Archives

Edward Heron-Allen and the Quilter Rubaiyat

Edward Heron-Allen and the Quilter Rubaiyat. Bob Forrest
In: The Heron-Allen Society : newsletter, (2021), 39, pp. 5-7

A short biographical sketch of Harry Quilter, producer of one the many, rare pirate editions of the Rubaiyat, issued in 1883. With some details about Potter’s efforts to gather more information about this book.

Whitley Stokes and the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

Whitley Stokes and the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. J. Drew.
In: The tripartite life of Whitley Stokes (1830-1909). Ed. by Elizabeth Boyle and Paul Russell. Dublin, Four Courts Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-84682-278-0. pp. 111-118.

Drew describes Whitley Stokes’ role in the intriguing story behind the Madras 1862 edition.

The second (1862 pirate) edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

The second (1862 pirate) edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. J. Drew.
In: FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Popularity and neglect. Ed. by A. Poole et al. London, Anthem Press, 2011. pp. 93-107.

Drew focuses on Whitley Stokes, Edward Cowell and Thomas Evans Bell, and the intriguing story behind the Madras 1862 edition.

First American edition of the Rubaiyat was published in Columbus

First American edition of the Rubaiyat was published in Columbus. F.F.D. Albery.
Ohioana Quarterly (1964) (Spring), pp. 3-6

Summary

One of the most interesting literary incidents in the history of Columbus was the publication of the first American edition of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. It was, of course, an unauthorized reprint, but, as it was made in pure admiration of the beauty of Edward FitzGerald’s translation and with no purpose to make money, but only to supply a limited market beyond the easy reach of the London publisher, nobody could have thought ill of the project. In fact, the Columbus edition was a high compliment to the English translator and to the group of Columbus readers as well. The latter knew a good thing when they saw it, and possessed not only a keen sense of the beautiful in literature but also a resourcefulness in making for themselves what they could not otherwise obtain. The story of this incident was some years ago written for The Book-Lover by F. F. D. Albery, one of the group of Columbus admirers of Omar and later a member of the select circle known as “the Omar Khayyam Club of America”. The article appeared in No. 12, May-June 1902, of that magazine.

The famous Columbus edition of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

The famous Columbus edition of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. F.F.D. Albery
In: The Book-Lover, Vol. III, Nr. 2, May-June, 1902. Pp. 97-99.

Pictures the interest in Khayyám’s Rubaiyat and the history of the printing of the famous Columbus edition of 1870, and the people involved in the project.

The Englishing of ‘Omar Khayyám

The Englishing of ‘Omar Khayyám. John Drew
The Daily Star, 9-12-2017

Summary:
Drew points out that there is an Indian connection in the history of the Rubaiyat’s rise to fame, and that is the pirate Madras edition, produced by Whitley Stokes, a Dubliner who, unable to find work in London, sailed for Madras and evidently took a copy of the Rubáiyát with him. Once in Madras, Stokes met up with Thomas Evans Bell, a dissident army officer who was Hon. Sec. of the Madras Literary Society, and together they printed (anonymously) a pirate edition of the Rubáiyát. It not only reproduced Fitzgerald’s translations of Omar’s rubáiyát but also 32 by Cowell (published in the Calcutta Review, 1858), 10 in French by Garcin de Tassy and 15 versions by Stokes himself. Drew also compares some quatrains from the three translations.

Empire, Piracy and Appropriation. India & the Englishing of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

Empire, Piracy and Appropriation. India & the Englishing of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. John Drew. Cambridge, Cambridge Poetry Workshop, 2009. 73 p.

Summary:
When the Rubáiyát was published in London in 1859, it fell dead from the press. Surprisingly, the next edition of the poem was publieshed in India. The Madras edition of 1862 was not a mere reprint but a whole compendium of Omarian studies. This booklet makes available all 136 translated quatrains published in the Madras edition, 79 by FitzGerald and the rest by others intimately associated with him in the Rubáiyát story.

Contents

Introductory Essay:
1. The Calcutta Connection p. I
2. Piracy in Madras, p. II

A Sample Comparison of Translated Quatrains Together with Several others of Interest p. 25
Quatrains Attributed to Omar Khayyám Published in the Madras 1862 Edition p. 28
1. Garcin de Tassy p. 29
2. Edward Byles Cowell p. 31
3. Whitley Stokes p. 37
4. Edward FitzGerald p. 40

A Further Note on Major Thomas Evans Bell (1825-1887) and Whitley Stokes (1830-1909) p. 54

1857: Two Appendices p. 60
Extract from a Letter by Evans Bell p. 61
Extract from a Letter by George Thompson p. 65

Select Bibliography p. 67
Acknowledgements p. 73

The dog the mongoose. The Indian pirate edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (1862)

The dog & the mongoose. The Indian pirate edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (1862). An introduction by John Drew. Cambridge, Cambridge Poetry Workshop, 2009. 68 p.

Summary:
Limited Library edition. A variant edition for the general reader was published as: Empire, piracy and appropriation: India and the Englishing of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.

Contents

Introductory Essay:
The Dog & the Mongoose p. l
Quatrains Attributed to Omar Khayyám
Published in the Madras 1862 Edition p. 28
1. Garcin deTassy p. 29
2. Edward Byles Cowell p. 31
3. Whitley Stokes p. 37
4. Edward Fitz.Gerald p. 40
A Sample Comparison of Translated Quatrains Together with Several Others of Interest p. 54
A Further Note on Major Thomas Evans Bell (1825-1887) p. 58
Essential Sources p. 62
End Note p. 68