Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (Hodder and Stoughton, [1913]) illustrated by Rene Bull

 

Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

rendered into English Verse by Edward Fitzgerald
illustrated in colour and in line by René Bull
Hodder and Stoughton, [1913]

The first René Bull illustrated edition, published as a vellum bound signed limited edition and as a trade edition in publisher’s decorated cloth. My understanding is the trade edition came in two versions; the primary binding with gilt title and decoration to the front board, and a secondary binding with the gilt replaced with colour (this copy). An undated reprint appeared in 1915 using the secondary binding but differed from the first edition by losing the captioned tissue guards and with the tipped-in plate borders being in blue instead of gilt.

Superbly illustrated in colour with ten tipped-in plates bordered in gilt and nineteen smaller mounted plates, plus numerous line drawings in blue.

Hardback – publisher’s cloth with titles in gilt to spine, titles and decoration in colour to front board. [180]pp including b/w illustrations and colour plates. 11.25 x 8.75 inches approx. (285mm x 224mm).

Covers a touch worn and rubbed to extremities, spine a little dulled, a few splash marks to rear board; some crushing to spine ends. Offsetting to endpapers, ownership inscription in ballpoint ink to front free endpaper; front endpaper hinge splitting but holding well; foxing to preliminaries and last few pages, scattered foxing throughout but generaly clean; spotting to page edges; some instances of verses highlighted with a pencilled line (please see images); page-block a little shaken.

Nonetheless, remaining a particularly well preserved example – quite lovely.

[SOLD]

ref. [99] Ambrose George Potter, A Bibliography of Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (Ingpen & Grant, 1929)
ref. A Book of Verse by Garry Garrard (Sutton Publishing, 2007)

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