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This is the story of 'Abdu'l-Baha With Flowers:
In 1972 I took a close-up Kodachrome photo of a painting hanging in the home of Margaret Gallagher, an Auxiliary Board Member in Hayward, California. Then I went out to her garden and saw the bright backlit red flowers and double-exposed them onto the same frame. I made two nearly identical slides but one didn't come out due to overexposure. Several years later I scanned a negative I made from the original 35mm slide at 5400 dpi (248 MB) and restored it because the original was damaged by a flood.
The painter's name was Samimi. Download a document in Adobe PDF format for more information about the painter. The right half of the image consists of flowers I added when I took the photograph. The photograph was a close-up of the painting. The entire painting shows a 3/4 length view of 'Abdu'l-Baha.
When I was on pilgrimage in 1974, I brought two hundred copies of the photo with me at the request of Hand of the Cause A. Q. Faizi. He gave them away during his many teaching trips around the world. Though he asked me to sign the backs of the photos I preferred to remain anonymous. Among my treasures are some hand-illuminated letters that Mr. Faizi wrote me in the 1970's including a comment on this image. You can find them online at the Bahai-Library site in an unpublished book of his letters edited by Shirley Macias.
I give this image away for free on a conditional basis. I do not accept payment for copies of this image. It may be freely distributed by Bahá'í's as long as it is not modified and the source of the image is included (www.enochsvision.com, Cary Enoch Reinstein). You may not publish this image on any website without my prior permission in writing. It is a copyrighted image and not in the public domain and not under a Creative Commons license. Accompanying text documents must not be edited or modified.
I occasionally make archival quality pigment ink prints as special gifts for friends and family. There are many quality printing sites where you can make your own prints.The 11MB Zip file contains three images suitable for printing at high quality on standard size photographic paper. It also contains expanded commentary on the image including copyright and permitted usage statements as well as guidance on portraits of 'Abdu'l-Baha from the World Center.
Download this image for high quality printing
Ministry of Flowers
'Abdu'l-Bahá's personal wants were few. He worked late and early. Two simple meals a day sufficed Him. His wardrobe consisted of a very few garments of inexpensive material. He could not bear to live in luxury while others were in want. He had a great love for children, for flowers, and for the beauties of nature. ..." -- In Galilee, p. 51.
The "ministry of flowers" was a feature of the life at 'Akká, of which every pilgrim brought away fragrant memories. Mrs. Lucas writes: -- "When the Master inhales the odor of flowers, it is wonderful to see him. It seems as though the perfume of the hyacinths were telling him something as he buries his face in the flowers. It is like the effort of the ear to hear a beautiful harmony, a concentrated attention!"
-- A Brief Account of My Visit to 'Akká, pp. 25-26.
He loved to present beautiful and sweet-smelling flowers to His numerous visitors.
--Dr. J.E. Esslemont, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era