Bonhams 1793 : STRINDBERG (AUGUST) Autograph postcard signed, 1901

Autograph postcard signed ("Aug Sg"), in Swedish, to his German translator, Emil Schering, trying to explain the meaning of various Swedish words that are puzzling Schering, including 'pilj' (which he explains is a hunting term, a call to the hounds, derived from French piller, to pillage or plunder), 'pilt' (a small boy or toddler), and 'höja ett lefve' (to shout 'hurrah!' for someone; Strindberg suggesting 'herausbringen' as a German equivalent although he is not sure, as he does not have a German dictionary with him), one page, 8vo, on a pre-printed postcard with autograph address on the verso, 8vo, [Stockholm], 11 January 1901

Sold for £475 inc. premium

Footnotes

STRINDBERG AND HIS TRANSLATOR: the recipient of this card, Emil Schering, was one of his most important correspondents, being not only responsible for translating his plays and acting as his agent in Germany, but also working with him on the plays themselves, Strindberg using him as a sounding board in trying out his ideas and expounding his aims. It was thanks to Schering and his 48-volume edition of the plays (1910-1924) that there was the great wave of German productions between 1915 and 1926, sealing Strindberg's twentieth century reputation.

The year in which our card was written, 1901, was to see Strindberg write plays such as Svanevit (Swanwhite) and Ett drőmspel (A Dream Play) both of which Schering translated as well as his marriage to the actress Harriet Bosse. From the phrases queried on this postcard, it seems that the play under discussion was Kristina (Queen Christina), published that year.

Category: Books / Books, Maps and Manuscripts

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