Appraisal of Soviet Labor Book and Associated Archival Record
Subject: Appraisal of Soviet Labor Book and Associated Archival Record Appraised Individual: Evgeny Ivanovich Antonenko (b. 1911) Artifact Type: USSR Labor Book (Trudovaya Knizhka) with official insert and award records Period Covered: 1930s–1989 Place of Service: Ukrainian SSR, City of Kyiv I work as an actor in an escape room in Orlando, and the set is a 1930s detective's office. One of the props on the desk was this book, and after months of using it as a prop I eventually scanned in the pages and learned it was a legitimate Soviet Labor Book from 1930s–1989. DESCRIPTION OF THE ARTIFACT This appraisal concerns an original Soviet labor book (Trudovaya Knizhka) issued to Evgeny Ivanovich Antonenko, born in 1911, together with its officially issued insert (supplement) dated 3 July 1972. The labor book and insert are complete, internally consistent, and bear period-appropriate stamps, signatures, and administrative entries. The document records a continuous lifetime career spanning from the pre–Second World War era through the late Soviet period. Entries include employment history, promotions, commendations, awards, and retirement-era recognitions. The record shows no disciplinary actions or adverse administrative remarks. The document records a continuous lifetime career spanning from the pre–Second World War era through the late Soviet period. Entries include employment history, promotions, commendations, awards, and retirement-era recognitions. The record shows no disciplinary actions or adverse administrative remarks. Note: this was thought to be a prop relica and was stamped "top secret" on one of the pages for a video shoot.
Closed size Height: ~4.7–5.0 inches (12–13 cm) Width: ~3.2–3.5 inches (8–9 cm) Thickness: ~0.2–0.4 inches depending on pages and insert Opened flat Width: ~6.5–7 inches (16–18 cm)
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Hi Michael,
Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry...what a totally cool thing!
Evgeny Ivanovich Antonenko (b. 1911) was a Soviet-era painter, generally associated with 20th-century Russian realist painting, particularly landscapes and genre scenes. Information on him is relatively limited, but he is known in auction and gallery records as part of the broader tradition of Soviet academic and realist art.
Artists of Antonenko’s generation were typically trained within the Soviet academic system, often connected to institutions influenced by the Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in Saint Petersburg (formerly Leningrad). Their training emphasized technical drawing and composition, landscape painting, figurative realism and themes consistent with Socialist Realism.
USSR Labor Books were official government-issued employment record booklets that recorded their entire employment career. Think of it like a permanent employment passport. Very Big-Brother but also a wonderful surviving document of this person's entire working history.
I don't read Russian so can't translate the pages but if it's for the artist Evgeny Ivanovich Antonenko, this would be of considerable interest to some of the Russian museums that house his works in their collections.
I can find only a few USSR Labor Books for artists that have come to auction in recent years and those are for art cooperatives rather than the entire lifetime of a specific artist. None have sold for more than $1,000.
You might reach out to an auction house with a Russian Works of Art department (Heritage, Bonhams, Doyle) that may have a history of selling works by the artist and would have connections to Russian museums. These auction houses would want to place their own values on this archive but I would not be surprised to see this offered with an estimate of $3,000-$5,000.
Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia
