Rubaiyat

Rubaiyat is a collection of 11th-century Persian poetry, notably collected and translated into English by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859. A collection of over 1,000 poems, it takes its name from a poetic meter called a ru'bai.It is considered a high point of Victorian literature and is extremely collectible, not only in its first appearance but in many of its editions. A true first edition of Rubaiyat, published by Bernard Quaritch in London, 1859 is not commonly seen and can fetch upwards of $40,000-50,000 on the open market.  However, as earlier noted, many editions are also prized and often may be more accessible to collectors. For example, the Hodder & Stoughton edition printed in 1909 with illustrations from Edmund Dulac can often be found for $1500-2000.More information on collecting editions of Rubaiyat can be found on our blog.