Exquisite first edition thus of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, a book of poems translated from Persian to English by Edward Fitzgerald (1809-1883), an English poet and writer best known for his translation of this book. The poems were attributed to Omar Khayyam (1048-1131), a mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and poet from ancient Persia. The book was published by Hodder and Stoughton Circa 1910 and bound by Sangorski and sutcliffe, one of the foremost bookbinders on England in the early 1900's. The book was illustrated by Edmund Dulac, a French artist influenced by William Morris and Aubrey Beadsley and who used Oriental and Persian motifs in his works. The book is done in Morocco leather, it has 189 pages with all edges gilt, a gilt-decorated cover, five raised bands with six gilt panels on the spine, and 12 beautiful color plates by Dulac. The book is inscribed "Phoebe S. Harvey 1928" in the front; she was probably the original owner of the book. The book comes with two red ribbon markers and its original slipcase. You can tell because the pattern on the slipcase matches the pattern on the front and rear end papers of the book. Sangorski and Sutcliffe were known for using jeweled bindings which had real gold and precious stones on the covers. In fact, they were commissioned to create a lavish copy of the Rubaiyat which was adorned by golden peacocks with jeweled tails and encircled by elaborate gilded vines; the book was sent on the titanic, and when the titanic sank, the book went down with it. A second copy of the Rubaiyat was bound at the beginning of World War II and placed in a bank vault for safe keeping, but enemy bombing destroyed the vault and that copy. Later, Stanley Bray made a third version of the binding based on the original design, this copy is now in the British Library. Finally, a copy had been saved. The book measures 7 3/4 x 6 1/16 x 1 1/4 in. The slip case is slightly larger. The book is rare and it is very hard to find a copy of the book with a slip case. Very light rubbing at the tail of the spine and the tips of the slip case.