The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

Quite a bit of paper has survived on the wreck- so the book may still exist- at the very least the gems and semi precious stones that encrusted the boards of the book are still there, though probrolly loose...

it's interesting the mythology that surrounds this particular copy- i read one account that suggested the book was encrusted with diamonds, emeralds, rubies and pearls...
 
"Quite a bit of paper has survived on the wreck- so the book may still exist- at the very least the gems and semi precious stones that encrusted the boards of the book are still there, though probrolly [sic] loose..."

I think I read somewhere that at the wreck site there isn't that much oxygen which is why so much of the paper and wood has survived. I can't remember where I read that, but it may have been the National Geographic's article on the Titanic disappearing. If the Rubaiyat has survived though, as said above, the cost of retrieving it would, most likely, outweigh the actual value.

Still - who wouldn't like to be able to say to their dinner guests that they have the Rubaiyat sitting in their study ;)
 
Paper at the wrecksite was gone quickly, unless it was stored in other items (such as leather satchels). Otherwise, it's gone.

Maybe if someone finds a grouping of gems, that'll be the final resting place of the Rubaiyat.

Still, if it were found today, it would be worth more than the 1912 adjusted for inflation...simply because it was part of the wreck of the Titanic. Further, it wouldn't be sitting in anyone's study because of the salvage laws on the wreck. It would be in a museum.
 
>>Still - who wouldn't like to be able to say to their dinner guests that they have the Rubaiyat sitting in their study ;)<<

I'm sure I could get a copy From Amazon or Alibris if I really wanted to. The book shipped on the Titanic, if ever found and recovered, will never sit in anybody's study. After conservation, it would have to be kept in a very closely controlled environment to keep it from turning in to dust.
 
Fair points, Jeremy and Michael, but I didn't mean 'sitting in their study' literally hence the wink

Even if it had been preserved to a near-perfect state it would be better kept in a museum, even without the salvage laws.
 
rubaiyat_copy1.jpg


I found this after I was watching "The Portrait of Dorian Gray".....


I sent my soul into the invisible,

Some letter of that after life to spell.

And by and by my soul returned to me

And answered, I myself am heaven and hell.
 
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