This is an edition of the Rubáiyát that caught my eye due to the simple, standard nature of it. Many editions had a gimmick, or a way to catch your eye, beause they were intended to be given as gifts. My edition, marked as edition #78, was a gift book, as we'll get into, but it almost seems to be a study edition the way it is bound as almost a journal.

This edition is missing soe information. The date of publication is unknown, but we know its in the 1900's. The publisher is New York, Sully and Kleintech, a company that was active into the 21st century, so no date can be given.  

Visually, the edition looks like a notebook. It is brown and leather bound, and has a touch that is similar to old time journals in that it is dry and sandy but also leather and clearly a soft material. It is a soft cover book, but has a sturyd bind. The pages are the most unique thing about it- they are urrounded by red flowe patterns. These patterns strike me as what we learned in class,... more

This exhibit features a rare and distinctive edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, a collection of quatrains by the Persian poet, mathematician, and philosopher Omar Khayyám, whose literary reputation flourished through Edward FitzGerald’s influential 1859 English translation. FitzGerald’s rendering introduced themes of life’s transience, the inevitability of death, and the importance of savoring the present, echoing carpe diem philosophies and subtle critiques of religious dogma. These enduring ideas have captivated readers for generations, securing the Rubáiyát's place as a classic in world literature.

One particular 1946 edition by D.B. Taraporevala Sons & Co., illustrated by Indian artist Mera Ben Kavas Sett, reflects both artistic boldness and cultural controversy. Sett’s introduction laments the decline of true art in the face of rising vulgarity, recounting his struggles with publishers who deemed his daring, nude-themed illustrations... more

The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is a poem attributed to Omar Khayyám, a Persian poet and astronomer from the 11th and 12th centuries, but it is actually unclear if all of the quatrains were originally his. Edward FitzGerald was an Englishman in the Victorian era who taught himself Persian and learned to translate this poem completely into English. He then published it, at first without much success, until it blew up in the 1850s and became part of the gift book sensation. A gift book is oftentimes a more ornamental piece of literature, ranging from being covered in elaborate jewels and fancy bindings, to more plain and simple designs. The gift books surrounding the Rubáiyát have been critiqued for their inherent Orientalist feel because a wide variety of them were printed with exotic, elaborate, and beautiful illustration that captured life in the Middle-East within a Westernized understanding of it. The bedazzling of the more expensive editions also attributed to... more

This COVE exhibit offers an articulation of the 1894 Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám: The Astronomer-Poet of Persia, with images to accompany each display case. There are five display cases that explore the history, offer discourse on the practice of gift books and orientalism in the Victorian era, examine a close reading of the poem and illustrations by Elihu Vedder, and creatively consider the possible owners of the edition. In conversation with Barbara Black’s On Exhibit: Victorians and Their Museums, and Bernadette Birzer’s "Exploring 19th Century Gift Books in a Special Collection: A Collection Analysis", this exhibit engages with discourse surrounding special collections and the historical practices of... more