FITZGERALD, Edward - Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám - Illustrated First Edition (1930)

FITZGERALD, Edward (translator); POGÁNY, Willy (illustrator)

Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám: The First and Fourth Renderings in English Verse by Edward FitzGerald, with Illustrations by Willy Pogány.

London: George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd, 1930. First edition.

[6], 173, [5] pp, with 12 mounted colour plates in total, including the frontispiece, plus black and white decorative borders, headpieces, and initials in the Persian manner. Quarto, 25.5 x 20 x 2.5 cm. Original terracotta cloth boards, titled in gilt to the upper board and spine, with a pictorial paste on panel to the upper board printed in black and gold on a dark ground depicting a stylised floral vase, matching decoration to the spine.

The Harrap edition combining FitzGerald's first and fourth renderings of the Rubáiyát in a single volume, illustrated by the Hungarian born artist Willy Pogány. Pogány had earlier illustrated a well known American edition of the Rubáiyát in 1909, and this 1930 Harrap edition represents a wholly distinct later treatment, with the colour plates printed separately and mounted rather than printed directly into the text, in the manner of the finer illustrated gift books of the period. Fine, complete copies in bright original cloth are increasingly hard to find, since the mounted plates and gilt decorated bindings of this format were prone to fading and handling wear even in careful hands.

Cloth faded, with further fading concentrated along the top edge of the front board and to the spine, and light surface scuffing consistent with dust exposure in storage rather than handling wear. The head of the spine is weakened and split, though still fully intact and not detached. Binding square, hinges strong and tight throughout. Internally the book is close to fine: no foxing, staining, or discolouration to the text block, and all 12 colour plates and the gilt and black decorative work throughout remain bright. Some light marking to the top edge of the text block, again consistent with dust from storage. Only one date, 1930, appears anywhere in the book, with no evidence of a later printing.

A handsome first edition of a finely produced Pogány illustrated Rubáiyát, in a sound original binding, with stunning text and plates internally close to fine.