A GREAT AND ENTHRALLING ADVENTURE the beginning of the publishing house’s existence. According to Van Veen’s letter of September 10,1974 to Van Schooneveld, Jakobson visited Mouton on September 9,1974 to secure his interests. This produced concrete agree ments over the publishing of his work: ‘as you see we did not act against your advice and let not slip this important author and relation.’ 68 Mouton agreed reluctantly, because two of the agreed upon publications were sure not to be profitable from the outset: ‘In short, we would rather cancel, but we have formal contracts.’ 69 Jakobson’s influence did not reach far enough to prevent another very promising project from being canceled. His contacts with old acquain tances from the avant-garde scene in Russia initially seemed to Mouton to promise great prospects in connection with the work of Nikolaj Ivanovic Chardziev (1903-1996). He was the Russian art collector and art and liter ary historian who specialized in the avant-garde, and whose arrival in the Netherlands in the 1990s was responsible for all manner of obscure entan glements that made the news for years. 70 De Ridder’s December 5, 1972 memo to the copy editor Joke Bakker is the first message in connection with this matter. This memo concerns the painter Kazimir Malevic’s autobiography, with an introduction by Chardziev: ‘Op de normale wijze behandelen, maar uiteraard geen contract naar de auteur zenden’ 71 [‘Act upon as usual, but naturally do not send a contract to the author.’] In a memo dictated April 9,1973 to Mouton, Van Schooneveld sums up the events that took place surrounding Chardziev up to that point: Jakobson was approached indirectly by Xardziev and asked if Jakobson could make arrangements for publishing various materials pertaining to Malevic. There are apparently two works: (1) an autobiography by Malevic, part of which is Mir kak bespredmetnosf (published in German translation in 1927 and 1962). This autobiogra phy would be completed by an introduction by Xardziev (ca. 100 pages). (2) Majakovskij i zivopis (ca. 200 pages), a study on experimental painting at the beginning of the 20th Century. Xardziev also offers: (3) a study on early Xlebnikov (4) an autobiography of Matjusin as dictated to Xlebnikov

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