COVE

The Ronald Balfour-illustrated text, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, is unique not only in its artistic aesthetic but also because there appears to be multiple publishing companies involved in its publication. Printed in 1920, this particular edition contains the names of two distinct publishers in the front pages—Dodd, Mead, and Company (See Image 1) and Chiswick Press: Charles Whittingham and Griggs (See Image 2).

Dodd, Mead, and Company was a family-run publishing business founded in 1839 that originally only published religious and theological books until the founder, Moses Dodd, died in 1870 (“Dodd, Mead & Company”). Fifty years later, when they published Balfour’s book, Dodd’s grandson, Edward Dodd, had recently become president of the company, which now published different genres of books.

Chiswick Press was named after its location in Chiswick, a London suburb along the Thames River. It was founded even earlier than Dodd and Mead at the turn of the 19^th century by Charles Whittingham, who ran the publishing business with his nephew, the younger Charles Whittingham. Four years later, the younger Whittingham set up his own independent shop in London and acquired the whole company upon the elder Whittingham’s death in 1840. When Balfour’s text was published, the business had been acquired by a librarian and poet named Robin Flower (“Chiswick Press”).

Ultimately, because both Chiswick Press and Dodd, Mead, and Company are listed as publishers, it is unclear if this particular book was published in London, New York, or elsewhere.

As for Balfour himself, he is described on the UK Artist Biographies website as a “little-known illustrator who worked during the inter-war years very much in the style of Aubrey Beardsley” (“Balfour, Ronald Egerton 1896-1941”). Beardsley, known for his erotic and sumptuous black ink drawings influenced by Japanese woodcuts, was certainly more famous than Balfour (“Aubrey Beardsley”). However, Balfour is still considered by many to be a talented illustrator in his own right; in fact, some original 1920 editions of his Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, which features meticulously detailed line drawings in both black and white and color, are valued at thousands of dollars.

Works Cited

“Aubrey Beardsley.”  Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 May 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Aubrey-Beardsley.

“Balfour, Ronald Egerton 1896-1941.” Artist Biographies: British and Irish Artists of the 20^th Century, 18 May 2023, www.artbiogs.co.uk/1/artists/balfour-ronald-egerton.

“Chiswick Press.” Social Networks and Archival Context, 18 May 2023, www.snaccooperative. org/ark:/99166/w6fj6bs3#biography.

“Dodd, Mead & Company.” Curiosmith, 18 May 2023, www. curiosmith.com/pages/dodd-mead-company.