Enduring Transience

I am quite haunted by the former nameless owner of this miniature book. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam was a popular choice for soldiers to carry with them in World War 1. Could this tiny, pocket-sized book, printed around 1900 have gone to and returned back from France? How is it these poems about the transience of life written in the 11th century have endured, yet the name of the person who first owned and loved this book (it is well thumbed) is lost forever?