Framed Facsimile – Nikolai Akimov – “Motley Tales” after Chekhov – 1960 – Leningrad State Comedy Theatre

A museum-quality framed reproduction of a rare and distinguished 1960 Soviet theatrical poster — Nikolai Akimov's design for his own production of Motley Tales (Пёстрые рассказы) after Anton Chekhov at the Leningrad State Comedy Theatre, created to mark the global centenary of Chekhov's birth (1860–1960). Presented in your choice of frame colour, ready to hang.

Akimov structured the entire composition around a giant cascading scroll of paper that doubles as a winding staircase, its folds populated with vivid caricature-style illustrations of classic Chekhovian characters — eccentric aristocrats with umbrellas, dashing bachelors, frantic carriage riders, and a hidden peering policeman — with “А. Чехов” stylised down the central white scroll. One of the most singular figures in Soviet cultural life, Akimov was simultaneously a theatre director of national renown and a graphic artist of exceptional refinement — named People's Artist of the USSR in the very year of this poster's run. A compelling piece for collectors of Soviet graphic design, Chekhov enthusiasts, or admirers of mid-century theatrical art.

Publication Details
Artist & Director: Nikolai Akimov (Николай Павлович Акимов), 1901–1968 — People's Artist of the USSR
Production: Motley Tales (Пёстрые рассказы) — after Anton Chekhov
Year: 1960 (designed 1959)
Theatre: Leningrad State Comedy Theatre, Leningrad (St. Petersburg), USSR
Original medium: Offset lithograph on paper
Style: Soviet Mid-Century / Theatrical Graphic Design

Make a statement in any room with this framed poster, printed on thick matte paper. The frame made from wood from renewable forests adds an extra touch of class.

• Original poster size: 68 × 98 cm (27″ × 39″)
• Frame size: 24 × 36 in (61 × 91 cm) — the closest standard size to the original
• Frame colour: Black / Red Oak / White (select above)
• Frame depth: 0.75″ (1.9 cm) · Ayous wood from renewable forests
• Paper thickness: 10.3 mil (0.26 mm) · 189 g/m²
• Lightweight
• Acrylite front protector
• Hanging hardware included
• Blank product components in the US sourced from Japan and the US
• Blank product components in the EU sourced from Japan and Latvia

How to hang: place the mounting hook at the centre-top of the frame.