Search Results: rubaiyat of omar khayyam

London: Bernard Quaritch, 1859. FIRST EDITION, ONE OF ONLY 250 COPIES PRINTED, with the misprint "Lightning" corrected on p. 4. 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. ◆Cloth spine and board edges… Read More

1859-85. First Edition, Second Edition, Third Edition, First American Edition, and Grolier Club Edition. 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… Read More

1867-2011. Comprising 220 separate line items.. Most in publisher's bindings or original wrappers, several in limp leather, limp suede, or stiff vellum, a few nicely bound in half or full morocco, and TWO PICTORIAL MOROCCO BINDINGS, one by RIVIERE (with inlaid frame of brown stems, green leaves, and purple grapes), and the other by BAYNTUN (with a reclining figure in a turban under a moonlit sky, the scene framed by titling at top and bottom and a very handsome panel on the left and right with brown stems, green leaves, and purple grapes set against a densely stippled ground). ◆Much of the collection with bindings showing light (and in some cases moderate) wear, contents with occasional minor foxing, soiling, and similar issues, the two fine bindings rejointed; but a good portion of the books in excellent condition, with only trivial issues. Amassed over the course of many years by a passionate collector of the Rubaiyat, this is a very substantial and wide-ranging group of 220 items that attest… Read More

Boston: The Riverside Press / Houghton Mifflin and Co, 1884. Signed Limited Edition. Near fine/Fine. Elihu Vedder (1836 - 1923). 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… Read More

Boston: Houghton Mifflin and Company, The Riverside Press,, 1884. The finest American Rubáiyát 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… Read More

Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1878. First American edition of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam from the library of Samuel Clemens. Octavo, original decorated cloth with gilt titles to the spine and front panel. From the library of Samuel Clemens with his ownership signature and presentation inscription to the front free endpaper, "SL Clemens Hartford 1878" and "Transferred to Miss Henry G. Brooks with the kindest regards of S.L. Clemens May 1884." With scribbles and hash-marks in pencil to blank margins, presumably in Twain's hand, similar to the annotated ninth edition at the Mark Twain Archive, Elmira College. In very good condition with loss to the upper portion of the title page, small newspaper clippings laid in. Rare and desirable. The Rubaiyat 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 Khayyam, it was first published in English-language translation by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859. Since then, its… Read More

Boston: Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1894. Vedder's ‘Rubáiyát' set the standard for the artist-designed book in America and England." In a Superb Early Twentieth Century Inlaid Binding by Sangorski & Sutcliffe [BINDING]. SANGORSKI & SUTCLIFFE, binders. FITZGERALD, Edward, Translator and Editor. VEDDER, Elihu, Illustrator. KHAYYAM, Omar. Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám The Astronomer Poet of Persia. Rendered into English Verse by Edward Fitzgerald with an accompaniment of Drawings by Elihu Vedder. Boston: [Printed at the Riverside Press for] Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1894. Small quarto (8 1/4 x 6 inches; 209 x 152 mm.). 30 leaves, [1]-45, [2], [47]-61, [1, blank] pp., all printed on French-fold paper. With illustrated title, six pages of notes with decorative frames, frontispiece, and fifty plates illustrating the poem, inset with panels of text, all by Elihu Vedder. Elegantly bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe ca. 1910 (stamp­-signed on front turn-in) in full blue crushed morocco elaborately… Read More

Boston: [Printed by the Riverside Press for] Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1884. First Edition with these Illustrations. 398 x 315 mm. (15 5/8 x 12 1/2"). [57], [vii] leaves, mounted on tabs.Translated by Edward FitzGerald. IN AN IMPRESSIVE TAN PIGSKIN BINDING SPECIALLY MADE BY THE ROYCROFTERS FOR MISS HELEN RUTH MORROW (inlaid blind-stamped pigskin label on front doublure), covers and spine tooled in blind to a geometric design in the American Arts & Crafts style, raised bands, blind-stamped lettering and blind tooling to spine, LIGHT BROWN SUEDE DOUBLURES framed by blind-tooled geometric design, leather hinges, suede endleaves, all edges rust-colored. IN (slightly worn) ORIGINAL (invisibly repaired) HAND-CARVED OAK PRESENTATION BOX lined with suede, with two hammered metal hinges and matching clasps. With ornamental title page and 56 photo-lithograph plates of Art Nouveau illustrations by Vedder. Potter 201; Paas 2653. ◆A bit of bowing to front board, minor (naturally occurring?) variations in… Read More

London: Macmillan and Co., Limited,, 1903. Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough, / A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse - and Thou A superb copy of the Rubáiyát, finely bound by Cedric Chivers after an art nouveau design by the illustrator Herbert Granville Fell (1872-1951). The front cover depicts a woman pouring wine from a jug; the rear depicts a tree, with a singing bird in the leaves and "a flask of wine and book of verse" underneath. Fitzgerald's translation of the Rubáiyát was first published in 1859; he continued to revise the poem throughout his life, publishing his fourth and final edition in 1879. The present publication prints the text of Fitzgerald's first and fourth editions, as well as his preface and notes, with an appendix on "variations between the second, third, and fourth editions". Octavo (207 x 147 mm). Finely bound by Cedric Chivers of Bath in full brown modelled calf, title to spine etched by hand, covers moulded after design by Herbert Granville Fell, spine and covers… Read More

London: Macmillan and Co., Limited,, 1903. Awake! for Morning in the Bowl of Night / Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight... A beautiful, bright example of a "vellucent" binding by Cedric Chivers, with floral arabesque decorations and several choice mother-of-pearl inlays. Chivers (1853-1929), one of the most successful bookbinders of the turn of the century, developed a new and distinctive technique for binding books in the 1890s. His elaborate cover designs were painted on paper and then covered by vellum, which had been treated in order to become thin and translucent ("vellucent"). Sometimes exotic materials, such as mother-of pearl, were also added underneath the vellum, and gilt tooling applied over the top. Chivers patented his method in 1898 and used it to create some of the most beautiful books of the turn of the century, and his style became closely associated with the arts and crafts movement. Fitzgerald's translation of the Rubáiyát was first published in 1859; he continued… Read More

[London: Siegle, Hill & Co, 1910]. Apparently ONE OF 25 ON JAPANESE VELLUM (there were also 550 regular copies on paper). 315 x 228 mm. (12 1/2 x 9"). 2 p.l., 6 pp., [19] leaves, [1], 16, [1] pp., [11] leaves.Translated by Edward FitzGerald. LOVELY GREEN MOROCCO, GILT, BY SANGORSKI & SUTCLIFFE (stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-in), centerpiece composed of gilt and inlaid red roses, stems radiating from a central blossom, framed with several plain rules and one dotted rule, elaborate gilt cornerpieces composed of a trio of gilt roses with long stems and swirling leaves, raised bands, compartments filled with gilt leaves or gilt lettering, gilt turn-ins with multiple decorative rules, top edge gilt, others trimmed on the rough. Housed in a slightly worn green cloth clamshell box lined with felt. Numerous decorative initials designed by Alberto Sangorski printed in gold and colors, and 12 COLOR PLATES (including a particularly elaborate title and first page), with illustrations designed by Ewan… Read More

London, ca. 1922. 285 x 190 mm. (11 1/4 x 7 1/2"). 14 leaves (written on one side only).Translated by Edward FitzGerald. Plain limp burgundy calf. Housed in a red leather-backed white chemise inside a marbled slipcase. Text in red, blue, green, and black, first leaf with a full-page illumination in the style of a Persian carpet, each text leaf with elaborate borders (ranging from panel borders to full borders) incorporating Persian designs, flowers, vines, much gold illumination, and penwork embellishments, three original watercolor vignettes, the first leaf of text also with a sleeping man and a rooster in watercolor incorporated into the border. ◆A couple of creases to leather, otherwise in pristine condition, the gilt borders especially bright and pleasing. Standing more than 11 inches tall, this gem of a manuscript was created by a mysterious female illuminator of the early 20th century who brings to life FitzGerald's perennially popular translation of the Rubaiyat with a bold mix of styles… Read More

London: Susan Allix, 1973. NO. 21 OF 25 SPECIAL COPIES BOUND BY SUSAN ALLIX (from a total edition of 75). 275 x 200 mm. (10 3/4 x 7 3/4"). [23] French-fold leaves.Translated by Edward FitzGerald. EXCELLENT RED MOROCCO BY SUSAN ALLIX, upper cover tooled in gilt with a geometric net pattern interspersed with small stars, smooth spine with gilt lettering, endpapers speckled with red, aqua, and gilt, edges uncut. In a red cloth slipcase. WITH 27 EMBOSSED ETCHINGS BY SUSAN ALLIX, each with tissue guard and signed by Allix. Colophon signed by Allix and with inscription to Mimi and Arnold Elkind (see below). ◆A couple faint (naturally occurring?) marks on upper cover, but essentially as new. This is a beautifully packaged, very strictly limited modern take on FitzGerald's immortal work from book artist Susan Allix, who is responsible for the binding, printing, and illustrations here, with typography by Lewis Rouse Jones. According to the artist's website, "This book uses embossed prints to present a… Read More

London: Bernard Quaritch, 1868. Second Edition. 205 x 157 mm. (8 x 6"). xviii, 30 pp. A nice amateur binding of brown pebble-grain morocco decorated in blind and gilt to a sunburst design, raised bands, marbled endpapers. Title page with ink inscription "John C. Ropes / With all good wishes from W. A. Harris / Feb. 6th 1870"; p. 30 with letter to Ropes from William Dean Howells, dated Boston, Feb. 28, 1891, tipped on, and rear flyleaf with a handwritten copy of Howells' poem "Judgment Day," signed by the poet, pasted on. Potter 129. ◆Top of spine and joints somewhat rubbed, a very faint vertical crease through much of the text, otherwise excellent. As the second printing of Fitgerald's "Omar," this is an important book, but our copy is especially intriguing because of the letter and manuscript poem from William Dean Howells in the back and the inscription on the title page to American attorney and military historian John C. Ropes from W[illiam] A. Harris. A Harvard graduate, Ropes (1836-99)… Read More

Frankfurt: Hand composed in Garamond and printed on a hand press by Ingeborg Anning in the house printing office of Schriftgiesserei D. Stempel AG, 1939. 230 x 178 mm. (9 x 7"). [26] leaves.Translated by Edward FitzGerald. A STRIKINGLY ATTRACTIVE BROCADED GOLD SILK BINDING with an all-over pattern of birds, moths, flowers, and branches of roses in multiple colors, all edges gilt. Original (just slightly soiled) drop-back box with paper cover label and linen spine. With the bookplate of Tom Cleland and with the composer-printer's laid-in visiting card inscribed, "My first effort! To Tom. February 1939." ◆AN IMMACULATE COPY. This is an especially fine copy of an elegant and charming production of very considerable rarity and with excellent provenance--it was presented by its printer to the award-wining American book designer, illustrator, and typographer Thomas Maitland Cleland. After attending the Artist-Artisan Institute in New York, Cleland (1880-1964) went to work as a book designer at the… Read More

London: Routledge, 1904. hardcover. fine. James Gilbert. Translated by Edward Fitzgerald. Small 8vo (7 13/16 x 5 7/16 inches), 160 pages. Twelve fine hand-colored photogravure plates including frontispiece after drawings by Gilbert James, all with original tissue-guards. Bound by Bayntun in crushed green morocco, beautiful ornate cover with picture of women (based on the frontispiece), bordered by 2 wide elaborate grapevines within a gilt border. Inside covers and flyleaves are beige silk moire. The spine is decoratively inlaid with leaves and bunches of grapes in gold and brown morocco. London: George Routledge and Sons, Limited, (1904). Fine but for a bit of dryness at the hinge.<br/> <br/>

London: Robt. Riviére & Son., Ltd., 1928. An Exceptionally Fine Rivière Rubaiyat With Twelve Hand-Colored Illustrations by Gilbert James [RIVIÈRE & Son, binders]. The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Translated by Edward Fitzgerald. [Illustrated by Gilbert James]. London: Robt. Riviére & Son., Ltd., 1928. "This special edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, with twelve hand-coloured illustrations, is printed in Caslon Old Face type on Studio hand-made paper." Octavo (8 x 5 3/8 inches; 204 x 137 mm.). [ii, blank], [iii-viii], 75, [1, imprint] pp. With twelve illustrations by Gilbert James hand-colored and heightened with gold, and printed with blue initials for each stanza. Some light marginal foxing to plates, otherwise fine. Bound ca. 1928 by Rivière & Son (stamp-signed on front turn-in) in full blue crushed levant morocco. Front cover with a central oval panel with an onlaid brown-spotted serpent twining around a large gilt chalice. This central panel is surrounded by a floral border of… Read More

London: David Nutt, 1889. ONE OF 550 COPIES. 173 x 109 mm. (6 3/4 x 4 1/4"). lxii, [2], CLVI pp., [1] leaf. VERY ELEGANT HONEY-BROWN MOROCCO, GILT, BY RUBAN (stamp-signed in gilt and dated 1895 on front doublure), raised bands, spine with gilt-ruled compartments and gilt lettering, EXUBERANT TAN MOROCCO DOUBLURES IN A COFFERED DESIGN of interlacing inlaid morocco Islamic stars (brown on front doublure, green on rear), each filled with a gilt design and central honey-brown star inlay, framed with a thin inlaid brown or green morocco frame and gilt rules with inlaid stars at each corner, each facing a page covered with gilt foil and followed by marbled flyleaves, morocco hinges, all edges gilt. Housed in a marbled slipcase with morocco lip. Potter 348; Paas 4631. ◆Spine uniformly a slightly darker brown than the boards, otherwise in virtually perfect condition. This charming prose edition of the Rubaiyat is offered here in a lovely binding that holds a delightful surprise inside. The quiet elegance… Read More

London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd, 1899. First Edition. Leather Bound. Very good/Very good. 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.....

London: Bernard Quaritch, Piccadilly, 1868. Second edition. pp. xvii, 30. 1 vols. Square 8vo. Original printed wrappers. Minor soiling to back wrapper, faintest wear at top of front wrapper (tiny closed tear), internally clean and bright. Bookplate. Near fine copy in morocco backed slipcase and cloth wrapper. Second edition. pp. xvii, 30. 1 vols. Square 8vo. 'And Wilderness is Paradise enow': Second Edition, in Wrappers. The best known of FitzGerald's works, his Rubáiyát of Omar Khayaym was almost entirely overlooked at its first appearance. D. G. Rossetti and Swinburne were among the earliest "believers." Borges has written of the "fortuitous conjunction" between the Persian astonomer and the Englishman who produced "a continuous and organic book that would begin with images of morning, the rose, and the nightin­gale, and end with those of night and the tomb." For this edition, printed in 500 copies, FitzGerald prepared versions of 110 quatrains (the 1859 first edition contained 75; and later… Read More