Translation from Persian by Edward Fitzgerald
Awake! For Morning in the Bowl of Night Has flung the Stone the puts the Stars to Flight
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Translation from Persian by Edward Fitzgerald
Constable, 1920.
First edition with Balfour's illustrations. 4to. Cream parchment boards with gilt lettering and colour roundel on the upper cover. Six mounted colour plates, 32 tipped in black and white plates (many with highlights in another colour) plus line drawings in the text. A very good copy, boards a little dusty, with a darkened strip to the upper section of front board. Contemporary gift inscription to the front endpaper. Plates and contents bright and fresh.
'A vision of the poem which is original and sincere if at times surprising.' The Times, 1920.
Balfour's illustrations for Khayyam's verse are both erotic and sensuous, and it is not always immediately clear which part of the verse he is depicting. The line drawings are heavily reminiscent of the work of Aubrey Beardsley, while the colour pates reflect the emergence of Art Nouveau and the fashion design that Balfour was perhaps better known for.
A contemporary review in the "Christmas Gift Books" page of The Scotsman on 25 November 1920 reads:
"Mr Balfour's designs are fancifully Oriental in character, touched with a considerable suggestion of Aubrey Beardsley, and it is possible that his rather lank divinities might not have entirely appealed to the imagination of the Persian poet. The designs, however, display a remarkable lightness and grace of line, and some of the little line drawings, printed upon the brown paper which is also employed for the letterpress, are extremely dainty, while the more elaborate designs in black and white, or in colour, printed on plate paper, are quite brilliantly executed."
Stock ID: 45507
