COVE

In 1947, Random House Publishing, (now known as Penguin Random House, Inc.) published their edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. One hundred and forty nine pages in length, this edition of Khayyám’s book contains the first, third, fourth and fifth editions of Edward FitzGerald’s translations of the poem, as well as Fitzgerald’s preface to his translations and his notes. This edition was published early in the American legacy of Random House as the company was founded in the UK in 1935 by Allen Lane, an office in the United States was opened up shortly after in 1939 (Penguin, 2025). 

This edition of Khayyám’s book is a hardcover book that when purchased came encased in what is referred to as a book box. This box is a token of the trend of book boxes that can be traced back to French and German books of the 1820s, or to the English and their leather and silk book boxes of the 1790s. In his essay The American Gift Book author Kevin MacDonnell expands on the book box trend stating “use of boxes designed to match his bookbindings set a trend that has endured down to the present day.”, (MacDonnell, 2025). Figure one provides a visual for exactly how the original book box appeared to the recipient, one can clearly see the matching MacDonnell speaks of with the vibrant red print of the hardcover making up the color of the corresponding book box. 

This 1947 edition is decorated with beautiful and elaborate illustrations on about every third page of the book. These illustrations are packed with bright vivid colors that appear as though the artist painted them right onto the page. The artist who painted the illustrations was Mahmoud Sayah, an Iranian illustrator who is credited for his work within the edition on the last page of the book. His painting style was inspired by Persian Miniatures which entails applying the paint in layers as to achieve that vibrancy and vividness of color. This type of illustration most likely utilized offset lithography when printing this edition. Offset lithography is done through transferring the desired image onto an intermediate sheet before printing that onto the final sheet. This means that the image is reversed twice before it reaches the actual pages of the book appearing the right way around, (Tate, 2025). Random House’s 1947 publication contains a patterned background on every one of its one hundred and forty nine pages with the subject of said pattern alternating on every other page, see figure two. In addition to the illustrations, these prints were most likely achieved through offset lithography (also known as offset printing). Meaning, all the patterns and illustrations found within the book actually never touched the pages of the book, only the intermediate sheet touches the book allowing for a seamless printing process. 

If you ever get the chance to handle a copy of this book, one will quickly be made witness to the care and effort that went into creating this beautiful translation of Khayyám’s poem. 

Works Cited: 

“The American Gift Book.” ABAA, www.abaa.org/member-articles/the-american-gift-book. Accessed 23 May 2025. 

Tate. “Offset Lithography.” Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/o/offset-lithography. Accessed 23 May 2025. 

Jaaronson. “Welcome to Penguin: We Are What You Read.” Penguin Books, 19 May 2022, www.penguin.com/our-story-timeline/. 

“The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: 1947 Random House Mahmoud Sayah Edition.” The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam - 1947 Random House Mahmoud Sayah Edition, www.therubaiyatofomarkhayyam.com/editions/1947-random-house-sayah/. Accessed 23 May 2025.