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The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

The Great Omar, as it was known, was a priceless copy of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, a book of poems, it had been translated from Persian by Edward Fitzgerald. This particular copy had been commissioned especially and was encrusted with fifteen hundred precious and semi- precious stones. The front cover featured three beautiful golden peacocks with tails covered in jewels. The book was on its way to America on the fateful maiden voyage of the Titanic. The Titanic was supposedly unsinkable, but tragically on the night of April 14th 1912 the ship hit an iceberg and sank in less than three hours. Sadly many lives were lost as there were insufficient life boats and some were launched not filled to capacity. It is not known what happened to the precious book.