"A JUG OF WINE, A LOAF OF BREAD—AND THOU": FITZGERALD'S, WHINFIELD'S AND MCCARTHY'S TRANSLATIONS OF THE RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM, IN ONE VOLUME

(FITZGERALD, Edward) KHAYYAM, Omar. Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Comprising the Metrical Translations of Edward FitzGerald and E.H. Whinfield and the prose version of Justin Huntly McCarthy. New York: Thomas Nelson and Sons, (1899). 12mo, contemporary full pale purple calf, elaborately gilt-decorated spine, raised bands, patterned endpapers, all edges gilt. $1100.

Comparative edition of this timeless classic, featuring Edward FitzGerald's classic verse translation, followed by the prose translation of Justin Huntly McCarthy, and then by E.H. Whinfield's more modern metrical translation, with an Introduction by Jessie B. Rittenhouse. Beautifully bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe.

Composed in 12th-century Persia and rendered into English by Edward FitzGerald, these stanzas express "the desire to snatch the utmost of pleasurable sensation from the irretrievable passing moment… [but also] more sober thoughts of the Power that has created beauty and in man a capacity to appreciate beauty but has cursed him with transience… In words and cadences of haunting loveliness a desolating message was communicated to numberless hearts" (Baugh, et al., 1417-18). Translated anonymously and first published in 1859, FitzGerald's Rubáiyát went virtually unnoticed until discovered by Dante Gabriel Rossetti the following year. As its popularity grew, FitzGerald felt compelled to revise it three times (in 1868, 1872 and 1879). This comparative edition features an additional translation in verse by renowned translator of Persian literature Edward Henry Whinfield, as well as the prose translation of Irish writer, historian and M.P. Justin Huntly McCarthy.

A lovely volume in fine condition.