Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

FITZGERALD, Edward; Illustrated by F. Sangorski and G. Sutcliffe.

Item Number: 14028

London: Siegle, Hill & Company, 1910.

First edition, one of 550 copies signed by Sangorski and Sutcliffe. Folio, bound in publisher’s full vellum, front panel elaborately stamped in gilt in a peacock motif, gilt titles and a floral motif to the spine, brown gilt morocco lettering label, pictorial endleaves. With twelve full-page illustrations inserted throughout. In near fine condition.

The Rubáiyát 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 Khayyám, it was first published in English-language translation by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859. Since then, its melancholy tone and enigmatic philosophy of mourning the painful brevity of life while celebrating what pleasures we may find have made it an inspiration to countless people.