Rendered into English Verse by Edward Fitzgerald
Wake! For the Sun behind yon Eastern height Has chased the Session of the Stars from Night
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Rendered into English Verse by Edward Fitzgerald
Hodder & Stoughton, 1909.
First edition with illustrations by Dulac. 4to. White cloth with gilt lettering and design. In the original publisher's box. Olive pictorial design to the endpapers. Twenty mounted colour plates under tissue guards, the illustrations are in wonderful rich colours and suit the mood of this verse so well. A very near fine copy, exceptionally bright and clean having been kept in publisher's box, just a little bubbling to the cloth, the slightest foxing internally. The box is worn and tanned with two flaps missing from the lid, but has done its job in keeping the book in lovely condition.
The Rubáiyát was originally written in Persian by Omar Khayyam, a poet, mathematician and astronomer. This translation by Edward Fitzgerald made the poem popular with an international audience. Written in quatrains, the verse is a spirited and philosophcal celebration of life, love and fine wine. In June 1909 Hodder and Stoughton announced that their Gift Book for the year would be Dulac's Rubaiyat, to coincide with the centenary of Fitzgerald's birth. The dreamlike drawings by Edmund Dulac serve as a perfect foil to the text and Colin White considers the plate illustrating the opening quatrain to be "one of Dulac's finest works and a perfect preface to the text."
Hughey 21
Stock ID: 47005
