COVE

The edition of the poem I have been studying is a 1910 edition of Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, published by T.N. Foulis. The edition does not include a price tag, any personalized inscriptions, or a label that might clue an archivist in to understand where this book was originally sold and purchased. T.N. Foulis is an Edinburgh-based publishing firm founded in 1903. Thomas Noble Foulis and Douglas A Foulis founded the company, which earned its name of “T.N. Foulis” in 1905 (Arbuckle). Colstons Ltd. printed the book in Edinburgh and is a company whose name bears no search results. As a publishing company, T.N. Foulis paid great attention to detail and understood that books in and of themselves were works of art in the way they were presented. They published multiple editions of Rubáiyát: including the 1910 edition which this exhibit examines, featuring eight Frank Brangwyn illustrations, and a 1917 edition with seven additional Frank Brangwyn illustrations (Sunday). Similarly to this particular edition of Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, they often published books with buckram binding and rosewater-marked paper. T.N. Foulis often used colorful buckram bindings, though this edition of Rubáiyát uses a neutral tan. Another key feature of a T.N. Foulis book is the reproduction of famous painters’ work. For example, this edition features paintings from Frank Brangwyn, a British painter known for his exceptional use of color. Other artists featured in books published by T.N. Foulis include Jessie M. King and W. Russell Flint.

Frank Brangwyn was a late 19th-century painter and graphic artist. He was born in 1867  in Bruges, the capital of the northwest province of West-Vlaanderen, Belgium (The Getty). Brangwyn is known as a painter, illustrator, and watercolor painter but also has produced works of ceramics, mosaic, book illustrations, and designs for stained glass and building interiors (MoMA). He moved from Belgium to the United Kingdom in 1875 and resided there until he died in 1956. At the time of his death, he was living in Ditchling, East Sussex, England. He was a mentee of William Morris from 1882 until 1884. Morris believed that the “artist should understand the craft process and [should] honor the materials chosen,” (The Getty). This mentality is clear in Brangwyn’s craft and understanding of how to create art. Each painting done for Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám has a very clear connection to the poem and the artwork itself is skillfully done, rather than sloppily. Creating images for a work of poetry can be especially useful due to use of metaphor and language seen less commonly in prose. By undertaking this assignment, Brangwyn was able to make Rubáiyát even more accessible to the general public by providing a physical image of what the words were portraying. These illustrations each connected to a particular stanza, such as the included illustration that is tied to stanza XXII (see Image I). Rather than changing the poem as it stood, the publishers chose to enhance the preexisting content with skillful illustrations to make it appeal to a wider audience. 

Arbuckle, Eric. “T.N. Foulis, Publisher: Articles.” T.N. Foulis, Publisher | Articles, stellabooks.com/article/tn-foulis-publisher. Accessed 21 May 2025.

“Frank Brangwyn.” Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org/artists/743-frank-brangwyn. Accessed 23 May 2025. 

Sunday, Sarah. “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Editions by Publisher.” The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam - The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Editions by Publisher, www.therubaiyatofomarkhayyam.com/editions-by-publisher/#T.N.%20Foulis. Accessed 22 May 2025. 

“Ulan Full Record Display (Getty Research).” The Getty, vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500026093. Accessed 21 May 2025.