The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:
1917 Barse & Hopkins Gilbert James Edition
This thick, red Rubaiyat edition from Barse & Hopkins is the first from that publisher to be added to this website. It has illustrations from Gilbert James, Andrew Lang’s “To Omar Khayyam” poem, and an analysis from Edward S. Holden.
It’s a very solid copy and is in good condition. The pages are rough and some of them haven’t been cut yet!
This edition was donated by Bill Cloutier. Thank you!
Publisher: Barse & Hopkins (New York)
Year: 1917 (originally 1899)
Artist: Gilbert James
Introduction(s) by: Andrew Lang (To Omar Khayyam)
Contributed by: Bill Cloutier
The Book Itself
This reminds me of an old copy of Dracula I have due to how it looks with that red cover. This has far more embellishment, though.
Beyond aesthetics, this book is filled with accesory sections and such. Biographical preface, list of illustrations, notes, Andrew Lang’s poem, analysis by Edward S. Holden, and such. It’s very comprehensive! Lot to document.
The Poetry
Crisp, basic font. Nothing that exciting with the typography.
The Illustrations
Very concrete black and white drawings that are both expressive and descriptive. The paper they are on is shiny and slick.
