Rubáiyát of the Astronomer-Poet of Persia. Translated into English Verse.

OMAR KHAYYÁM; FITZGERALD, Edward (trans.)

Published by Cambridge, Massachusetts: The University Press, 1909

About this Item

Limited centennial edition, number 43 of 50 copies only, signed by the President (Nathan Haskell Dole), Treasurer (Charles Dana Burrage), Secretary (Eben Francis Thompson), and Chairman (William Dana Orcutt) of the Omar Khayyám Club of America. This is a faithful and scarce facsimile of the first edition of Fitzgerald's Rubáiyát, printed on Japanese vellum and published on 31 March 1909. President Nathan Haskell Dole (1852-1935) was a prolific writer, editor, and translator who translated the Collected Works (1899) of Tolstoy in 20 volumes; he was also the associate editor of Flowers from Persian Poets (1901) and The Encyclopedia Americana (1905). Fitzgerald's translation of the Rubáiyát, originally published in 1859, slowly gained recognition as a masterpiece of English literature. By the early 1900s, vast sums were being paid for the first edition, and many of Fitzgerald's phrases had entered the common stock of English quotations and allusions. A "cult of the Rubáiyát" began to grow, and societies were formed to celebrate Fitzgerald and Omar Khayyám, including the publishers of this facsimile, the Omar Khayyam Club of America, founded in 1900 and continuing until 1935 (Yohannan, p. 202). Potter 191; John D. Yohannan, Persian Poetry in England and America, 1977. Octavo. Original plain pink card wrappers. With printed dust jacket and original glassine. Housed in the original card slipcase. A fine copy, in the notably well-preserved glassine, retaining the original, worn slipcase with some tape repairs.

Seller Inventory # 147877

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Rubáiyát of the Astronomer-Poet of Persia. Translated into English Verse.
• Publisher: Cambridge, Massachusetts: The University Press, 1909