Lot #72: 1993 Aleksandrs Pelēcis "Sibīrijas grāmata" Rare Latvian Exile Gulag Memoir HC

• Title: Sibīrijas grāmata (The Siberia Book) • Author: Aleksandrs Pelēcis (1920–1995) • Editor: Ojārs Jēgens • Cover Design: Ojārs Jēgens • Publisher: Latvijas Preses Biedrība (Latvian Press Society) • Year: 1993 • Printing Location: Johnson Graphics (Decatur, MI, USA) • Composition/Layout: MEŽĀBELES (Ithaca, NY, USA) • Language: Latvian • Format: Hardcover with illustrated back cover containing historical portrait photographs of the author. Overview: Up for auction is a rare, historically significant copy of "Sibīrijas grāmata" by prominent Latvian poet and writer Aleksandrs Pelēcis. Published in 1993, this volume is an autographical account and memoir detailing the grim realities of the Soviet Gulag labor camps and forced exile in Siberia. It features a unique autobiographical introduction ("Autobiogrāfija") and historical timeline photographs on the reverse cover tracking the author's life from the 1930s through his imprisonment and release. • Latvian Diaspora Press: This book was published by Latvijas Preses Biedrība, an important cultural institution for the post-WWII Latvian diaspora. Because it was typeset in Ithaca, New York, and printed in a small family-run facility in Decatur, Michigan (Johnson Graphics), the print run was highly localized and strictly limited. • The Author's Legacy: Aleksandrs Pelēcis was arrested by Soviet authorities in 1946 and spent years in the harsh Norillag labor camps in northern Siberia. He was not allowed to fully return to Latvia until decades later. This work stands alongside Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s accounts as a vital firsthand record of Baltic repression under the Stalinist regime. • Preservation of Language: Books printed by Western exile presses in the native Latvian language served as crucial ideological lifelines during the Soviet occupation. They are highly sought after by Baltic history collectors, university archives, and diaspora families looking to preserve cold-war era historical narratives. Pickup category timeslot {A}