The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is a collection of 11th-century Persian quatrains (four-line poems) attributed to the astronomer-poet Omar Khayyám and famously translated into English by Edward FitzGerald. The poems offer a profound, sensual exploration of the human condition, celebrating the fleeting beauty of life, the inevitability of death, and the pleasures of the present moment—captured in the famous philosophy of “carpe diem” (seize the day). This specific 1912 edition pairs FitzGerald’s evocative verses with 28 groundbreaking fine-art photographs, creating a stunning visual interpretation of a timeless literary masterpiece.

Publisher: Dodge Publishing Co. New York
Date Published: 1912
Book Condition: Good hardcover and binding remains tight and structurally sound. Boards show noticeable rubbing and shelf wear, particularly along the edges and corners. The text block edges are darkened and marked from age, with minor foxing present on some internal pages. Crucially, all 28 tipped-in photographic art plates by Adelaide Hanscom and Blanche Cumming are present and fully intact within the publisher’s original die-cut windowed framing sheets.