The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
by Fitzgerald, Edward
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller
-
Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1884 Elihu Vedder (1836-1923) was an American Symbolist painter. Many illustrators favor an Orientalist interpretation of the Rubáiyát despite the popularity of the quatrains being more a result of their universality than their exotic qualities. in the ten months from May 1883 to March 1884, Vedder completed a series of 54 drawings in pencil, ink, chalk, and watercolor to accompany the 1884 edition of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat, concentrating on the mystical aspects of the poem, setting hand-lettered texts against illustrations that directly reference the swirling Arte Nouveau style. This Rubaiyat is considered one of the masterpieces of American 19th century book illustration. This copy is clean, tight and unmarked. Glazed cloth boards with elaborate gold decorations are bright and intact. Some fraying at top of spine. Closed split along front hinge. . 1st Popular Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Illus. by Elihu Vedder. 13.5" x 16".
Synopsis
he Moving Finger writes; and, having writ Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a line Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it.' In the 'rubaiyat' (short epigrammatic poems) of the medieval Persian poet, mathematician, and philosopher Omar Khayyam, Edward Fitzgerald saw an unflinching challenge to the illusions and consolations of mankind in every age. His version of Omar is neither a translation nor an independent poem; sceptical of divine providence and insistent on the pleasure of the passing moment, its 'Orientalism' offers FitzGerald a powerful and distinctive voice, in whose accents a whole Victorian generation comes to life. Although the poem's vision is bleak, it is conveyed in some of the most beautiful and haunting images in English poetry - and some of the sharpest- edged. The poem sold no copies at all on its first appearance in 1859, yet when it was 'discovered' two years later its first admirers included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Swinburne, and Ruskin. Daniel Karlin's richly annotated edition does justice to the scope and complexity of FitzGerald's lyrical meditation on 'human death and fate'.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Catron Grant Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 500871
- Title
- The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
- Author
- Fitzgerald, Edward
- Illustrator
- Elihu Vedder
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Edition
- 1st Popular Edition
- Publisher
- Houghton Mifflin
- Place of Publication
- Boston
- Date Published
- 1884
- Bookseller catalogs
- Poetry;
- Size
- 13.5" x 16"
Terms of Sale
Catron Grant Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged. Books must be returned in the condition in which they were sold. No returns on books valued at less than $9.00.
About the Seller
Catron Grant Books
Biblio member since 2012
Rio Rancho, New Mexico
About Catron Grant Books
Specializing in olderbooks on travel and exploration in Asia, and World War II Pacific and Southeast Asia.Online sales and antiquarian book shows in the American West.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Hinge
- The portion of the book closest to the spine that allows the book to be opened and closed.
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
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