works. Included is the only known surviving first edition of Matej Bor’s *Raztrganci* [The Vagabonds], the most acclaimed Partisan work of theatre, and one of the earliest first-hand accounts of life inside the Mauthausen concentration camp, printed by a Partisan press in 1944. Also included are four other works of arts and entertainment (theatre, music, poems), four military manuals, one medical field manual and one medical journal, a children’s alphabet book, and a pamphlet about Muslim women Partisans. Most are mimeographed, with mimeographed illustrations, maps, and music, and some also have black and white or color linocut illustrations.

A remarkable collection of profound cultural and historical importance, created during one of the most trying and dramatic periods in history. A detailed description of each item is available.

Item #415662