In March 1925, Rodchenko traveled to Paris to work on the design of the Soviet section at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts and Modern Industry. He wrote home almost daily. At home, Stepanova collected these letters and compiled them into a special notebook. A portion of these letters was published in issue No. 1 of the "New LEF" journal in 1927.

During those years, LEF writers advocated the principle of "documentary prose," which emphasized a highly factual description of events (the principle of interviews, diaries, and collections of documents). The candidness of Rodchenko's letters appealed to them. It represented the perspective of a new type of artist—a constructivist and designer—viewing both Paris and Moscow from an outsider's perspective.