Houpačky [Swings]. Czech Satirical Magazine Published by the Czechoslovak Legion in Siberia. Complete Run, 1919.

Houpačky. Irkutsk: Informačně-osvětový odbor československého vojska na Rusi, 1919. Bound Large 4to. Complete run of six monthly issues (July–December 1919), with the folding color lithographic supplement to issue No. 4 bound in. Contemporary quarter cloth with marbled paper-covered boards. Profusely illustrated with political caricatures, cartoons, and lithographs, many printed in color.Complete run of a satirical magazine published by the Czechoslovak Legion in Irkutsk, Siberia, during the Russian Civil War. Edited by the Czech writer and poet Jan Rada, Houpačky was produced by the Legion's Information and Educational Department, whose travelling printing press, originally housed in railway carriages, was established in Irkutsk in March 1919. The illustrations satirize Bolshevism, international politics, military life, and the uncertain prospects of the legionnaires' repatriation. Of particular interest is the folding color lithograph Návrat našich [The Return of Our Men] by Jaroslav Váchal, issued as a supplement to No. 4 (October 1919), satirizing the soldiers' long-awaited return home. The magazine's title, Houpačky [Swings], reportedly derives from a soldiers' expression for newspapers whose unreliable reports alternately raised and disappointed their expectations.An unusual example of Czech satirical graphic art produced in Siberia during the Russian Civil War.Good condition. Contemporary binding with rubbing and minor wear to the boards, loose front hinge. Some toning, occasional foxing, and scattered small stains to the pages. Original illustrated issue covers preserved. Folding lithograph bound in with tape to verso, small tear.