Focusing on Parishān, a work by Mīrzā Ḥabīb-Allāh Shīrāzī (Qāʾānī) published in 1271 AH, illustrated by Mīrzā ʿAlī-Qolī Khūʾī, and examined within the theoretical framework of genetic criticism, this study seeks to explain how the book’s literary tales are interconnected with its nine illustrations. Employing a descriptive–analytical method, the study addresses the extent to which the pre-text—the tales—contributed to the formation of the illustrations, and the role played by the paratext—prevailing conventions and Khūʾī’s artistic style—in the selection and arrangement of visual elements. The findings indicate that Khūʾī generally selected the climactic or pivotal moments of the narratives for representation in the nine illustrations of Parishān. Accordingly, the illustrations correspond to the pre-text in terms of the principal action, central characters, and settings of the events; however, they do not constitute characters, and settings of the events; however, they do not constitute, condensation, and, at times, interpretation. Although the pre-text provides the initial framework of subject matter, characters, and the sequence of events, Khūʾī introduces layers of cultural and social meaning associated with the Qajar period by incorporating details such as Qajar-style clothing and physiognomy, the creation of spatial atmosphere, and compositional devices. These elements are not explicitly present in the text, yet they would have been familiar and intelligible to contemporary audiences. By contrast, sections such as the concluding moral, extended dialogues, and subsequent narrative sequences are often omitted or condensed. Genetic criticism reveals that the illustrations in Parishān are not merely decorative elements but integral components in the completion of meaning. Their relationship with the pre-text is founded on processes of omission, emphasis, translation, and addition. Accordingly, by addressing part of the gap in independent studies of the 1271 AH edition of Parishān for the first time, this study demonstrates that an examination of the interrelationship between text and image in Qajar lithographic printing remains incomplete without attention to the work’s process of formation and its pre-textual and, at times, paratextual layers.