COVE

Before reaching the Special Collections & Archive Research Center (SCARC) here at Oregon State University, this particular copy of the “Heath Robinson edition” of Omar Khayyám’s Rubáiyát was influenced by editing, bookbinding, and publishing practices from across the Western world. Modeled after Edward FitzGerald’s original translation, printed in Bavaria, and published by Ernest Nister and E.P. Dutton & Co. in 1907, the distinguishing feature of this edition is the illustrator after whom it was named: Thomas Heath Robinson.

Hailing from a family of renowned English illustrators, T.H. Robinson (1869-1954) was the eldest son of Thomas Robinson (1838–1902) and brother of Charles (1870–1937) and William Heath Robinson (1872-1944). The youngest of the “Brothers Robinson,” William rose to extraordinary fame around the time of World War I for his illustrations of elaborate machines designed to complete relatively simple tasks; the phrase “Heath Robinson contraption” emerged as a noun in the Oxford English Dictionary around 1917, its usage similar to what we may know as a “Rube Goldberg machine” (“W.H. Robinson”). William is also well-known for his illustrations featured in several editions of Rudyard Kipling’s novels and Shakespeare’s plays. Although Thomas’ work was effectively overshadowed by his brother’s fame, he still achieved high status as an illustrator through his contributions to several novels and English magazines of his time (LOC). 

Along with the influence that FitzGerald’s translation had on the verses themselves, the physical presentation of this edition plays heavily into its value as a Western “gift book.” At the time that this copy was printed and published, Bavaria was a sovereign state located to the south-east of Germany, but following WWI, Bavaria was incorporated into West Germany and became the largest of the country’s sixteen states (Greene). The bookbinding practices and techniques of Bavaria are therefore often grouped in with those of Germany, whose history still provides insight to the unique features of this copy’s production. In the early 2000s, the library at Georgetown University featured an exhibit on German bookbinding practices between 1811 and 1925, and the introductory statement describes: “The decade from about 1875 to 1885 saw the emergence of what seems in retrospect the most characteristic of styles in 19th century German edition binding, the Stil der Neorenaissance, with elaborate interpretations in gilt and anything up to a half-dozen colors of ink of ornamental motifs taken more or less directly from Renaissance sources” (Booth Family Special Collections). Traces of the Stil der Neorenaissance are evident in the “Heath Robinson” edition of the Rubáiyát, as this style entails a combination of gilding and an assortment of colors (both of which are featured in this edition) with influences from the greater Renaissance movement that English audiences would find familiar. 

After being translated, illustrated, and likely edited in England, and then printed in Bavaria, this edition was published as a joint effort between Ernest Nister of London and E.P. Dutton & Co. of New York. Neither of these publishing houses are still operating today, though they both held great cultural significance in the literary world for many decades. Ernest Nister was a German publisher who moved his headquarters to London at the end of the 19th century, and at that time he also secured a partnership with Dutton to expand his audience into America; the library at University of North Texas described Nister’s company as one that “produced many children’s books of superior quality in both illustration and printing.” Nister’s roots in German publishing is likely one reason why this edition of the Rubáiyát was outsourced to Bavaria for printing, and it seems as though this decision may have led to much of the acclaim for the quality of his publishing. His partner, Edward P. Dutton, founded his company as a bookseller in Boston before relocating to New York in 1869 and beginning to publish books as well; five years after Dutton’s death in 1923, the publishing branch split off into E.P. Dutton & Co. under the leadership of Dutton’s protege, John Macrae (Syracuse University Libraries). The company went on to become one of the leading independent publishers in the United States for nearly forty years before being acquired by the Penguin Group in 1986. It is impossible to tell by looking at this copy of the Rubáiyát whether it was originally sold in London or New York, but either way, its publication occurred during the early phases of the “Fitz-Omar craze,” and it likely attended at least one meeting of an “Omar Khayyám Club” chapter soon after its purchase. 

Works Cited:

Booth Family Center for Special Collections. “German Publishers’ Bookbindings 1811-1925.” Georgetown University Library, 1 Sept. 2002, library.georgetown.edu/exhibition/german-publishers-bookbindings-1811-1925.

Greene, Jim. “Bavaria, Germany.” EBSCO, 2024, www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/bavaria-germany.

Library of Congress (LOC). “Search results: T. Heath Robinson.” Library of Congress Catalog, 2025, catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchArg=T.+heath+robinson&searchCode=GKEY%5E*&searchType=0&recCount=25. 

Syracuse University Libraries. “E.P. Dutton and Company, Inc. Records.” Syracuse University Libraries – Special Collections Research Center, 1 May 1998, library.syracuse.edu/digital/guides/e/ep_dutton.htm. 

University of North Texas – University Libraries. “A Tour Through Their History: Ernest Nister.” University of North Texas Libraries – Exhibits, exhibits.library.unt.edu/pop-ups/ernest-nister.

“W. Heath Robinson.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 May 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Heath_Robinson.