RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM - LIMITED DELUXE EDITION SIGNED BY STEPHEN GOODEN

The first Version of Edward Fitzgerald, London: Harrap, 1940. 8°, 8 superb engraved plates and illustrations by Stephen Gooden, original green morocco-backed cloth gilt, t.e.g., fore and lower edges uncut In the original cardboard slipcase. NO. 102 OF 125 COPIES SIGNED BY STEPHEN GOODEN. Scarce in this edition. 

The spine is sunned to brown but the gilt lettering remains bright. Some offsetting to the top inner edges of both front and rear pastedowns and the adjacent few pages, otherwise internally fine and unmarked. 

Stephen Gooden was the leading exponent of the re-introduction of original line engraving to England during the 1920's, rapidly becoming acknowledged as the most accomplished line engraver of his time. Stephen Gooden produced few independent engravings, the main body of his work being book illustrations for the private presses and privately commissioned bookplates. He illustrated a number of significant books, among them The Nonesuch Press Bible, The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, The Fables of La Jean de la Fontaine, George Moore's The Brook Kerith, and Aesop's Fables. In addition, Stephen Gooden was the foremost engraver of pictorial bookplates in England during his lifetime, producing over forty notable bookplates, including a number for The Royal Family, and was the official designer to the Bank of England.