The Four Rubaiyats

 

The Four Rubaiyats: Keys to the Somerton Mystery

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is more than just a book of poetry in the Somerton Man case; it is the central mechanism of the mystery. For decades, police and amateur sleuths have focused on a single book, but our research has identified four distinct editions that play critical roles in the web of connections between the Somerton Man, George Marshall, and the espionage network operating in Australia in 1948.

Understanding the specific differences between these editions—and correcting the historical errors regarding their identification—is essential to solving the case.

1. The Methuen 7th Edition (The George Marshall Link)

Significance: The Precursor Associated Case: The Death of George Marshall (1945)

Three years before the Somerton Man died, Joseph "George" Marshall was found dead in Mosman, Sydney, with a copy of the Rubaiyat lying open on his chest. This edition was a Methuen 7th Edition.

Marshall's death, officially ruled a suicide by poisoning, shares haunting similarities with the Somerton case. Our research suggests this was not a coincidence but a pattern. The presence of this specific edition links the two deaths, suggesting that the Rubaiyat was being used as a marker or recognition signal within a specific group long before the Somerton Man was found on the beach.

2. The Whitcombe & Tombs Edition (The Great Misidentification)

Significance: The Red Herring Status: Wrongly identified by the senior researchers and the media for decades.

For over 70 years, the "Somerton Man's book"—the one found in the back of a car near the beach—was publicly identified as a Whitcombe & Tombs edition. This identification has led countless researchers down the wrong path.

Our forensic analysis of the torn "Tamam Shud" slip and the paper texture proves that the slip found in the Somerton Man's pocket could not have come from a Whitcombe & Tombs edition. This book was a red herring, potentially introduced to confuse the investigation or simply the result of a critical police error that became accepted history.

3. The Collins Edition (The True Evidence)

Significance: The Real "Somerton" Book Discovery: Recovered by Detective Brown

Through the re-examination of original police photographs and testimony, we have established that the book actually found—and the book from which the "Tamam Shud" slip was torn—was a Collins Edition.

This is a critical distinction. Detective Brown originally handled a book that matched the paper and font of the slip perfectly. The shift in the narrative to the Whitcombe & Tombs edition obscured vital clues that only the Collins edition holds. By correctly identifying the Collins edition, we re-align the physical evidence with the timeline, validating the link between the slip found on the body and the book recovered from the car. For example the Collins version contained Fitzeggerals First and Second edition. A long running project was held by Adelaide University students led by Professor Abbot that focused purely in attempting to find evidence of code but only from the single Fitzgerald first edition.

4. The Boxall Rubaiyat (The Tradecraft Manual)

Significance: The Link to Jestyn Inscription: Verse 70

The most famous specific copy in the case is the 1945 edition given by the nurse "Jestyn" (Jessica Thomson) to Alf Boxall in Sydney.

• The Code: This book contains the famous "Verse 70" inscription.

• The Micro-Writing: Crucially, our research has identified anamorphic micro-writing and codes hidden within the design and edges of this book.

We propose that the Boxall Rubaiyat was never intended merely as a romantic gift. Instead, it served as a training manual or codebook for intelligence operatives. The inscription establishes the direct link between the nurse, the spy Alf Boxall, and the tradecraft methods used by the Somerton Man. We have the images and the proof.

Explore the Evidence

The details of these four books are complex and contain the proof required to understand the network behind the Somerton Man. We invite you to search this blog for keywords like "Collins Rubaiyat," "Methuen," and "Boxall Rubaiyat" and "Whitcomb and Tombs Rubaiyat"to see the full forensic breakdown of each edition. Here's a link that you may found useful: https://tamamshud.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-somerton-man-rubaiyat-its-not-what.html.