1949 In the month of Aban(October) of this
year, Amir Kabir Publishing House was founded and established in a 16
square meter room on the second floor of a building on Nasser Khosrow
Avenue in Tehran. At that time, the initial print-run of books was
between 1000 to 1500 copies. From the onset, Amir Kabir embarked upon a
publishing list that most publishers were reluctant to publish then.
Outstanding among them is The History of Science by Pierre Rousseau
which was well received both by the public and the press. A scientific
series under the title Que Sais-je? "What Do I know" was also published.
1950 The second year of its founding, the
first central showroom/ bookshop was inaugurated on nasser Khosrow
Avenue. By 1973, a chain of 10 bookshops were opened throughout Tehran.
1951 In collaboration with Dr. Zabihollah
Safa and Dr. Parviz Khanlari, for the first time in Iran, an anthology
of masterpieces of Persian literature was published in series. Texts
from the prose and verse of Farsi with connotations were made available
at reasonable prices. 37 titles were produced until 1980.
1957 To promote sales, purchase by
installment was initiated by Amir Kabir. Anyone could buy up to 3000
Rials and pay back in ten monthly instalments. This meant that a
complete set of MOIN's Persian Dictionary could be purchased by the
above-mentioned sum.
1958 The first book fair by a private
publisher was inaugurated at the University of Tehran club.
1959 Dr. M. Moin was commissioned to compile
the most comprehensive and up-to-date Persian dictionary. The first
volume was out in 1963; and the remaining 5 volumes were published
posthumously in 1973 with the assistance of Dr. S. J. Shahidi. The set
contains some 8200 pages.
1960 In collaboration with the late Abbass
Aryanpur Kashani, a 5-volume English-Persian dictionary started being
developed in 1961 and was finished in September 1965. Then his son, Dr.
M. Aryanpur joined the project. By 1977, six more titles (Concise
English-Persian and Persian-English) with a total of 11000 pages were
the result of this academic endeavor and undertaking.
1962 At the suggestion of and with the
capital outlay of Amir Kabir, the first TV program on "Books" was
broadcast weekly on Iran National Television. Poets, writers,
translators and university professors participated in the program.
1963 Three more imprints were added to the
original. Parastoo (Swallow) books under the supervision of Mr. Tina,
Mr. Shahroodi, Mr. Tavakkol and Mr. Iraj Gharib concentrated on Persian
and foreign novels and literature. Simorgh (phoenix) Books specialized
in paperback pocket-size science books under the supervision of Parviz
Shahriari. The third imprint, Golden Books, devoted to children's books,
was under the supervision of Mohammad Reza Jafari.
