Exhibit:

Study of Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

Preview of images

An in-depth exploration of a 1910 edition of Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám by Alexis Baumgarten. Labeled #39 in the Dr. Sigurd H. Peterson Memorial Collection at Oregon State University's Valley Library. Illustrated by Frank Brangwyn and published by T.N. Foulis,

Images in this Exhibit

Description of Text

 

 

The edition of Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám that I have selected is numbered as #39 in the Dr. Sigurd H. Peterson Memorial Collection of 101 versions of this poem. The cover has the title, Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, and the illustrator, Frank Brawngwyn ARA, listed, but no author of the poem. This leaving out of the author is clarified at the end of the text, which states, “This edition of the Rubiyat of Omar Khayyám is reprinted from Fitzgerald’s translation published in eighteen hundred and fifty-nine.” This edition was published in September of...
Gift Books and Orientalism

 

The poem, Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, rose to popularity, in some ways, out of luck. The right person got their hands on it, told their friends, and suddenly people were lining up to purchase copies of this poem. Many different versions were published and produced, ranging from a $25 version, featuring gold leaf designs, all the way to a $1 version and many options in between. Different versions featured different textual embellishments as well, such as biographies on Khayyám or Fitzgerald, and illustrations, which found their way into the poem as well. The versions only...
Close Reading of Stanza XLII

Frank Brangwyn’s illustration of a man carrying a pot on his shoulder correlates with stanza XLII to emphasize the importance of community and worldly pleasures discussed in Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Similar to all editions, this version of the poem discusses the value found in enjoying worldly pleasures because of the uncertainty regarding the afterlife. Stanza XLII says: “And lately, by the Tavern Door agape,/Came stealing through the Dusk an Angel Shape/Bearing a Vessel on his Shoulder; and/He bid me taste of it; and ‘twas - the Grape!”

The painting depicts a...
How This Edition Was Made

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...
Archival Speculation

My dearly beloved,

I wish to gift you this beautiful copy of my favorite poem, Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. You may be asking yourself why I might gift you a book of all things, for you prefer paintings to literature. This 1910 edition of the poem contains eight beautiful illustrations from Frank Brangwyn. You know Brangwyn from his paintings of the sea, remember? The exterior of the book is quite plain, you see the boring, tan cover? Its spine could blend in on any bookshelf. It is the contents inside that really show its beauty. When you open the book, you will notice the...