Ten Thousand Dollar Rubaiyat Of Omar Khayyam ca. 1930's. This is a facsimile copy of the first edition of "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam" that was translated by Edward Fitzgerald and published by Bernard Quaritch in 1859. This copy comes in a blue paperboard binding and has the facsimile copy of the original in wrappers inside, published by The Clason Publishing Company of Denver, Colorado, with a four-sided pamphlet by Clason bound in at the rear; the last page of the pamphlet has an essay by Nolie Mumey about the origins of Fitzgerald's first edition and says the first copy was rejected by Fraser's Magazine, so Fitzgerald printed a redraft anonymously, there were only 250 copies of the redraft because it was printed at the author's own expense, and Bernard Quaritch picked up the publishing in 1859. This is a copy of the original in wrappers, after 1930, and it is in great condition. The only way you can know this is a copy of the original is by the title on the outer binding and by the pamphlet at the rear by Clason. The wrappers here have 21 pages, as did the original, and they come with a tight binding and clean pages and text, and if you'd like to own a copy of the original, which runs into a gazillion bucks - Mumey's essay says a copy of the rare first edition from 1859 sold for $8000 in 1929 and another for $10,000 in 1930, and dollars back then would be a whopping amount now - well, there were only 250 copies of the first edition printed in 1859 and you probably can't find another now. There is light rubbing or wear at the tips of the outer binding and a tad at the heel and crown, and that's it. The facsimile copy inside is in remarkable shape, and a chance to own a copy that is rare in its own right. #90 #1681