The 'Great Omar' ~ lost forever ...almost...

A brief history of one finely bound copy of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

To celebrate the 1911 coronation of George III the manager ~ John Stonehouse ~ of the London booksellers Henry Sotheran [sotherans] ~ commissioned a London bookbinding firm to bind a copy of Omar Khayyam's 'Rubaiyat'.

The company chosen ~ Sangorski and Sutcliffe ~ founded in London in 1901 (or 1842) [127107] ~ was given a completely free hand to make this celebratory binding. The book could be as imaginatively and elaborately bound as Sangorski and Sutcliffe wished ~ and with no consideration as to the cost.

The Great Omar
The Great Omar ~ a large book ~
about 60cm (2ft) high and 45cm (or 90cm ~ spread as above) wide.

The printed sheets were allocated to the most proficient of S&S's Extra Binders [112759]. It took two and half years to complete this jewelled masterpiece. It was of immense size ~ with over a thousand gemstones set into the leather binding ~ and almost as much gold leaf as the Royal Mint could supply.

On delivery to Sotherans, the Rubaiyat was displayed and offered for sale...

... and now begins the sad ending to the story of this magnificent example of the finest bookbinding workmanship ever seen...

The book was eventually purchased by an American ~ but the customs held the book to ransom. Delivery was delayed and the book was returned to Southerans in England.

Finally...although not the end of the story...the book was re-sold at auction ~ by Sothebys ~ for £405. It was shipped ~ again ~ to America ~ in a specially made fine oak box. This precious cargo was ~ fittingly ~ securely stowed in the luggage hold of the safest and most prestigious trans-Atlantic liner in the World. It remains to this day ~ untouched in its oak casket ~ in the depths of the North Atlantic ~ entombed in the Titanic...

...there is more...

Stanley Bray ~ a skilled worker at Sangorski and Sutcliffe ~ made yet another identical copy of the book, which was stored by S&S in the vault of their bank...until ~ in 1941 ~ it was destroyed during the blitz.

...and yet more...

Sangorski and Sutcliffe were able to rescue some of the ~ second lot ~ of jewels from the ashes of their building. Stanley Bray ~ now retired and in his eighties ~ set about making a third copy of The Great Omar. This was ~ yet again ~ as near identical to the original as was possible.

...finally...

This third copy remains ~ safely locked away in the vaults of the British Museum.



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