The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:
Unknown Year Hodder and Stoughton Edmund Dulac Edition

No exact date given to this edition. Wonderful art from Dulac…nothing new there, but the colors come through strong on the attached plates. Henry Stone & Son did the plates and borders.

The typeface is crisp and fits with the aesthetic.

Each quatrain art has a page marking it and protecting it, which is interesting.

The year of this edition can be narrowed down a bit based on The English Catalogue of Books and publisher history. There’s reference to a Hodder and Stoughton with Dulac illustrations edition in the catalogs at least for the following years:

• 1909
• 1914 - noted as a re-issue.
• 1918
• 1919

Based on dimensions and of these catalog options, I’d guess it’s an ‘18 or ‘19 edition, leaning towards 1918 one given dimensions. I measured it at roughly 11x8.5 inches (a little less than 11, a little more than 8.6). The 1918 listed dimensions are 11x8.5 so that seems close. 1919 is 11.5x8.75 (unsure if 11.5 or 11.25). Assuming I measured properly and I understand the dimension meaning properly in these listings, of course. And, of course, it could be from another year not represented in the above yearly catalog findings.

According to Brief Notes on the Origins of T. & A. Constable Ltd, “In 1921 a Limited Company was formed under the name of T. & A. Constable Ltd.”. Given that copyright does not say ‘Ltd’, it would seem to be pre-1921.

Update 07/2023: Updated the layout, added pictures, and tweaked page copy.

Update 12/2024: Remove 1920s speculative dating that was from sellers.

Update 10/2025: Added new 1918 year guess based on The English Catalogue of Books/publisher history.