Luggage

The heroine of the poem, a thrifty lady (mistress), going on a long trip, checked in a lot of different items in her luggage, as well as a small puppy. However, during the journey, the puppy suddenly grew up and turned into a "huge scruffy dog." The poet merrily lists on each page the unchanged list of items: "sofa, suitcase, bag, painting, basket, cardboard box," - as if the train's wheels rhythmically tap on the joints and "carry" this imposing luggage throughout the entire book. This list also closely resembles a children's, instantly memorable counting rhyme.

Following Marshak, the first illustrator of "Luggage," Vladimir Vasilyevich Lebedev, depicts these items in drawings.

The creative tandem of Samuel Marshak and Vladimir Lebedev existed for many years. In this union, both participants were full co-authors. On the book covers, the names of the poet and the artist were always placed side by side. "Luggage" with Lebedev's illustrations was republished as a separate book fourteen times, and each time the artist reworked the previous versions, gradually moving away from the early images, which were close in style to satirical, caricature-like representations, to realistic ones created in a soft watercolor technique.

In the last revised edition of 1956, each character is presented with a detailed portrait: a lady dressed with a claim to fashion, a porter counting luggage on his fingers, a mustached railway worker, a young man in a padded jacket, and even a little dog with the inscription "luggage" on its collar. The lady's luggage is shown from all sides, and the luggage trolleys are drawn in detail, with all technical accuracy.