The exhibition of the Penza Literature Museum features an extremely rare edition of “Gray Morning, ” a collection of poems by Alexander Blok.

This collection is distinguished by mysterious motifs and moving imagery. It addresses thought-provoking philosophical questions of life, and the gentle melodic rhythms echo the sense of sadness in the text. “Gray Morning” was written during the dramatic period of the Russian Revolution.

The book was published by the Alkonost publishing house on October 23, 1920. It had a print run of 10,000 copies and became the final lifetime publication of Alexander Blok’s writings. Alkonost was founded by Samuil Mironovich Alyansky (1891–1974), a book enthusiast from St. Petersburg, with the help of Alexander Blok. The publishing house did not have any other employees. Samuil Alyansky was the leader, manager, and the only technical worker, while Alexander Blok was the ideologist and editor. Alkonost’s first book was Blok’s poem “Nightingale Garden, ” which had not been published on its own until 1918. After that, it published most of Alexander Blok’s post-revolutionary works, including the first separate edition of the poem “The Twelve, ” illustrated by Yury Annenkov, and the collection of poems “Gray Morning.” The publishing house mainly worked with Symbolist poets.

The publishing house was named after the legendary bird, the Alkonost, which appeared in Byzantine and Slavic folklore. The artist Yury Annenkov depicted it as a Russian woman-headed bird, a dark prophet, and the image became the company’s trademark.

Although Alkonost published only 58 books with small print runs, it played a significant role in the history of Russian literature and culture. Prominent artists of this period, including Yury Annenkov, Alexander Golovin, and Nikolay Kupreyanov, contributed to the design of its books. These books became valuable bibliographic rarities. In 1922, some of Alkonost’s books were published in Germany, and in 1923, the company ceased operations.