Prosvita = Enlightenment, 1914 (10 issues)
Item #1662
Collection of 10 Issues: No. 1 (January 1914) – No. 8 (August 1914), No. 10 (October 1914), and No. 11 (November 1914). Jersey City, New Jersey: Nakladom Tovarystva „Prosvita“ v Amerytsi / Z drukarni „Svobody“, 1914. Illustrated throughout with full-page plates, portraits, and graphic headpieces. Original publisher's stapled paper wrappers printed on various colored paper stocks (cream, green, brown, grey, pink, salmon, terracotta). Provenance: Prof. Alexander A. Granovsky (Oleksander Neprytskyi-Hranovskyi). From the personal library of distinguished Ukrainian-American scientist, entomologist, poet, and civic leader Prof. Alexander A. Granovsky (Oleksander Neprytskyi-Hranovskyi, 1887–1976). Issue No. 1 features Granovsky's manuscript signature in ink across the upper wrapper ("Ол. Неприцький-Грановський") alongside his original engraved bookplate ("Ex-Libris Prof. A. A. Granovsky"). Wrappers clean and well-preserved overall, showing light uniform age-toning, soft handling creases, minor edge wear, and faint staple oxidation.
A near-complete first-year run of ten original issues of Prosvita, one of the earliest Ukrainian-American educational, cultural, and literary monthly journals established in the United States prior to World War I. Published in Jersey City, New Jersey by the Prosvita Society in America and printed on the presses of the pioneer Ukrainian newspaper Svoboda, the periodical was launched in January 1914 to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Ukrainian national poet Taras Shevchenko (1814–1861). The inaugural issue (No. 1, January 1914) appeared under the special title Rizdvyana Nich: Kalendar ("Christmas Night: Calendar"), while subsequent issues adopted the iconic allegorical front cover designed by A. Zerebko depicting the enthroned figure of Enlightenment holding a torch over a crowd of seekers, framed by a tablet inscribed with Shevchenko's famous stanza "Uchitesya, braty moyi..." ["Learn, my brothers..."]. Containing foundational essays on immigrant integration, national history, Ukrainian literature, community news, and educational instruction, this periodical represents a primary record of early twentieth-century Ukrainian immigration to North America.
Price: $400.00