Description:
very fine binding by Zaehndorf. Dark brown calf binding with gilt title, raised gilt decorated banding on the spine. Gilt on all edges. A magnificent copy printed in 1906A 1906 Reprint prompted by Bernard Alfred Quaritch, of his father's the 1st edition of1859 which consisted of 75 quatrains The authenticity of the poetry attributed to Omar Khayyam is highly uncertain. Khayyam was famous during his lifetime not as a poet but as an astronomer and mathematician. The earliest reference to his having written poetry is found in his biography by al-Isfahani, written 43 years after his death. This view is reinforced by other medieval historians such as Shahrazuri (1201) and Al-Qifti (1255). Parts of the Rubaiyat appear as incidental quotations from Omar in early works of biography and in anthologies. These include works of Razi (ca. 1160–1210), Daya (1230), Juvayni (ca. 1226–1283), and Jajarmi (1340). Also, five quatrains assigned to Khayyam in somewhat later sources appear in Zahiri Samarqandi's… Read More