Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, Nynorsk Cultural Centre

What it is

This is a book titled Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, held by the Nynorsk Cultural Centre in Norway and recorded in the Europeana catalogue. It comes in a gold-colored slipcase with a red label reading RUBÁIYÁT OF OMAR KHAYYÁM in white capitals. The spine is red with a repeated white and gold tulip-like pattern. The record does not give a date, translator, publisher or original language, so the edition cannot be placed precisely.

Why it matters

The Rubáiyát is a collection of short poems attributed to Omar Khayyám, the Persian mathematician and poet. Later printed editions, often in translation, carried his verses to readers far from Persia and helped shape how he was remembered in the West. A book like this one shows that his reputation as a poet grew through publishing, not only through the manuscripts of his own time.

Look closer

• What do the cover, slipcase and label tell you about how this book was designed and who it was meant for?
• Who translated or edited this edition, and what might they have changed from the original poems?
• What questions can you not answer from the photograph and the short record alone?