Lendavad sead (Flying Pigs) [Short stories] [legendary book of Estonian Futurism]

Near fine condition; cover shows slight soiling and foxing, occasionally frayed spiine; internally fingerprints on the outer corners of some pages, few occasional foxing spots, closed vertical tear about 5 cm length on the bottom margin of one sheet. 

Probably, the most famous avant-garde book in Estonian literature, an outstanding experiment both in appearance and content. Printed on the reverse side of uncut sheets of the tsarist era beer and limonade labels of the Tartu A. Le Coq brewery (that’s why each copy differs from the other), it somewhat resembles Vasily Kamensky’s „Tango with Cows“ printed on the backside of wallpapers. 

The collection includes thirteen short stories divided into two sections. In the first section are put together texts full of strong mythical expression with theit shock effects creating terrifying and absurdish surrealist images (“Singing Fishes”, “Flying Pigs”, “Milk Swan”, “Blooming Lightning” etc.). Stories collected in the second section are mostly focused on praising technical achievemnts of the time (“Cast Iron Sirens”, “In the Street”, “At the 

Station“, “At the Factory”, “Electricity”, “At the Cinema”, etc.), thus emphasising author’s commitment to Futurist ideas. 

The book drew a wide response in Estonian society, it was sharply criticized in the press and became an object of mockery for the caricaturists. The phrase "Flying Pigs" became so entrenched that, in 1922 Minister of Education Heinrich Bauer used it in his speech concerning state support for literature, called all Estonian writers flying pigs, thus causing a scandal, which naturally delighted the futurists themselves.

With the birth of an independent Estonian Republic in 1918, an experienced and well-known Futurist Albert Kivikas (1898-1978) continued on the wave of innovative realistic prose.