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Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
by Edward FitzGerald
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Bristol, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Gilt title lettering on the spine and front cover. 8vo. 9"
x 6.5", containing 75 quatrains of Edward
Fitzgerald's version of the Rubaiyat, enriched with 16
intricate full-page colour plates tipped into decorated
mounts.
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
- Matthew Garbett Old Books
(GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 6
- Title
- Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
- Author
- Edward FitzGerald
- Illustrator
- Willy Pogany
- Format/Binding
- Hard back binding in publishers original gilt decorated deep highly polished mahogany leather, gilt title lettering on the spine
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- George Harrap & Co
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1925
- Size
- 8vo.
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
Matthew Garbett Old 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.
About the Seller
Matthew Garbett Old Books
Biblio member since 2023
Bristol, Gloucestershire
About Matthew Garbett Old Books
Specialising in old and rare books, acquired from customers in the Town of Bath, UK.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- 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....
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