1921, Rare Original First Edition, The Red May Day, Giorgos Simiriotis, with S.E.K.E.(K.) Hammer & Sickle Stamp, Greek Socialist History

Rare Original First Edition | Early Greek Socialist & Communist History | Athens, Greece

An important and scarce historical publication from the formative years of the Greek socialist and communist movement.

Offered is the original 1921 first edition of Η Κόκκινη Πρωτομαγιά (The Red May Day), a three-act proletarian drama by Greek poet, playwright and intellectual Giorgos Simiriotis (1879–1964).

Published in Athens by the Socialist Bookstore (Σοσιαλιστικό Βιβλιοπωλείο), this work belongs to the early period of organized socialist publishing in Greece, during the years following the Russian Revolution of 1917.

A PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT HISTORICAL FEATURE

The title page bears an original red S.E.K.E.(K.) stamp featuring the hammer and sickle.

This contemporary political marking provides a particularly interesting historical association with the Socialist Labour Party of Greece (S.E.K.E.), the organization that subsequently became the Communist Party of Greece (K.K.E.).

Its presence makes this individual copy especially interesting as a surviving document of early twentieth-century Greek political and publishing history.

LITERARY AND HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The Red May Day is an example of early Greek proletarian theatre, reflecting the political and social debates of its time.

The three-act drama addresses workers’ struggles, class conflict, general strikes and the political aspirations of the working class.

The publication is of particular interest to researchers and collectors of modern Greek literature, socialist theatre, the history of the labour movement and the development of communist publishing in Greece.

DETAILS

• Author: Giorgos Simiriotis (1879–1964)
• Original title: Η Κόκκινη Πρωτομαγιά
• English title: The Red May Day
• Publication year: 1921
• Edition: Original first edition
• Publisher: Socialist Bookstore (Σοσιαλιστικό Βιβλιοπωλείο)
• Place of publication: Athens, Greece
• Language: Greek
• Format: Original paperback
• Extent: 80 pages
• Dimensions: Approximately 18 × 12 cm

COLLECTOR’S FEATURES

• Original 1921 first edition
• Early Greek socialist literary publication
• Original red S.E.K.E.(K.) hammer-and-sickle stamp on the title page
• Original historical paperback covers
• Rear cover retaining the publisher’s original book catalogue
• A surviving example of early Greek socialist publishing

CONDITION

Very good antique condition considering its age of more than 100 years.

The book retains its original paperback covers and important historical features, including the contemporary political stamp and original publisher’s catalogue on the rear cover.

Please examine all photographs carefully, as they form an integral part of the description and document the actual condition of this particular copy.

A scarce and historically interesting publication, suitable for collectors of rare Greek books, early socialist and communist literature, political history, proletarian theatre and twentieth-century European publishing.

An original 1921 publication preserving a tangible connection to a formative period in modern Greek political and cultural history.