The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:
Unknown Year 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.
Update 12/2024: Removed ~1900s year speculation as it felt unverifiable. ~1910s seems more likely than that, but I lack anything to back it up right now besides anchoring it against other approximated year editions from the publisher.
Publisher: George G. Harrap (London)
Press: Vincent Brooks, Day & Son Ltd.
Year: n.d.
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.
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.
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.
