The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:
1900s? Harrap Willy Pogany Limited Edition

This is it. This is the crowning jewel of my collection. A copy of a limited edition run of 525 copies. I think mine is number either 44, 41, or 47–the numbering is a bit…hard to discern. And it looks to be signed by Willy Pogany himself.

It’s truly a stunning edition. I am lucky to have such a copy.

Update 06/2020: I took new pictures with better lighting, removed and replaced old ones, and broke up the page into the new format (added some more lovely adjectives). If anyone wants to see the old page, let me know.

1900s? Harrap Willy Pogany Limited Edition

Publisher: George G. Harrap (London)

Press: Vincent Brooks, Day & Son Ltd.

Year: n.d., 1900s-1910s (other similar editions fall into this range)

Artist: Willy Pogany

The Book Itself

I had Scott Kellar repair it. The binding was in a bit of rough shape so he reinforced it with tissue. The lithographs of the artwork were reattached with archival tape.

Book cover

Page decoration on the first flanking few pages

Dedication and print info

Smaller, but still ornate title page

Ornate title page

Copy number plus signature

Title page at the end

The Poetry

The font, the type, the display…all of it is stunning. Most beautiful presentation of the poetry I’ve seen. The quatrains are prefaced by a special marker with the number inside it.

Marker for the first quatrain

First quatrain

Marker for the second quatrain

Combo 14/15 quatrain marker

Combo 14/15 quatrain

Quatrain 36

Marker for the 45th quatrain

Quatrain 74

Quatrain 75

The Illustrations

Willy Pogany’s artwork here is magnificent. These prints with their dazzling color come across beautifully and proudly despite the age of the copy. They almost seem to sparkle.