Founded in 1971 by Carl and Ellendea Proffer, Ardis Publishers specialized in twentieth-century “contraband” Russian literature. Many of their books were banned or censored in the Soviet Union and could only reach their target audiences through tamizdat. Ardis published books both in the original and in English translation, familiarizing the American public with masterpieces of Russian literature as well as the émigré readers with works they would not have been able to read otherwise. Ardis authors included Vladimir Nabokov, Joseph Brodsky, Fazil Iskander, Vasily Aksenov, Sasha Sokolov, and many others.
This set of seven Ardis postcards features the following original book covers:
- Vasily Aksenov. Ozhog [The Burn]. Cover design by Paul Shaw. Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1980.
- Yuz Aleshkovsky. Kenguru [Kangaroo]. Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1981.
- Sergei Dovlatov. Remeslo [Craft]. Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1985.
- Lev Kopelev. Khranit vechno [To Be Preserved Forever]. Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1975.
- Issac Babel. Konarmiia [Red Cavalry]. Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1982.
- Boris Pilnyak. Golyi god [Naked Year]. Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1979.
- Vladimir Voinovich. Moskva 2042 [Moscow 2042]. Cover design by Boris Mukhametshin. Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1987.
