Rustaveli, S. The Knight in the Panther’s Skin (Vityaz v tigrovoy shkure), 1941. Translated by Sh. Nutsubidze. Edited by S. Gorodetsky. Illustrated by Zichy, Kobuladze, and Toidze. In Russian.

Руставели, Шота. Витязь в тигровой шкуре. / Поэма в стихах. Перевод с грузинского Шалва Нуцубидзе. Редакция С. Городецкого. Переплет: Я. Егоров и Е. Коган.
Москва : Государственное издательство «Художественная литература», 1941.
315 с., 18 л. ил. Подарочное издание. Издательский бархатный переплет с тиснением и барельефом на верхней крышке, увеличенный формат. Тираж 10 000 экз.
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Rustaveli, Shota. The Knight in the Panther's Skin (Vityaz v tigrovoy shkure). / A poem in verse. Translated from Georgian by Shalva Nutsubidze. Edited by S. Gorodetsky. Binding by Ya. Egorov and E. Kogan.
Moscow : State Publishing House "Khudozhestvennaya Literatura", 1941.
315 pp. + 18 ill. on separate sheets. Gift edition. Publisher's velvet binding with embossing and a bas-relief on the front cover, enlarged format. Print run: 10,000 copies. In Russian.

This magnificent 1941 edition of Shota Rustaveli’s national epic is a masterpiece of Soviet book design, released at the onset of World War II. It represents the pinnacle of the "Rustaveli Jubilee" cycle of publications, bringing together the finest artistic and scholarly talents of the era. The translation by the philosopher Shalva Nutsubidze, edited by the renowned poet Sergei Gorodetsky, is celebrated for its rhythmic fidelity and philosophical depth.
The physical presentation of the book is exceptional. Bound in deep velvet with intricate embossing and a striking bas-relief on the front cover, the volume was designed by Ya. Egorov and E. Kogan as a true collector's item. The enlarged format emphasizes its status as a luxury gift edition, intended to showcase the cultural grandeur of the Georgian people within the Soviet Union.
The interior is equally impressive, featuring 18 high-quality illustrations on separate plates. The book synthesizes different artistic eras of Rustavelology: it includes the classic 19th-century romanticism of Mihály Zichy, the powerful monumentalism of Sergo Kobuladze, and the dynamic graphic style of Irakli Toidze. This visual dialogue between artists offers a comprehensive interpretation of the poem’s themes of heroism, loyalty, and courtly love.
For bibliophiles, art historians, and collectors of Georgian literature, this 1941 edition is a landmark. Despite a print run of 10,000, surviving copies in the original velvet binding are increasingly rare. It stands as a monumental tribute to the "Golden Age" of Georgian culture, preserved in a format that remains one of the most beautiful Russian-language renditions of the poem ever produced.