JEAN LEBEDEFF (1884-1972) Kouprine A. La Fosse aux Filles [The Pit: A Novel of Prostitution]; translated by Mongault and Désormonts; woodcuts by Lebedev. Paris, 1926.

13.5x10 cm. Card passed the post office. A folding mark. "Dorogoy i dobrokhval'nyy Grigoriy Alekseyevich, Doshli do menya slukhi, chto budto by Vy ochen' khotite uplatit' mne den'gi za stat'yu. Eto izveshcheniye, po nyneshnim vremenam stol' redkoye, potryaslo ne tol'ko menya, no i E.M., kotoraya budet u Vas zavtra, v pyatnitsu v 4 chasa popoludni, doma / Vash serdtsechno A. Kuprin." ["Dear and commendable Grigory Alexeevich, I heard rumors that you really want to pay me for the article. This news, so rare in these times, not only shook me but also E.M., who will be at your place tomorrow, Friday at 4 p.m. / Yours sincerely, A. Kuprin."] Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin (1870-1938) was a Russian realist writer who gained national acclaim. He was encouraged by the February Revolution of 1917. After the October Revolution, he tried to work with the Bolsheviks, but did not accept their views and joined the White Movement. In Yudenich's North-West Army he was engaged in editorial work in the newspaper "Prinevsky Krai". After the defeat of the army he left first to Finland in 1919 and then to France in 1920. In 1937, Kuprin returned to his homeland at the invitation of the USSR government. Provenance: Archive of G.A. Alexinsky. Grigory Alexeyevich Alexinsky (1879-1967) was a Russian revolutionary, social democrat, and Bolshevik (1905-1908). In 1917, he fought against Bolshevism. From 1919, he was in emigration and served as the chairman of the Russian Council in Paris. He collaborated in the newspapers "Obshchee delo" and "Russkaya gazeta."