Exhibit:

The Rubáiyát #74

Preview of images

Front of this edition Back of this Edition Illustration of Quatrain 11 Illustration of Quatrain 7 Islamic Inspired stylized font First page of the Introduction Second Page of the Introduction Third page of the Introduction Fourth page of the Introduction Fifth page of the Introduction Sixth page of the Introduction Seventh Page of the Introduction Eight Page of the Introduction Ninth Page of the Introduction Tenth Page of the Introduction Eleventh Page of the Introduction Twelfth Page of the Introduction Thirteenth Page of the Introduction Last Page of the Introduction This is what an average page of the book looks like
Title Page of this Edition Image of Verse eleven Image of Verse fourty.
Stanza Eleven Image of Stanza Eleven Front of book

Overview of the 74th Book of The Rubáiyát in Special Collections and Archives

Images in this Exhibit

Description of The Edition
Front of this edition Back of this Edition Illustration of Quatrain 11 Illustration of Quatrain 7 Islamic Inspired stylized font First page of the Introduction Second Page of the Introduction Third page of the Introduction Fourth page of the Introduction Fifth page of the Introduction Sixth page of the Introduction Seventh Page of the Introduction Eight Page of the Introduction Ninth Page of the Introduction Tenth Page of the Introduction Eleventh Page of the Introduction Twelfth Page of the Introduction Thirteenth Page of the Introduction Last Page of the Introduction This is what an average page of the book looks like

This version of Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám was translated into English by Edward FitzGerald, with interesting black and white illustrations produced by Marjorie Anderson. This book was published by London: Collins Clear-Type Press sometime in the 1950s. It includes FitzGerald's first and second editions and an introduction by Laurence Housman. It is one hundred and twenty-six pages long.

This edition stands out in its simplicity. While many editions of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám have intricate and exotic decals, borders, and fonts, this edition revels in...
Gift Books and Orientalism
Title Page of this Edition Image of Verse eleven Image of Verse fourty.

Barbara Black argues in On Exhibit: Victorians and Their Museums that the Rubáiyát is in large part appropriated from Persian culture and has been Orientalized. “This poem’s value becomes inseparable from its pretty, crafted, possessable diminutiveness. Khayyám’s verse remains entrenched in the categorically Oriental, in the land of seers and Eastern serenity” (Black 61).  Black does a deep dive into several examples of text, the best example is the change from the original text “roof-top of the world” into “The Sultan’s Turret”. This supports one of Black’s arguments, “...
Close Reading
Stanza Eleven Image of Stanza Eleven Front of book

The eleventh stanza “Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough, / A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse–and Thou / Beside me singing in the Wilderness– / And Wilderness is Paradise enow.” (Fitzgerald, XI) (Figure 1) is about how one should enjoy the fruits of the moment. That we should be content with the simple things in life and enjoy the present moment. The illustration that accompanies this stanza shows a man, content with his moment (Figure 2). He is surrounded by that serene paradise and enjoys some good food and wine. Although enjoying the present moment is what this stanza is about,...