Gordon Ross's Unique Art in The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1941 Pocketbook by Brontae Sodeman

The edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam I chose is from 1941, illustrated by Gordon Ross by Pocket Books inc. Being published by a pocket book company, the edition is on the smaller side though the cover assures it’s complete and unabridged. This edition includes the first and fifth translation by Edward Fitzgerald. The first translation includes illustrated pages paired with the stanzas, examples of which I have included. The style of Fitzgerald's quatrain's are similar to Khayyam's original idea the stanzas being able to stand alone as well. This is highlighted in this…

Orientalism is the objectification of the characteristics, traditions and cultures of Asia, especially the Middle East as discussed by Barbara Black’s On Exhibit.This manifests in a misrepresentation of cultures and a fetishization of foreign people and cultures in the colonial west. A historical feature of this manifestation is the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám and the tendency for the English translation to be distributed as a gift book in western culture. Edward Fitzgerald became fascinated with Persian culture and took it upon himself to translate…

The stanza I chose to highlight for this exhibit is stanza II of the first translation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám along with the Gordon Ross illustration that goes with it in the 1941 Pocketbook Edition. The illustrator takes some liberties with this stanza in the way of signifiers which demonstrates how artists have freedom in the depictions of texts but still convey the same meaning. Exploring Ross's choice of depiction helps the reciever of the gift book interact and understand the plot of the text, but the art is also able to stand on it's…

The publisher of my archival copy of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is Pocket Books, inc. “Pocket Books, Inc. was founded by Robert F. DeGraff, M. Lincoln Schuster, Leon Shimkin and Richard L. Simon in 1939. The Pocket Books series was the first series of paperback books to be given mass distribution in North America,” (Wagner). Though my edition lacks any personal markings of the previous owner, some critical assumptions can be made about the publishers and the purchasing of the book. The “pocket” qualities of the edition imply a need to be on the go with the book, or at least…

Dear Son,

Happy twenty-first birthday, I feel this book, the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam, will serve you well on your adventures to New York come Spring. Ironically it was published in New York in 1941 and I figured you’d appreciate the antiquity of it. I chose this edition of the text because I know how convenient a pocket book can be on the train to and from your internship at the law office. I hope you remember this gift before buying your friends drinks as, “Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring," (Stanza VII). Turning twenty-one can be daunting but I…