Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, The Astronomer-Poet of Persia Rendered into English Verse by Edward FitzGerald with an Accompaniment of Drawings by Elihu Vedder by Khayyam, Omar; Edward Fitzgerald (trans) - 1884

Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Company. Near Fine with No dust jacket as issued. 1884. First Edition Thus. First Printing. Hard Cover. First, Limited Edition of 100 copies, of which this is No. 22, signed by Vedder, with ornamental title page and 56 magnificent full-page Illustrations. Bound in original brown flat-weave cloth over beveled boards; front cover with gilt lettering, dark brown-stamped ruled borders, symbolist design of vase, vine, swirl and stars, spine with gilt lettering and dark brown-stamped ruled borders and ornaments; gilt and dark brown embossed stamp on front cover, lower right 'V' ; slate coated endpapers; t.e.g., others untrimmed. Elephant Folio. Signed by Vedder on Limitation Page. In the ten months from May 1883 to March 1884, Elihu Vedder (1836-1923) completed a series of drawings in pencil, ink, chalk, and watercolor to accompany this 1884 edition of the Rubaiyat. All of these original drawings, which were proclaimed a masterwork of American art, were included in a special exhibition of "Elihu Vedder's Drawings for the Rubaiyat" at the National Museum of American Art in 1998. The exhibition also included two first edition printings of this Rubaiyat with Vedder's "accompaniments." Vedder's edition was an instant success, selling out only six days after its debut in Boston on November 8, 1884. With this Rubaiyat, Vedder set the standard for artist-designed books in America and England. Critics rushed to acclaim it as a masterwork. He died in Rome in 1923. [Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers, p. 972] [Morris & Levin 92] [Potter 201]. An extremely rare, beautiful, large and heavy book.. Expertly refurbished in its original Vedder-designed binding. NEAR FINE.. Elephant Folio - over 15" - 23" tall. Unpaginated pp. Signed by Illustrator .