Ivan Simakov worked principally as a graphic designer for books. It was not until after the Russian Revolution that he began designing posters. Simakov graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts in 1912 with a degree in architecture. He lived and worked in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) throughout his life. As a book illustrator, his illustrations were included in the 1907 title "Pushkin in Graphics”. From 1919 to 1925 he worked for the Leningrad branch of the State Pu...

The State Publishing House had its origins in Imperial Russia as the Royal Print Yard in St. Petersburg. The Soviets nationalized the print yard in 1917 and requisitioned its presses. Out of the requisitioning emerged the Publishing House of the Petrograd (St. Petersburg) Soviet formed in the winter of 1917 by the Literary and Publishing Department of People's Commissariat for Education.