The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:
1967 Hallmark Cards Joseph Isom Edition
This is the first Hallmark Cards (‘Hallmark Editions’) and first Joseph Isom illustrated edition on the site. And the first, from my recollection, to have an introduction by Manoocher Aryanpur. Trio of firsts in this small edition that is filled with vibrant artwork.
There is another point of interest about this edition: Rubaiyat is spelled ‘Rubayyat’ in it. Kind of interesting!
I purchased this copy off of a visitor. Thank you!
Publisher: Hallmark Cards (Kansas City, Missouri)
Year: 1967
Artist: Joseph Isom
Introduction(s) by: Manoocher Aryanpur
Contributed by: Ian Chadwick
The Book Itself
Slim edition filled with quality content and illustrations. I am not fond of the cover aesthetically. It’s not as good as the illustrations on the inside and the text is hard to read.
At the end, it says: “Designed by Harald Peter. Set in Linofilm Palatino, a 20th century typeface resembling a Venetian, designed by Hermann Zapf of Frankfurt.”
The Poetry
The Illustrations
Joseph Isom’s illustrations are vivid, intense, and somewhat abstract. The print quality is great, though, they were somewhat hard for me to take good pictures of. The first piece of art, the couple with the man reading, is very striking to me. The chequer board one is delightful. I like the art itself and how it interprets the poetry.
