The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:
1900 H.M. Caldwell Co. Green Decorated Pages Edition
This 1900 H.M. Caldwell Co. Rubaiyat has a green cover and faint decorations that are like watermarks on the pages. It’s a simple, small, petite, and beautiful copy that is potent to behold. I am not sure if ‘watermark’ is the correct term for the images on the inside, but it gets the point across. The pages are decorated with these faint sketches that accent the content.
I purchased this Rubaiyat copy from the Meritus Medical Center Auxiliary Thrift Shop after they reached out to me. They had received this Rubaiyat and were trying to put a price on it to sell since they couldn’t find any others like it online. And neither could I. So I gave a price based on what relevant data points I could find, made an offer, and I bought it! So here it is and it’s a lovely copy. Thank you!
Publisher: H.M. Caldwell Co. (New York & Boston)
Year: 1900
Contributed by: Meritus Medical Center Auxiliary Thrift Shop
The Book Itself
This copy is in fantastic condition! The cover is sturdy and the pages are so crisp. The ‘watermark’ drawings are beautiful. They connect to each other and have sufficient variety. I tried to take pictures that demonstrated how they spread across the pages and meet in the middle.
The only issue with this copy that leaves a question is that it looks like there was a page torn out at the very end. I wonder what could have been on it and what information it contained.
Another observation I have is that the content and ‘relief’ is consistent with the 1900 H.M. Caldwell Remarque Edition. Along with the copyright year, too!
The Poetry
The font is a bit small/faint sometimes when it is on top of the decorations. Even so, it’s not too hard to read and otherwise it looks good.
