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Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500
Khayyam, Omar (1048-1131) & Edward Fitzgerald, trans. (1809-1883) Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, with a letter and manuscript poem by William Dean Howells.
London: Bernard Quaritch, 1868.
Second edition, octavo; inscribed by William A. Harris to American attorney and military historian John C. Ropes, "with all good wishes" in 1870; bound in brown pebble-grain morocco, blind-stamped, gilt-lettered, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt (faint vertical crease to text leaves; lower board bowing, head cap pulled, some surface loss); 7 3/4 x 6 in.
[Together with:] An ink manuscript fair copy of William Dean Howells's (1837-1920) poem,"Judgement Day" pasted to final blank; 7 1/4 x 5 1/8 in.
[And:] An autograph letter signed by Howells presenting the above poem for inclusion in this copy of the Rubaiyat imploring Ropes to keep the poem secret as it was not yet published; 1 leaf of blue 184 Commonwealth Avenue stationery, dated February 28th, 1891, in Boston; 7 3/4 x 4 3/4 in.
Harris and Ropes were both Harvard alumni who served together on the University's Board of Overseers. During the 1872-73 term, the board created the Committee to Visit the Academic department, which focused on supporting undergraduate and liberal arts studies. William Dean Howells, as a prominent literary figure of the period, was brought on to the committee that year and became an important member alongside Harris and Ropes.
