MSTISLAV DOBUZHINSKY (RUSSIAN 1875-1957) Costume Design for Tin Soldier from Nikita Balieff's Revue "La Chauve-Souris" (The Bat), gouache on paper 38.5 x 18 cm (15 1/4 x 7 in.) initialed in lower center LOT NOTESIn 1911, Russian impresario Nikita Balieff selected Leon Jessel's "Parade of the Tin Soldiers" for the choreography of his "La Chauve-Souris" (The Bat) vaudeville revue, changing the title to "The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers." The choreography referenced a legend about Tsar Paul I who allegedly left his parade grounds without issuing a "halt" order to the marching soldiers, so they marched to Siberia before being remembered and ordered back. In December 1920 Nikita Balieff's "La Chauve-Souris" was successfully staged in Paris and in 1922 it was brought to Broadway. It returned to America to tour another 5 times in 1923, 1925, 1927, and 1929, with one final show titled as New Chauve-Souris in 1931. 5 names to the left of the soldier indicate the actors' names. The playbill for the 1927 Broadway production indicates Mr. Zotoff in the opening night cast.