THE RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM

East Aurora, New York: The Roycrofters, 1900. No. 18 OF 40 SPECIAL COPIES on Imperial Japanese vellum (there were also 1,000 on regular paper), SIGNED by Publisher Elbert Hubbard and Illuminator Georgia Ganscho. 225 x 143 mm. (8 3/4 x 5 5/8"). [28] French-fold leaves.Translated by Edward FitzGerald.
Attractive green crushed morocco by the Roycroft Bindery (stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-in), upper cover with large foliate centerpiece, raised bands with intricate gilt decorations and lettering, gilt-ruled turn-ins with foliate cornerpieces. Each page with lovely Art Nouveau initials and borders in pale shades of yellow, green, and gray, INITIALS HAND ILLUMINATED by Georgia Ganscho. Front flyleaf with ink anniversary inscription from Dee to Freddy dated 1960, and ink ownership signature of Fred Kindl. Potter 225; Paas 4029. ◆Spine and edges faded to brown (as usual with green morocco), small areas of joints just beginning to show cracks, but an excellent copy in a binding that is still quite pleasing, and with contents in fine condition.

Produced entirely by the artisans of the Roycroft Workshops, this is a lovely edition of the Rubaiyat printed in a very limited quantity on Japanese vellum, handsomely bound, and attractively printed in the Art Nouveau style, with initials outlined in gilt by hand. Inspired by a visit to William Morris' Kelmscott Press in 1894, Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915) purchased the struggling Roycroft Printing Shop in East Aurora, New York, and set out to launch an American Arts & Crafts Movement. Under his direction, the shop began issuing hand-printed books, some decorated with illuminations, in 1897. According to ANB, within five years, the Roycroft organization "had shops for printing and binding and for furniture, metal, and leather work; it also established training schools for the local youth in drawing, watercolor, and bookbinding. . . . Hubbard allowed free experimentation and never questioned the cost throughout the shops. Designers and craftsmen could work out ideas and, if unsuccessful, just start over. There were never deadlines for the books or prohibitions on design motifs." While Roycroft productions did not reach the elevated achievements of the best English private presses, Hubbard nevertheless had an important impact on American book arts: as his friend William Marion Reedy observed, "he makes lovers of books out of people who never knew books before." This copy (ungenerously described as having "joints starting") sold at Swann in 2013 for $1,500..