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Soviet Postcards

Scholarship is lacking when it comes to these images and their production. There's not a great deal on the internet about the individuals responsible for producing the artwork. A number of the artists were also book illustrators, and from this a small amount of additional information may be gleaned. But in many cases the artist's given name (or even gender) is unclear.

​A few individuals stand out (Vladimir Zarubin and Konstantin Andrianov are among these exceptions). But about others--well, this page offers a chance to get to know their work. I'll be adding information piecemeal, starting with L.E. Hamburger (or "Gamburger," as computer translations have rendered it). My true favorites are (at least for this week!) Irina Iskrinskaya and V. Kanevsky. But there are many, many lovely images.

Leonid Emilevich Hamburger (or, "Gamburger")

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HAMBURGER, Leonid Emilevich (December 10, 1899, Nadezhdinsk, Ekaterinburg Province. - 1974), graphic artist, theater artist, illustrator.

Hamburger (often mistranslated as "Gamburger") postcards most often depict watercolor images of young animals. His postcard sets tended to get broken up and used, so it is unusual to see a full set. One of the most common Hamburger postcards in circulation (on the Internet in '19, my admittedly limited reference point) is an image of a young lynx kit trying to raid a nest of baby birds, much to the anxiety of the goldfinch mother. The 15 cards in my collection are a mixed bag from several different sets dating 1974-1987. '87 is the latest I am aware of that Hamburger was doing postcards, '67 is the earliest.
Other Hamburger images. There are a lot out there, on both commercial and personal sites. 
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