KHAYYÁM, Omar. FITZGERALD, Edward. Translator. BROWN, William Augustus. Editor. Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, the Astronomer Poet of Persia (Limited edition of 300 copies only)

Rendered into English Verse by Edward Fitzgerald. Edited by William Augustus Brown. [Boston]: The Riverside Press, 1900. 8vo. pp. 157. Printed on fine handmade paper with deckled edges. Finely bound in full dark morocco, spine with five raised bands, gilt rules and lettering, covers decorated in gilt, upper cover centred with an elaborate gilt-tooled red morocco oval onlay; housed in matching dark morocco slipcase. A very fine copy.

One of the most celebrated works of Victorian literature, Fitzgerald’s Rubáiyát introduced the poetry attributed to the eleventh-century Persian poet and mathematician Omar Khayyám to an enormous English-speaking readership. First published anonymously in 1859 in an edition of only 250 copies, it initially attracted little attention, but its reputation grew rapidly after its discovery and championing by members of the Pre-Raphaelite circle. Fitzgerald continued to revise the text throughout his lifetime, producing substantially altered subsequent editions.

This handsome Riverside Press edition was prepared by the American bibliophile William Augustus Brown and, as stated in the volume, reprints Fitzgerald’s second edition while restoring omitted stanzas and incorporating variants from the first, third and fourth editions. Brown also supplied an extensive introduction and notes, placing Fitzgerald’s rendering within the history and transmission of Khayyám’s verse.

The Rubáiyát became one of the great publishing phenomena of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, inspiring numerous illustrated, private-press and finely bound editions. Its meditations upon mortality, fate, love and the fleeting pleasures of life found an exceptionally receptive Victorian and Edwardian audience. The present copy is particularly attractive in its richly gilt full morocco binding with contrasting red morocco onlay and matching slipcase, reflecting the tradition of producing the Rubáiyát as a luxury gift and collector’s book.

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