To this day, Alexander Markovich Ginzburg remains one of the most beloved architects among the people of Kharkiv.

The residents of our city love him so much that they often attribute other, equally beautiful mansions to him. But that’s not what we’re going to talk about today.

No doubt, many of us have seen Alexander Markovich’s works. But what about reading his writings? An architect’s talent is evident in his stone structures. However, they do not provide a complete picture of the creator’s personality. For this reason, it’s a real stroke of luck to come across, say, a letter in a periodical—one written in the hand of someone you already “know.” So today, we invite you not just to look at Ginzburg’s work, but to actually read his words. In the April 1912 issue of the leading architectural journal *Zodchiy*, we find an interesting open letter with a story that’s just as fascinating.

“Letter to the Editor.”

Dear Sir, Editor.

Please do not hesitate to publish this letter in *Zodchyi*. In 1910, a Moscow homeowner commissioned me to design the facade for a five-story building. In 1911, this building was completed; however, the property owner—who had rejected my design in 1910 without paying for it—used my facade the following year with the help of another architect. The Moscow Architectural Society, to which I turned to establish the fact of plagiarism—and to which I express my deep gratitude for its efforts—confirmed the validity of my claim at its meeting on February 23. I am turning to my esteemed colleagues and the readers of *Zodchik* for advice: how can I assert my rights and compel this enterprising property owner to pay for someone else’s work?
I declare that, should I succeed in receiving the fees due to me, I will donate them to some public cause related to construction, as my sole aim is to set a precedent for more careful handling of others’ intellectual property, and it is only from this perspective that I consider myself justified in seeking the assistance of my professional colleagues.

With the utmost respect,
A. M. Ginzburg.
Kharkiv, March 27, 1912.

So that’s the story of how a Muscovite swindled a Kharkiv architect. Unfortunately, we don’t yet know how it ended. So there will definitely be a sequel.