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Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, the Astronomer-poet of Persia
Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, the Astronomer-poet of Persia | Omar Khayyam
3 posts | 1 read
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Bookwomble
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This is a nifty c. 1915 edition, bound in purple-dyed leather, with two illustrative plates glued to green backing paper with gilt borders & inscription. It's had a bit of a hard life, with some sun-bleaching and a small hole in the cover, but I guess we all start to show our wear and tear eventually: wholly in keeping with the contents ??????
"'One Moment in Annihilation's Waste,
One Moment, of the Well of Life to taste--
Oh, make Haste!"?

TheBookgeekFrau It's beautiful! 😠6mo
Leftcoastzen That‘s gorgeous, letterpress? 6mo
Bookwomble @TheBookgeekFrau I want to say, "Thank you," but all I did was buy it ? 6mo
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Bookwomble @Leftcoastzen I'd assume so from the age of it. There's no impress from the type on the main pages, which are nice paper stock, btw 😊, but there's a slight impress on the plate pages, so perhaps it needed a bit more pressure to print the gilt. 6mo
batsy ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ 6mo
Leftcoastzen I‘m always amazed that these little gems survive. 6mo
dabbe 🤩🤩🤩 6mo
Aimeesue Lovely 💜 6mo
Bookwomble @Leftcoastzen Yeah - this one looks like it's been through a lot, but perhaps just well-loved 💖 6mo
TheBookgeekFrau @Bookwomble 😂😂 True, but you're welcome anyway 😠6mo
bthegood Beautiful edition. This brings back memories - I had a friend who use to send me writings from this - enjoy 🙂 (edited) 6mo
Bookwomble @bthegood I'm glad this sparked happy memories for you 😊 According to my GR record, I've read this poem 16 times, but it's definitely way more than that. You'd think I'd be able to quote the whole thing from memory, but no! 😄 6mo
bthegood @Bookwomble 😊 6mo
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Bookwomble
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This afternoon I'm sunburning my knees in the back garden with a previously unread edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám in honour of the Persian tentmaker's birthday today, listening to Beth Gibbons's excellent new album, Lives Outgrown, with its matching themes of death and the transitory nature of life (I'm a happy bunny, really, honestly!ðŸ°), and wishing I had another Twister ice lolly to replace the one I've just finished.
#BooksAndMusic

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Bookwomble
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"Tis all a Chequer-board of Nights and Days
Where Destiny with Men for Pieces plays:
Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays,
And one by one back in the Closet lays."
- Verse 49

There's a Blakian feel about this illustration which sits well with the verse. One of the joys of collecting illustrated editions of the Rubáiyát is seeing which verses have been chosen for interpretation. I think this is a less-used verse.