1904 Rare Book bound by Bayntun - Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, Illustrated

Author: Omar Khayyám. Translated by Edward FitzGerald. Illustrated by James Gilbert.
Title: Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.
Publisher: London, George Routledge & Sons, Ltd.; New York, E. P. Dutton & Co., 1904.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 5 × 3.5 inches.
Pages: Unpaginated (complete as issued).
Binding: Fine binding, exquisitely bound in full red morocco by Bayntun of Bath, England. Covers bordered and richly gilt, with an elaborate central gilt medallion to both boards; spine with raised bands, gilt lettering (Omar Khayyám), and small gilt floral tools in the compartments. Marbled endpapers (hinges fine) under a protective removable mylar cover. All edges gilt.
Content: Near fine content (bright, tight and clean, some light toning - as shown). A charming and finely presented copy.
Illustrations: Illustrated with black-and-white plates and decorative vignettes by James Gilbert, enhancing the text with refined and atmospheric imagery characteristic of early 20th-century Rubáiyát editions. Complete

Estimate: (USD 500 - 650).

The book: This 1904 edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám presents Edward FitzGerald’s celebrated English translation of the Persian quatrains in an intimate and refined format. Published by George Routledge & Sons, the volume exemplifies the enduring popularity of the Rubáiyát at the turn of the 20th century, a period when the text was frequently reimagined through fine printing and decorative binding. The present copy, handsomely bound by Bayntun of Bath, transforms the book into a true object of art, combining literary, poetic, and bookbinding traditions in a compact jewel-like form.

The author: Omar Khayyám (1048–1131) was a Persian poet, mathematician, and astronomer whose quatrains reflect on love, fate, mortality, and the fleeting nature of life. Though little known in the West for centuries, his poetry achieved extraordinary fame through Edward FitzGerald’s 19th-century English adaptation, which reshaped Khayyám’s verses into one of the most quoted and beloved poetic works in the English language.

The translator: Edward FitzGerald (1809–1883) was an English poet and translator whose rendering of the Rubáiyát is widely regarded as a creative masterpiece in its own right. Rather than a literal translation, FitzGerald produced a poetic interpretation that captured the spirit and philosophy of Khayyám’s verse, profoundly influencing Victorian and Edwardian literary taste and securing the Rubáiyát a permanent place in Western literature.

The illustrator: James Gilbert (1850–1925) was a British illustrator and engraver active at the turn of the 20th century, known for his refined line work and atmospheric compositions. His illustrations for the Rubáiyát complement FitzGerald’s text with restraint and elegance, contributing to the quiet, contemplative tone that made these editions so appealing to collectors and readers alike.