The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, First Edition (893 results)

212 x 160 mm. (8 1/4 x 6 3/8"). xiii, [1], 21 pp. (followed by blank leaves added by the binder). Near-contemporary pebble-grain rose-colored buckram, flat spine with gilt lettering. In red cloth chemise and handsome later slipcase of rose polished calf, its sides with gilt-ruled border and scrolling cornerpieces, the back with raised bands, gilt compartments with floral sprig centerpiece, two black morocco labels. Front pastedown with ink owner signature of William Bell Scott (see below); title page with ink notations "Tetrastichs [sic] of Omar the Tent Maker" and "Translated by Edward Fitzgerald [sic]" in Bell's hand; marginal annotations in pencil. Rear pastedown with 1879 advertisement for the fourth edition of the Rubaiyat. Potter 1; Ashley II:121; Grolier "English" 97; See Day, "History of English Literature 1837 to Present," pp. 65-66. â Cloth spine and board edges a little faded, a touch of foxing to title page, a couple of small marginal stains, but A FINE COPY, clean and fresh internally, in a binding that shows virtually no wear. This copy of a work Day deems "the single greatest poem of the Victorian era" once belonged to a member of the literary circle that saved FitzGerald's rendition of the 11th century Persian poem quite literally from the remainder bin. Poet and painter William Bell Scott (1811-90) was a close friend of both Dante Gabriel Rosetti and Algernon Swinburne, whom Potter credits with rescuing our 1859 printing from the penny-a-copy bin at Quaritch's and, instead, making it fashionable among the writers who were moving English literature away from Victorian orthodoxy and convention. According to Day, by the end of the 19th century, "a copy of the 'Rubáiyát' upon an Oxford table was a symbol of sophistication." Its popularity over the course of time since then has not just never faltered, but has reached the level of a universally acknowledged masterwork. Son of a wealthy Irish landowner, FitzGerald (1809-83) had enough money to pursue a rather desultory literary career as a "genteel gipsy" (in Terhune's words) before beginning to study languages in middle age. He started his translation of the quatrains ("rubáiyát" in Persian) attributed to "Umar Khayyam" in 1856; according to DNB, about half of FitzGerald's final work paraphrases (rather than directly translates) portions of the 11th century poem, while the rest is original verse inspired by Omar. "The result is generally seen as being in some ways an original English poem, one that is much better known than Omar's poem is in Persian." (DNB) In Jewett's opinion, it certainly earned FitzGerald "a prominent place among the immortals of English literature." In 1858, FitzGerald submitted 25 of the "less wicked" verses to "Fraser's Magazine," only to be rejected. He had 250 copies published, anonymously, at his own expense, but had no luck selling them. Admitting defeat, he gave 200 copies to Quaritch; those that remained unsold when Quaritch moved to Piccadilly in 1860 were either lost or destroyed. Fortunately, by 1861, our former owner and his fellow Pre-Raphaelites had discovered the work, and had begun, with Celtic scholar Whitley Stokes, to promote the poem. Scott's annotations here show how taken he was with the verse. He has noted the then-unrevealed identity of the translator on the title page, along with an alternate rendering of the title, using the term "tetrastich" (four-line verse) and translating "Khayyam" as "Tent-maker." He has corrected a typo in the text ("A. B. 1090" on p. v should have read "A. D. 1090"), and has added information from FitzGerald's "Notes" (which appear after the poem) to the margins of some quatrains to explain terms or allusions. Clearly, he studied the work closely and at some length. Scott likely had the text bound in the plain, sturdy buckram binding because its paper wrapper was too fragile to sustain frequent use. As a result of this precaution, the text itself remains well preserved. FIRST EDITION, ONE OF ONLY 250 COPIES PRINTED, with the misprint "Lightning" corrected on p. 4.

Five separately published works. 1) (BINDINGS - ZAEHNSDORF). RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM, THE ASTRONOMER-POET OF PERSIA. (London: Bernard Quaritch, 1859) 204 x 152 mm. (8 x 6"). xiii, [1], 21 pp. FIRST EDITION, ONE OF ONLY 250 COPIES PRINTED, with the misprint "Lightning" on p. 4. FINE LATE 19TH CENTURY DARK BROWN CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT, BY ZAEHNSDORF (with their oval stamp on rear pastedown), covers with French fillet border and arabesque centerpiece, smooth spine in one long and two short compartments framed by double fillets, middle (short) compartment with gilt lettering, turn-ins with intricate gilt tooling, mahogany brown silk pastedowns and endleaves, all edges gilt. In matching brown morocco slipcase. Verso of front free endleaf with engraved ex-libris of Roderick Terry. Potter 1; Grolier "English" 97. Spine gently sunned, title page with neat repair to small chip at fore edge, leaves a shade less than bright (as usual), occasional trivial smudges or tiny rust spots, but A FINE COPY, generally clean and fresh internally, IN A SPARKLING BINDING. This is a handsomely bound copy, with distinguished provenance, of the first printing of a work generally recognized as the most important poem of the Victorian era. Son of a wealthy Irish landowner, FitzGerald had enough money to pursue a rather desultory literary career as a "genteel gipsy" (in Terhune's words) before beginning to study languages in middle age. He started his translation of the quatrains ("rubáiyát" in Persian) attributed to "Umar Khayyam" in 1856; according to DNB, about half of FitzGerald's final work paraphrases (rather than directly translates) portions of the 11th century poem, while the rest is original verse inspired by Omar. "The result is generally seen as being in some ways an original English poem, one that is much better known than Omar's poem is in Persian." (DNB) It certainly earned FitzGerald "a prominent place among the immortals of English literature" in Jewett's opinion. In 1858, FitzGerald submitted 25 of the "less wicked" verses to "Fraser's Magazine" only to be rejected. He had 250 copies published, anonymously, at his own expense, but had no luck selling them. Admitting defeat, he gave 200 copies to Quaritch; these sold so poorly that they were relegated to the penny bin, where Potter says they were discovered--and soon celebrated--by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Algernon Swinburne. Those copies that remained unsold when Quaritch moved to Piccadilly in 1860 were either lost or destroyed, but by 1861, Rossetti and his Pre-Raphaelite brethren, along with Celtic scholar Whitley Stokes, were evangelizing for the work, embracing the lush, lyrical verse that would move English poetry away from Victorian orthodoxy and convention. According to Day, by the end of the 19th century, "a copy of the 'Rubaiyat' upon an Oxford table was a symbol of sophistication. Today . . . it remains the most popular single poem of the Victorian era." Binder Joseph Zaehnsdorf (1816-86) was born in Pest, Hungary, served his apprenticeship in Stuttgart, worked at a number of European locations as a journeyman, and then settled in London, where he was hired first by Westley and then by Mackenzie before opening his own workshop in 1842. His son and namesake took over the business at 33, when the senior Joseph died, and the firm flourished under the son's leadership, becoming a leading West End bindery. The fine binding and condition here are typical of works from the library of Roderick Terry (1849-1933), who collected beautiful and substantial items chosen with considered discrimination. He accumulated items in various fields, but his library was especially strong in English literature: he owned the four folios, and he had strong holdings in Byron, Lamb, Spenser, and Milton. He also collected Americana, assembling a complete set of autographs of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, in addition to many literary items. Dickinson characterizes him as "a connoisseur in the grand old tradition of the 19th century. His library reflected his eclectic tastes and [his] cultivated good judgment." 2) RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM, THE ASTRONOMER-POET OF PERSIA. (London: Bernard Quaritch, 1868) 206 x 162 mm. (8 1/8 x 6 3/8"). xviii, 30 pp. Second Edition. ONE OF 500 COPIES. Original printed wrappers. In a suede-lined folding box (measuring 240 x 180 mm.) of marbled paper backed with maroon morocco, raised bands, gilt floral sprig to spine panels, black morocco label. Title page with embossed bookseller's oval ("Sold by W. J. Pigott, Lexington, Mo."). Potter 129. Wrappers with small loss of paper at bottom of spine, a little foxed and soiled, but the fragile binding surprisingly sturdy and, in all, a remarkable survival. Internally with some faint creases and just a breath of soiling, but not only remarkably attractive for what it is, but remarkably attractive, period. For its second edition, FitzGerald expanded his "Rubaiyat" from 75 quatrains to 110, making it the longest of the five versions he issued. As noted above, the first printing of 1859 did not sell well and seemed destined for the penny-a-copy bin at Quaritch's. However, Rossetti, Swinburne, and other Pre-Raphaelite poets praised it and, thus, brought it to public awareness, which created a demand for more copies. So, Quaritch printed a small second edition of 500, to be sold at a price of 1s. 6d. (Potter notes that when a copy re-appeared in their catalogue in 1929, it had appreciated sharply to £52 10s.) FitzGerald described his translation efforts as a "transmogrification" in a letter to his close friend Edward Cowell--who had taught him Persian and introduced him to Omar's verses--describing it as "very un-literal" and admitting, "Many quatrains are mashed together: and something lost, I doubt, of Omar's simplicity, which is so much a virtue in him . . . I suppose very few people have ever taken such pains in Translation as I have: though certainly not to be literal. But at all.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition, Limited Edition. Condition: VG. Signed, numbered edition of 100 possible extant copies (actually 99, as 1 is known to have sunk with the Titanic). This copy is number 74. Another, unsigned and unnumbered edition, bound in cloth, was issued alongside this one. Unpaginated elephant folio. Bound in full chocolate morocco, with spine and cover designs and titles stamped in blind and gilt, all edges gilt. Printed on Japanese paper. The first edition of Vedder's Rubaiyat was originally published on November 8, 1884, and sold out in six days. It was widely acknowledged as a landmark in American art and artist-designed books, as well as possibly the finest edition of the Rubaiyat ever published, and secured Vedder's artistic reputation, as well as his financial future. The 56 "accompaniments" (Vedder disliked the term "illustrations") in pencil, ink, chalk and watercolor on tinted paper, comprising this edition were completed by Vedder over an 11-month period from May 1883-March 1884 while in Rome. Difficult to classify, they combined classical Greco-Roman with Symbolist elements, and were even described as Art-Nouveau. In addition to the accompaniments, Vedder designed the cover, the pastedowns and silk endpapers (no doubt in deliberate echo of the silk doublure designs typical of Middle Eastern printing in the 1500s), and the book's distinctive lettering for Khayyam's quatrains. The 101 quatrains are contained within 47 plates, arranged facing each other, with additional drawings used for the end papers, title page, and notes pages. Critics of the time remarked that Vedder set the standard for artist-designed books by creating all its elements. The covers and spine have a touch of mottled fading and show some light rubbing and scoring, some light corner and edgewear, there is a small gouge in the top edge gilt, and the text has scattered light smudging and a touch of thumbing, and is very lightly browned towards the edges, but has no foxing whatsoever. Still, overall, a very nice copy of this magnificent and exceedingly rare artifact of print. Signed by Illustrator(s).

Condition: Near fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. Elihu Vedder (1836 - 1923) (illustrator). Signed Limited Edition. Elephant Folio, 17 x 14 1/2 in. (430 x 365 mm); pp. [128], 8 pages at the end of the book have printed notes and an index of illustrations. This is NUMBER 80 of 100 DELUXE COPIES on Japanese paper with remarque plates. Decorative title and 56 mounted Albertype plates by Elihu Vedder, well inked and sharp. SIGNED BY THE ARTIST on the limitation page. Original brown morocco binding by Riverside Press (stamp on verso of f.e.p.), blind tooled and gilt on a design by Vedder; silk doublures decorated with vines, fruit and flowers, also on Vedder's design; wide turn-ins with elaborate gilt dentelles; a.e.g. endpapers in excellent condition, bar a little rubbing in the middle of the spine. Some foxing and staining throughout, mostly limited to the tapes that hold the heavy paper mounts on which the plates are pasted, and in 6 instances small spots on the plates but otherwise limited to the border areas, not the images themselves. Housed in a bespoke handsome and very solid brown linen drop-back box, with brown morocco profiles and spine,gilt titles and fillets on black morocco labels, beige silk lining. [Potter 201; Fielding 1986, p. 972]. An impressive FIRST FOLIO DELUXE EDITION of the ever-popular collection of quatrains (rubÄ Ê¿iyÄ t) by the Persian polymath Omar Khayyám (1048 - 1131). This book was a publishing sensation: both the deluxe edition of 100 copies and the regular unsigned print run with paper cover and typeset text were released in Boston on November 8th, 1884 and sold out within six days. Houghton Mifflin reissued the Vedder Rubáiyát in different formats in 1886. New editions and reprints continued into the 1920s. This project was was a very personal one for the American artist Elihu Vedder who worked on the 57 illustrations for almost a full year. His highly mystical imagery and visionary style was a perfect match for the strong emotional content of the Rubáiyát, and probably mirror his own emotions at the loss of two of his children and the birth of another. Vedder rearranged the stanzas from Edward Fitzgerald's translation, organizing them in three sections (Joy, Death, Rebirth) which echo his own emotional path and the revelations he drew from the Persian quatrains. The works were printed on Japanese paper for the deluxe edition and reproduced the pencil, ink, chalk, and watercolor drawings through a new photographic process, Albertype, which could accurately replicate the subtle gradations of the originals. Later editions were smaller and used a half-tone process which could not convey the full depth of Vedder's artistry. The original drawings are in the holdings of the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art, as is a deluxe copy of the book (copy offered here in finer condition) and were the subject of a special exhibition in 1998 "Elihu Vedder's Drawings for the Rubáiyát" , which then toured several museums around the U.S. in 2008-2009. ELIHU VEDDER (February 26, 1836 - January 29, 1923) was an American symbolist painter, book illustrator, and poet. Born in New York City, he trained in New York, Paris and Italy, where he was strongly influenced by Italian Renaissance work and by the modern Macchiaioli painters. He finally settled in Rome after the end of the Civil War and had a home in Capri following the commercial success of his Rubáiyát. He also traveled frequently to England and was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, and by the work of English and Irish mystics such as William Blake and William Butler Yeats. His most public commission was for mural paintings at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., and Tiffany & Co. commissioned him to design statuettes, mosaics and glassware. He moved back to Italy permanently in 1906 and is buried in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome.

Signed limited edition, number 47 of 100 copies signed by the illustrator, printed on japon, and bound in full morocco; an unsigned trade issue bound in cloth was also released. Vedder's Rubáiyát is widely esteemed as the finest American edition of the poem ever to be published. "When Houghton Mifflin commissioned Elihu Vedder to illustrate The Rubáiyát, they employed an artist with a rich sense of classical interpretation. Vedder spent 11 months in Rome fulfilling the commission, producing monochrome illustrations in a Greco-Roman style, which caused the London journal Athenaeum to describe Vedder as the latest follower of Michelangelo. Nonetheless, the Grove Art Online encyclopaedia comments on the Vedder drawings as 'some of the earliest examples of Art Nouveau in America'. Houghton Mifflin reissued the Vedder Rubáiyát in different formats in 1886. New editions and reprints continued into the 1920s" (Martin & Mason, The Art of Omar Khayyam: Illustrating Fitzgerald's Rubaiyat, 2007). With an excellent provenance: from the library of the pioneering Rubáiyát collector Herman M. Schroeter of Los Angeles, with his "Omariana" bookplate facing the limitation page. Schroeter began a bibliography of the Rubáiyát but abandoned his intention to publish in 1914 when Ambrose George Potter, who had corresponded with him for six years, took up the project. Potter notes in his foreword that Schroeter "generously presented me with the manuscript material he had prepared". Potter's bibliography remains the standard work, still universally consulted by collectors of the Rubáiyát. Potter 201. Folio. Original black morocco by the Riverside Press, spine and front cover lettered and decorated in gilt to a design by Vedder, gilt turn-ins, silk doublures and endpapers, gilt edges. Illustrations throughout by Vedder, printed on one side of the leaf only, using the Albertype process. Light wear and rubbing at extremities but much less than often, rubbing skilfully retouched, slight fraying around silk endpaper extremities, light running dampstain at right bottom corner else contents clean. A very good copy.

8vo (206 x 162 mm). XVIII, 30 pp. Original printed paper wrappers. Housed in a full black morocco case with cloth chemise. Second edition of FitzGerald's translation, substantially expanded and revised. Omar Khayyám was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and poet, famous in his own country and time chiefly for his scientific achievements. He is known to English-speaking readers mostly due to FitzGerald's translations, which were quite free and liberal in their paraphrasing and would prove to be the "most popular verse translation into English ever made" (Decker, p. xiv). - Five hundred copies of the second edition were printed, with Quaritch selling each at a price of 1s. 6d.; when a copy re-appeared in their catalogue in 1929, it had already reached a price of £52 10s. (Potter, p. 12). Fitzgerald substantially revised the text of the Rubáiyát four times, with none of these five versions seen as truly definitive. The first edition had 75 quatrains, while the present second edition, which has 110 quatrains, is the longest of the five. - Some light foxing throughout. Some soiling and creasing to wrappers; contemporary ownership inscription, dated 1869, to upper cover. - Potter 129.

Leather Bound. Condition: Very good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very good. First Edition. London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., 1899. First Edition. Leather Bound. H: 8 1/4", D: 5 3/4", W: 1 1/4" 2 Volumes. Edward Fitzgerald, Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. First Edition. Bound by Pagnant in full brown.

First thus edition hard back binding in publisher's original quarter Persian blue buckram over gold straw textured cloth, gilt title lettering to the spine and to the front cover, top edge gilt, fore and lower page edges untrimmed, bevelled edges. Folio. 12¼'' x 9¼''. Hand written number 41 of 50 Limited Edition copies SIGNED by the artist 'Ronald Balfour.' Printed on Japanese vellum paper with an additional colour illustration. Contains [ii, blank], [viii], 152 unnumbered pages with 6 tipped-in full colour plates, 1 additional full-page colour illustration (opposite the title-page) heightened in gilt and water-colour with original tissue-guard, 14 tipped-in two colour plates, 18 tipped-in black and white plates, and numerous black and white text illustrations throughout. House illustrated bookplate belonging to 'Willougby Statham Smyth - Benchams, Devon' to the front paste down. [Willoughby Statham Smith (c1861-1946) of Elliott Brothers (London) Ltd., was a long established electrical instruments company which played an early role in the development of computers in the United Kingdom]. Benchams was built by Willoughby Statham Smith, a successful businessman, when he moved to the area in 1906. The cottage was originally built as an engine house which generated electricity for Southerton and was completely destroyed by fire in 2017. Minor rubbing to the corners and in Very Good clean and bright condition. Member of the P.B.F.A. Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.

First edition commenced in May 1883 and finished in March 1884. First edition hard back binding in publisher's original brown elaborately decorated bevelled boards with a design by Vedder stamped in darker brown and gilt to the spine and front cover, top edge gilt, preserved in original buff plain wrapper, charcoal black coated end sheets. Royal 4to. 16'' x 13¼''. pp. [128], printed on one side of paper only on very fine quality white matt card; illustrated and decorated with 56 magnificent full-page illustrations by Elihu Vedder, reproduced by the Lewis phototype process and printed at the Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Every page bordering a text which is printed in calligraphic script; the printing of the illustrations throughout (all monochrome), is vastly superior to the presentation of the artwork in the trade edition which is considerably smaller in format. Boards and spine are Fine with occasional marginal spotting to the end sheets and not beyond. In original drop sided box. Heavy volume weighing 4.5 kg, extra postage and insurance will be requested over and above our default setting for destinations outside the UK. Member of the P.B.F.A. Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.

First Vale Press edition, one of 310 copies printed on Arnold handmade paper, in a fine contemporary art nouveau binding by James MacDonald of New York. The text was taken from Edward FitzGerald's edition of 1859 and embellished with attractive designs by Ricketts. The Vale Press was founded by the lifelong partners Charles Ricketts (1866-1931) and Charles Shannon (1863-1937), both successful artists whose early printing ventures included The Dial (1889-97). In 1894, the partnership and patronage of the wealthy barrister Llewellyn Hacon allowed them to realize their ambition of establishing the press, producing primarily English poetic works, "blending medieval, Renaissance, and contemporary imagery" (Grove Art Online) in a style influenced by the aesthetic movement and arts and crafts. The Scottish-born James Macdonald (1850-1920) moved to America in 1873 and was trained in New York by the leading American bookbinder William Matthews at the Appleton bindery. In 1882, Macdonald started his own business in partnership with another former apprentice of Matthews, William Launder. "For the next decade the name of Launder and Macdonald stood for the best in American hand binding. They have enjoyed the well-earned patronage of American bibliophiles for over a half century" (Thompson, p. 101). This binding is an exquisite example of MacDonald's renowned taste for symmetrical, tasteful, and neat designs. A further ten copies of this edition were issued on vellum. Franklin, p. 252; Potter 4; Ransom, Vale 32. Lawrence Sidney Thompson, Hand Bookbinding in the United States Since the Civil War, 1954. Octavo (212 x 145 mm). Contemporary red crushed morocco by James MacDonald of New York, spine lettered in gilt, gilt single-fillet frame to covers enclosing gilt floral design with red morocco onlays, board edges and turn-ins ruled in gilt, brown morocco doublures featuring gilt central strapwork design with red morocco onlays, cream silk endpapers, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. With original printed cover label preserved on one of two blue paper wrappers bound in front and back. With wood-engraved frontispiece, title page within wood-engraved vine leaf frame, similar initials; text printed in red and black. A touch of rubbing to spine ends and corners, a little foxing to margins of a couple of leaves, else clean, a better than very good copy presenting handsomely in the binding.

First Edition Thus. First Edition Thus. Exquisite signed inlaid binding by Thomas W. Best, co-owner of the Harcourt Bindery, and stamp-signed top left of free fly. Full, rich dark green crushed morocco heavily gilt stamped in near all-over stipple and vine work, with a gorgeous central diamond-shaped design with a blossom in the center, on both covers and spine, including red inlaid nailhead ornaments. The doublures richly inlaid with many morocco colored inlays (light brown and green) forming a pleasing panel of design work, and with the front containing the following in gilt: "To Uncle Perry, to Commemorate His Visit to Newton Centre, Mass, 1919, Kathleen and Junior." Rich silk moire endleaves. Illustrated with color plates by Gilbert James. A gorgeous binding, extremely scarce Thomas Best binding of this quality. Signed with stamp upper left on free flyleaf. Near fine with slight nick top of spine.

Signed limited edition, number 259 of 750 copies signed by the artist. Edmund Dulac's illustrations for the Rubáiyát helped to confirm his position as "a direct challenger in the illustrated gift book market to the work of Arthur Rackham" (ODNB). Fitzgerald's translation was first published in 1859 and slowly gained recognition as a masterpiece of English literature. By the early 1900s many of Fitzgerald's phrases had entered the common stock of English quotations and allusions; a growing "cult of the Rubáiyát" found expression in "the Omar Khayyám Clubs of England and America" (Yohannan, p. 202). Hughey, in her bibliography of Dulac, records the opinion of the publisher George H. Doran (who published the American edition). Doran stated that "the book was a joy and a treasure. Its public acceptance was immediate and great". Hughey 21. John D. Yohannan, Persian Poetry in England and America, 1977. Quarto. Original vellum, spine and front cover lettered in gilt, front cover with elaborate design in gilt, patterned endpapers, top edge gilt, others uncut, renewed silk ties. Colour frontispiece and 19 colour plates mounted on cream paper, captioned tissue-guards, by Edmund Dulac. Gift inscription on first page. Spine a little toned and creased, minor marks to covers, crease to one plate, minor chip to rear free endpaper: a near-fine copy.

Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good. Illustrated by Elihu Vedder (illustrator). First Edition Thus. First Printing. Photo-lithograph plates (56) With ornamental Title-page and 56 magnificent full-page Illustrations by Elihu Vedder, reproduced by the Lewis phototype process. Printed at the Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Medium brown flat-weave cloth over beveled boards; front cover with gilt-ruled borders, symbolist design of vase, vine, swirl and stars, and titling 'Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam' and 'Drawings by Elihu Vedder'; rear cover without decoration; spine with gilt-ruled borders, floral ornaments, and titling 'Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam'; illustrator's facsimile signature, gilt, on front cover, lower right "V."; grey coated endpapers with grapevine decoration; t.e.g. Detailed collation: 2 Frontis; 3 Title; 6 Pictorial Imprint; 7 Pictorial dedication; 10 Pictorial Fly-title; 11-103 Text of Third Edition; 106 Pictorial Note; 107-111 Notes, within ornamental border; 114-122 Appendix: - Omar Khayyam (by FitzGerald); 123-126 Notes on the Text; 127 List of Illustrations (56). [Potter 201][Morris & Levin 92]. From the moment of its publication, Elihu Vedder's Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám achieved unparalleled success. The first edition appeared in Boston on 8 November 1884; six days later, it was sold out. Critics rushed to acclaim it as a masterwork of American art, and Vedder (1836 - 1923) as the master American artist. [Smithsonian Museum of American Art]. . Boards and spine are fine. Moderate foxing on page borders and some minor stains, generally not affecting plates or text. A very handsome volume, scarce in this condition because, due to its size (Folio 16 x 13") and weight, the hinges are usually split. VERY GOOD/NONE (as issued). Photo-lithographed Plates. Folio - 13" x 16". 127 pp.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. ELIHU VEDDER (illustrator). 1st Edition. First Edition thus. Rendered into English verse by Edward Fitzgerald, with an accompaniment of drawings by ELIHU VEDDER. No DJ; stamped binding with gilt design by Elihu Vedder. Very Light wear to the edges. Some foxing of the edges. Decorated endpapers. TEG. Unmarked pages. More images and/or description can be sent on request. An important work in the history of American book publishing. Will insure at buyer's expense, if requested. Condition: Very Good+.

Condition: Near Fine. First thus. Bound in full vellum boards with lovely full gilt peacock design to the front board. Brown morocco spine label intact. A lovely, Near Fine example of this limited production, number 133 of 550 copies produced. This edition reprints the famous Sangorski and Sutcliffe, illuminated edition, with both Sangorski and Sutcliffe signing on the limitation page. Complete with all 12 color plates. Very slight bowing to the boards and a bit of foxing throughout. Fitzgerald attributed the original work to the famed astronomer and mathematician Omar Khayyum, and this collection of quatrains rapidly became a favored text of the Pre-Raphaelites. "Like the Odyssey or the Vita Nuova [it] was once the most widely known and quoted work of Victorian poetry in the world," and its place in Western culture at the time was secured by Fitzgerald's "epigrammatic, sophisticated, often mordant verses [that] display Fitzgerald's adroitness in handling this stanza form" (Warner). Yet with rise of Modernism, the Rubaiyat fell out of style for a time, its lush and romantic orientalism considered out of step with the concerns of those who were living through a devastating World War. But the beautiful surviving copies in exceptional vellum, silk, and leather, alongside recently released critical editions, have helped draw attention back to the Rubaiyat's beauty and its role in inspiring so many monumental pieces of Victorian art and literature. Near Fine.

First deluxe edition. Number 80 of 550 copies, printed on handmade paper and signed by Sangorski and Sutcliffe. Publisher's original full vellum with intricate gilt decoration to the upper board and spine, titles on an brown morocco label to the spine. Top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Colour decorated endpapers. Frontispiece and title page illuminated in full colour with ten further colour illuminations throughout the text. The calligraphic text is printed in red and black, decorative initials in red and gold. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the vellum with a little natural patina and mild dustiness to the spine. The spine label with a couple of small chips to the right edge. The contents, with a small previous owner's bookplate to the front pastedown, and minor marks to the blank margins are otherwise clean throughout. A very attractive example of a beautiful production. Signed by Francis Sangorski and George Sutcliffe in black ink on the limitation page. Further details and images for any of the items listed are available on request. Lucius Books welcomes direct contact with our customers.

Signed limited first edition of this work reproduced in color from the manuscript written and illuminated by Francis Sangorski & George Sutcliffe, number 247 of 550 copies signed by Sangorski and Sutcliffe. Folio, bound in publisher's full vellum, front panel elaborately stamped in gilt in a peacock motif, gilt titles and a floral motif to the spine, brown gilt morocco lettering label, pictorial endleaves. With twelve full-page illustrations inserted throughout. In very good condition. The Rubáiyát is one of the most popular poems of all time. A collection of quatrains composed in the eleventh century by Persian poet and philosopher Omar Khayyám, it was first published in English-language translation by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859. Since then, its melancholy tone and enigmatic philosophy of mourning the painful brevity of life while celebrating what pleasures we may find have made it an inspiration to countless people.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. Limited UK edition No. 242/750 signed by the artist Edmund Dulac (the American Limited edition run is smaller but not signed). Comes with slipcase. Silk ties and all illustrations are present,covered by tissue guards (all present) and are very good indeed. Vellum is uniformly browned. Page edges are browned and the bottom page edges have some darkening towards the spine but this does not penetrate to pages. A sound copy of this beautiful book. No inscriptions. Extra postage applies. More images available on request. Signed by Illustrator(s).

First thus edition hard back binding in publisher's original vellum covered boards, gilt title lettering to the front cover. 4to. 11½'' x 8½''. The Rubáiyát with unnumbered pages comprising 101 quatrains with full-page and vignette monochrome illustrations throughout by Lawrence Andrew Patterson, followed by [ii, blank], 47pp. This book has been hand-set in Humanistic type, based on the best hand lettering of the Humanistic period. Printed by Johnck, Kibbee & Company, San Francisco, California, U.S.A. below which is SIGNED by the illustrator 'Lawrence Andrew Patterson' and 'David Anderson' who provides a Critical Analysis. Also inscribed by the Publisher John Johnck to the second front free end paper 'Dear Renata, And when the days of our companionship have fled into the Past, forever gone and dead - And when you gently muse, pray keep for me a memory in your golden head, Affectionately, John J. Johnck, February 15, 1932.' In Fine condition. The difficulties involved in printing this Rubáiyát are discussed in an interview between Lawton Kennedy, the printer, and Ruth Teiser, which appears in 'A life in printing : oral history / and related material, 1966-1967' University of California Bancroft Library / Berkeley Regional Oral History Office. Member of the P.B.F.A. Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.

Condition: Fine. Willy Pogany (illustrator). A fine copy bound in full leather [Mounteney Binding]. First Edition, 1909. Printed in colors within ornamental boarders throughout, with numerous illustrations by Willy Pogany [24 tipped in plates] All plates are in excellent condition. Crimson morocco gilt, spine in six compartments with five raised bands, gilt-lettered in one, turn-ins gilt, decorative paper doubllures and end papers, top edge gold gilt. STAMP-SIGNED BY MOUNTENEY.

292 x 222 mm. (11 1/2 x 9"). 3 p.l., [75] leaves.Translated by Edward FitzGerald (text of the 1859 first version). Publisher's very handsome stiff vellum, upper cover with elaborate gilt and blue decoration designed by René Bull, smooth spine with stylized gilt lettering, original blue silk ties, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Excellent later (just faintly soiled) custom-made linen clamshell box with snap clasp. Each page with frame or vignette printed in blue, 19 color vignettes mounted in the text, and 10 COLOR PLATES tipped onto heavy stock, each with lettered tissue guard, all by René Bull. Paas 2629. â Two slightly darkened areas, but the vellum binding very bright and clean; not infrequent but always quite minor foxing, otherwise especially pleasing condition inside and out. This handsomely printed, elegantly bound, and lavishly illustrated edition of FitzGerald's beloved quatrains is redolent of the opulence of the Persian empire. Each of the 75 verses is printed on a separate leaf of thick, handmade paper decorated with a woodcut frame or vignette printed in blue, or with a color illustration of a scene from the poem. The richly colored plates are filled with animation and much exotic detail of life in the sultan's court. Son of an English father and a French Mother, illustrator René Bull (1872-1942) travelled to India and Africa, covering British imperial campaigns as an artist and photographer for an illustrated newspaper. After being wounded in the Boer War, he returned to England and settled into a more peaceful career illustrating books. His travels in the East inform his illustrations here; his scenery and costumes have the kind of realism seen in the work of French Orientalists who were based in North Africa and Arabia. ONE OF 250 COPIES SIGNED BY THE ILLUSTRATOR (this copy unnumbered).

First Thus. Limited to 750 copies, numbered and signed by the artist (this copy being 68). Large quarto (12 5/16 x 9 7/8 inches; 313 x 250 mm.). [124] pages (including inserted title). Original vellum over boards pictorially stamped and lettered in gilt on front cover and spine. Later silk ties. Top edge gilt, others uncut. Tan end-papers stamped in light olive green with a repeated peacock feather design. Ink name on front paste-down. Twenty color plates mounted on buff vellum-like paper with gilt over tan decorative borders. With descriptive tissue guards. Text printed on rectos only within a brown decorative border. Minimal discoloration to vellum, front board very slightly bowed, otherwise a Near Fine copy. "In point of excellence of art, popularity, distinction and profit the crowning achievement. was the publication of the Fitzgerald version of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám illustrated by Edmund Dulac. The book was a joy and a treasure. Its public acceptance was immediate and great." Hughey 21.

Hardcover. Limited Edition, #100/100. Quarto, unpaginated; G; bound in publisher's green cloth, gilt 'Omar' to spine and front board; rear board with some mild rippling to cloth, some mild staining and rubbing to boards; top edge gilt; cracking to gutter at signature M, with first half of the text block beginning to separate from spine; Bookplate of J W Wadsworth to the front pastedown; with all 38 tipped in plates, six of which are in full color, the remainder largely black and white, although some have small splashes of color; numerous line drawings throughout; Limited Edition, #100/100 signed by Balfour.; shelved case 14. Very little is known about Balfour, with this being the first of only two works he illustrated. 1339725. Shelved Dupont Bookstore.

Kl-4; 67 Textblätter in farblithographierter Kalligraphie, 24 montierte Farbtafeln; prachtvoller zeitgenössischer roter Maroquinband (signiert Morrell) mit reicher Rücken-, Deckel- und Innenkantenvergoldung sowie Kopfgoldschnitt, zweiseitig unbeschnitten (minimale Gebrauchsspuren, eine Ecke fachgerecht restauriert); in späterem Buntpapierschuber; Schnitt etwas stockfleckig, einige Seiten leicht feuchtrandig, insgesamt sehr attraktives Exemplar. Schöne, in dieser Form erste Ausgabe der persischen Vierzeiler des Mathematikers, Astronomen, Philosophen und Dichters Omar Chayyam (1048-1131) in der maßgeblichen englischen Übertragung durch Edward FitzGerald (1809-1883). Die bemerkenswerte Ausstattung im orientalisierenden Jugendstil ist dem aus Ungarn stammenden Illustrator William Pogany (1882-1955) und der Londoner Buchbinderei W. J. & J. Morrell (vormals William Turner Morrell) zu verdanken.

First edition of this iteration of James's visual interpretation of the Rubáiyát, much enhanced by Nicholson's scholarly apparatus, and here finely bound. Liverpool-born Gilbert Penrose James (1865-1941) was a self-taught artist-illustrator who worked mainly in an "art nouveau style, [employing] strong contrasts and very mannered and symbolic subjects often with an Eastern setting" (Houfe). This style was ideally suited to Omar Khayyám, whose quatrains James illustrated multiple times over his career, starting with the illustrations he published in Clement Shorter's The Sketch in the late 1890s. The illustrated text is accompanied by a substantial scholarly introduction and annotations by Cambridge orientalist Reynolds Alleyne Nicholson (1868-1945). Nicholson had studied with Goeje and Nöldeke in Leiden and Strasbourg, and worked in partnership with E. G. Browne at Cambridge, whom he succeeded as lecturer in Persian and Arabic. His most important works were Studies in Islamic Poetry and Studies in Islamic Mysticism, both published 1921. "Nicholson's work on Sufism was considered the greatest single contribution made by a European scholar to the subject. He was responsible for opening up one of the major developments of human thought for both specialists and the lay reader, transforming the understanding of it by presenting its major products with rare imagination and literary taste, as well as with careful scholarship. He himself was gifted with poetic sensibility and talent" (ODNB). Inman 682; Potter 68. Quarto (240 x 181 mm). Late-20th-century red morocco for Sotheran, spine lettered in gilt, compartments and covers ruled in gilt and decorated with gilt rose design, front cover with centrepiece of snake and chalice in gilt, gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, gilt edges. With 16 colour plates, text within arabesque frames in pale grey. A fine copy.

First Dulac trade edition. Edmund Dulac's illustrations for the Rubáiyát helped to confirm his position as "a direct challenger in the illustrated gift book market to the work of Arthur Rackham" (ODNB). "Those who have revelled in the romance of the Arabian Nights and of Shakespeare, or the melancholy invitation to drink and forget in the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, will feel that in the illustrations which Dulac has painted their most fleeting and fantastic dreams have been caught and pressed between the pages like butterflies" (Stuart, p. 87). Hughey 21a; Potter 131. Evelyn Marie Stuart, "Edmund Dulac - A Poet of the Brush", Fine Arts Journal, vol. 23, no. 2. Quarto (269 x 205 mm). Finely bound by Asprey in mid-20th-century red morocco, spine lettered and decorated in gilt, single rule to boards gilt, title blocked to front board gilt, triple rule to turn-ins gilt, marbled endpapers, gilt edges. Colour frontispiece and 19 colour plates tipped to cream paper, captioned tissue guards printed in green, floral borders throughout printed in brown and green. Bookplate to front pastedown, excellent condition.

First edition thus de luxe edition of the Edmund J. Sullivan illustrated hard back binding in publisher's original elaborately decorated cerise cloth covers, gilt title lettering and floral design to the spine, gilt birds, flowers and symmetrical grape leaf design to the front cover, all designed by Sullivan, top edge gilt. 4to. 10¼'' x 8¼''. Howard & Jones Ltd., Art Printers, pulled out some extra stops for this edition which is by far and away the best Sullivan illustrated Rubáiyát. Produced on thicker paper and a larger size than subsequent editions of this illustrated edition published by Methuen. 16 page introduction by the illustrator. Tissue-guarded colour frontispiece. Rubáiyát over unnumbered pages carrying the 75 quatrains of Edward FitzGerald's version each enriched with its own full-page single-sided monochrome illustration by Edmund J. Sullivan, among many fanciful and beautiful drawings, he uses images of skeletons and animated pots, Persian chapter headers. Name inside 'R. G. S. MacKechuie 1920.' Just a hint of foxing to the end sheets and in Very Good clean and bright condition. Member of the P.B.F.A. Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.

First edition thus hard back binding in publisher's original full Persian green crushed Niger morocco, the spine divided into six panels, lettered in the first, and dated at the foot, the front cover with small roundel featuring tiny flowers in red, blue and tan on a gilt ground, top edge gilt, others untrimmed, cream and pale green end sheets. 4to. 10½'' x 8¼''. Hand written number 533 of 750 Limited Edition copies of the British issue, SIGNED by Pogany on the limitation page, and again in pencil on his frontispiece etched plate which replicates the colour copy of the same image. Rubáiyát over 173 pages carrying the 101 quatrains of Edward FitzGerald's version enriched with 12 full-page colour plates in to framed mounts, the text leaves on China paper with 45 decorations and mounted illustrations. Fine condition book, in publisher's original box with corresponding limited edition number 533 printed label to one end. Member of the P.B.F.A. Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.

First Sett edition, one of 250 copies. This uncommon privately printed Rubaiyat was illustrated by Parsee artist Mera Ben Kavas Sett. His decadent envisioning of Khayyam's verse raised eyebrows among its Western audience; one early review expressed bemusement at its "exotic and weirdly unconventional" style (The Dial, p. 559). Some suggested similarities with Aubrey Beardsley, although Sett denied any influence. Sett was born to the Parsee community of Mumbai, the descendants of persecuted Zoroastrians who fled from Persia to India. In 1910 he matriculated to Downing College, Cambridge, where, in 1912, he began this project. As he explains in his lengthy foreword, English publishers offered to produce an attenuated version of his sensuous illustrations. Unwilling to dilute his work, Sett's merchant father funded its private publication through the Cambridge bookstore Galloway and Porter. After the Second World War, it was reissued in Mumbai. Potter 104. The Dial, 8 June, 1916. Large octavo. Original black cloth, spine and front cover lettered and decorated in gilt, top edge gilt. Illustrated title page, 15 plates with calligraphic text and illustrations, 15 plates with captioned tissue guards, all mounted on stubs, as issued. Printed on rectos only. Extremities rubbed, bump and tiny split to head of boards, very occasional spots of foxing, free endpapers browned. A very good copy.

London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., 1930. Large 4to., stunningly and elaborately bound by Zaehnsdorf in full green morocco, with gilt borders and cornerpieces, spine with five raised bands lettered and lined in gilt; upper edge gilt, else untrimmed; with elaborate gilt turn-ins and green watered silk endpapers; with frontis and a further 11 mounted coloured plates; along with numerous black and white line illustrations throughout, including head and tail pieces; and numerous vignettes on gold paper; pp. [vi], 5-171, [ix]; many pages unopened; endpapers lightly offset; a beautiful example, otherwise, in a fine binding. First redrawn Pogany edition - his first illustrated edition was originally published in 1909.