Appendix 4 - A word on Potter’s bibliography

Summary

Though Potter's bibliography has often been both praised and criticized, we do not know very much yet about the bibliographer himself. In the introduction to his bibliography, Pott er describes how he became involved in the project. The intention for a bibliography originated from Mr. H. Schroeter of Los Angeles, who published an advertisement in Notes and Queries (October 17, 1908) in which he expressed his desire for “the co-operation of all who are interested in the production of ‘A bibliography of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám’”. Schroeter abandoned his intention to publish and the work was continued by A.G. Potter. Co-operation came from Eben Francis Thompson (USA), Edward Heron-Allen (England), Jamshedi E. Saklatwalla (India), Kazumi Yano ( Japan) and E. Denison Ross (England). Potter collected his information by publishing a number of advertisements in Notes & Queries, between 1911 and 1928. The work was published in 1929. It had been preceded in 1923 by a less extensive bibliography of foreign editions, also compiled by A.G. Potter.

The 1929 bibliography itself was printed in a limited edition of 300 copies, of which fifty copies were signed and printed on special paper. Of the earlier foreign languages bibliography 275 copies were printed and today both books are collector's items. A few sources mention reprints of Pott er's bibliography but the only actual reprint that can be found is the one by Olms Verlag, Hildesheim [etc.], 1994. A recent Iranian bibliography on Khayyám mentions a reprint in 1971, but this compilation, unfortunately, is not very reliable and it does not give further details. WorldCat has a record stating a reprint of Potter's bibliography by B. Franklin, New York, 1975. No details of theses reissues have been found either. A list of other bibliographic sources is presented in Appendix 2.

Vinnie-Marie d’Ambrosio remarks that “numerous articles published around 1900-1910 had been omitted” (in Potter's bibliography, JC). Indeed, it was far from complete, leaving out many editions in foreign languages and privately printed material as well. Potter completed a revised and enlarged edition of his 1929 bibliography, but his materials were destroyed by fire in 1938 before publication, and he did not publish another edition before his death in the late 1940s.