SUFI INTERPRETATIONS OF THE QUATRAINS OF OMAR KHAYYAM AND FITZGERALD

BJERREGAARD, C. H. A.

Verlag: J. F. Taylor and Company, New York, 1902

330 x 238 mm. (12 1/2 x 9 1/4"). [68] French-fold leaves.Translated by Edward FitzGerald. DELUXE DARK GREEN CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT, upper cover with gilt titling and large grape emblem, raised bands with gilt-ruled compartments and large gilt grape cluster at center, wide inner dentelles with grapevine frame, RED MOROCCO DOUBLURES, red watered silk free endleaves, marbled flyleaves, leather hinges top edge gilt, other edges rough trimmed. Chromolithographed additional title, six hand-colored plates, some heightened in gold, and three monochrome plates, each with lettered tissue guards. Printed in red and black on Japanese vellum. Potter 252; Paas 4953. â Top and bottom three inches of rear leather hinge damaged (eaten by insects?), spine softly faded, back cover with several faint scratches, other trivial defects, but still quite a pleasing copy--lovely inside and in a still-attractive deluxe binding. This is the scarce limited edition of a work that reveals a deeper meaning behind the familiar "Omar" verses. Using the text of FitzGerald's 1879 fourth edition (101 quatrains), Carl Henry Andrew Bjerregaard explains the Rubaiyat as an allegory for spiritual seeking in the Sufi tradition. As a 1902 article in the New York Times noted, "in his idea the wine cup and earthly love in Omar's stanzas are merely 'symbols of a great ideal.' Omar sings of the higher life of the soul, Dr. Bjerregaard contends." According to his obituary in the Times, Bjerregaard (1845-1922) had served in the Danish military before immigrating to the U.S. in 1873 "for political reasons." He worked for the Astor Library as a cataloguer, and when that institution consolidated with others to form the New York Public Library, he became chief of the reading room. Access to this expansive collection allowed him to pursue his avocation: mysticism and, in particular, Sufism. He was the author of numerous articles and several other books on the subject. With a limitation of just 26, this is an edition rarely seen in the marketplace (our copy, one of two listed by RBH, sold for $2,250 at Swann in 2018). Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers ST17640-378

Bibliografische Details

Titel: SUFI INTERPRETATIONS OF THE QUATRAINS OF ...
Verlag: J. F. Taylor and Company, New York
Erscheinungsdatum: 1902
Auflage: No. 23 OF 26 COPIES SIGNED BY AUTHOR.