Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám - Edward FitzGerald Translation, Magnificent Full Morocco Ramage Binding

KHAYYÁM, Omar. Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Translated into English verse by Edward FitzGerald. Bound by Ramage.

A strikingly decorative copy of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, in Edward FitzGerald’s celebrated English rendering, finely bound by Ramage of London. FitzGerald’s version, first printed in 1859, became one of the great literary sensations of the late nineteenth century, admired especially by Pre-Raphaelite, aesthetic and fin-de-siècle readers, and issued thereafter in numerous illustrated and fine editions.

Octavo. Full dark green morocco by Ramage, the covers elaborately gilt and blocked in a repeating Persianate pattern of gilt lozenges and roundels, spine richly gilt in compartments, raised bands, gilt title, gilt board edges, broad gilt turn-ins, pale watered silk doublures and endleaves, all edges gilt. Binder’s ticket or signature not shown in the supplied images, but described as bound by Ramage.

A highly attractive example of late Victorian or Edwardian taste in orientalised fine binding, the binding itself being the principal collecting feature. The dense gilt tooling, silk doublures and all-over decorative scheme make this a much more desirable copy than a routine morocco-bound Rubáiyát. Ramage bindings of the Rubáiyát appear in the trade, but most examples are plainer, with one blue morocco Ramage copy listed at $250, while more ambitious fine-bound or deluxe Rubáiyát copies can rise considerably depending on illustrator, limitation and binding quality.

A handsome collector’s copy of one of the most enduring poetic translations of the nineteenth century, given particular distinction by its lavish Ramage binding.