A Romance at a Post-House

December 24, 2013, 7:03 am

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Qing you chuan qi (A romance at a post-house), also known as Qing you ji, is a play in two juan, written by Wu Bing (1595–1647), a famed late-Ming playwright from a family of officials in Changzhou. After achieving his jin shi degree, Wu Bing assumed the post of magistrate of Puqi, Hubei Province. Among his other posts were assistant superintendent of education in Jiangxi and service in the Bureau of Rivers and Canals, the Ministry of Works. He was known as an able, just official, but he later resigned his post and returned home to devote himself to writing poetry and drama. After the suicide of the last Ming emperor, he joined the court of the Ming loyalist regime, the Southern Ming (1644–62), and served as minister of the Bureau of Rites and concurrently as the grand scholar of the East Hall. He was captured in Jingzhou and died after a hunger strike. Wu Bing was posthumously canonized by the Qing emperor Qianlong. He is considered one of the greatest dramatists of the Linchuan School, one of the Ming schools of long poetic dramas. Most of his works deal with love and marriage, with misunderstandings and coincidences threading through the stories, as is the case here. This work is one of his five best-known plays, along with Xi yuan ji (The story of the west garden), Lü mu dan (Green peony), Liao du geng (The broth that cures envy) and Hua zhong ren (The figure in the painting). Qing you chuan qi is the longest of the five plays. The Jinling workshops printed few copies of this play, and often left out parts, making this complete copy very valuable. The story revolves around the hero named Liu Qianchu and his two wives. When the chief of the Privy Council wants to select a concubine from among beautiful girls to be presented to him, the sub-prefect, Wang Ren, substitutes the servant girl Jia Zixiao for his daughter Wang Huiniang. His plot is exposed and Wang Ren is put in jail. Meanwhile Scholar Liu writes a poem on the wall of a post-house where he is staying. Wang Huiniang and her maid Jia Zixiao read the verse and complete the composition. Together with her maid, Wang Huiniang eventually rescues her father, and both mistress and maid marry Liu Qianchu.The book includes red-colored punctuation marks and corrections. It has no prefaces or table of contents. This copy contains only five of the original 12 illustrations. They provide a bird’s-eye view of a scene and depict railings of pavilions and balconies. Each illustration has an inscription describing the mood in the image.

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The Swallow’s Message, Huaiyuantang Edition with Commentaries and Punctuations

December 24, 2013, 7:03 am

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Ruan Dacheng (circa 1587–1646) was a well-known late-Ming poet and dramatist from an influential family in Huaining, Anhui Province, and also a corrupt politician of unsavory reputation. He received his jin shi degree in 1616. While in office, he allied with Wei Zhongxian (1568–1627), a powerful eunuch, and was dismissed after the eunuch’s downfall. He retired to his native town, and later to Nanjing, and began writing poetry and drama. In 1644 he joined the court of the Ming loyalist Southern Ming (1644–62) regime, and rose to the rank of president of the Board of War and grand guardian of the heir apparent, whereupon he used his power to revenge himself against his enemies. After he surrendered to the Manchus, he was killed en route to Fujian with the Qing army. His best known play is Yan zi jian (The swallow’s message). In 42 scenes, the play is skillfully constructed and full of beautiful songs and artful plots. It tells the story of Huo Duliang, a Tang-dynasty scholar who, together with another scholar named Xianyu Ji, travels to the capital Chang’an for the civil examinations. Huo paints a portrait of himself together with the famous courtesan Hua Xingyun and takes it to be mounted by a man called Miu. Meanwhile, the heroine, Li Feiyun, daughter of the minister of the Bureau of Rites, takes her self-portrait to Miu to be mounted. Miu in his drunkenness mixes up the two paintings and returns them to the wrong owners. Surprised, Li Feiyun sees the resemblance of Hua Xingyun, the courtesan, to herself. She writes an inscription on the painting. Suddenly a swallow flies in and holds the painting in its beak and carries it to the hero. Thus begins the longing of the hero and the heroine for each other. Meanwhile, Huo’s friend Xianyu Ji bribes the examiners, acquires the hero’s examination papers, and becomes the top candidate. These events occur at the time of the rebellion of An Lushan, a Chinese general who proclaims himself emperor against the Tang. The hero accompanies his leader Jia Nanzhong on a campaign against the rebels. Jia Nanzhong adopts the heroine Li Feiyun after she is separated from her family in the war. To reward the hero’s distinguished service, Jia promises his adopted daughter to him. The other heroine, courtesan Hua Xingyun, meets Li Feiyun’s mother, who adopts her because of her likeness to her own lost daughter. At last order is restored, Xianyu Ji’s wrongdoing is exposed, and he flees. The top-candidate title is restored to the hero, who is rewarded with the courtesan as his wife as well. The key elements in this complicated storyline are the flying swallow and the mistake committed by the drunkard Miu. The song verses are expressive and easy to recite, which are features representative of the author’s style. Preceding the text are two vivid illustrations of the two heroines Li Feiyun and Hua Xingyun, portrayed in full dress, with brush and scroll in their hands, in graceful poses. The preface was written by Tang Xianzu (1550–1616). The illustrations are by Lu Wuqing (1573–1644), a Hangzhou painter, and the famous engraver Xiang Nanzhou (1615–1670), who also worked together on illustrations for other novels and dramas.

Ten Misidentifications, or Riddles of the Spring Lantern Festival, a New Yonghuaitang Edition

December 24, 2013, 7:03 am

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Ruan Dacheng (circa 1587–1646) was a well-known late-Ming poet and dramatist from an influential family in Huaining, Anhui Province, and also a corrupt politician of unsavory reputation. He received his jin shi degree in 1616. While in office, he allied with Wei Zhongxian (1568–1627), a powerful eunuch, and was dismissed after the eunuch’s downfall. He retired to his native town, and later to Nanjing, and began writing poetry and drama. In 1644 he joined the court of the Ming loyalist Southern Ming (1644–62) regime, and rose to the rank of president of the Board of War and grand guardian of the heir apparent, whereupon he used his power to revenge himself against his enemies. After he surrendered to the Manchus, he was killed en route to Fujian with the Qing army. As a dramatist, Ruan Dacheng followed the school of Tang Xianzu (1550–1616), author of Mu dan ting (The peony pavilion), and used the prevalent chuan qi, or Southern, style. Presented here is an early Qing edition of one of Ruan Dacheng's plays, in two volumes, with illustrations that extend over double sheets. The 14 illustrations depict bird’s-eye views, street scenes of the lantern festival at the Huangling Temple, and human figures. Beside each image is inscribed the name of a musical tune. The story is full of twists and turns, subplots, and minor characters. The hero Yu Wenyan and his parents travel to his father’s post by boat. Yu goes ashore to see the festival celebrations at the Huangling Temple. Meanwhile, the heroine, Wei Yingniang, travels with her father and attends the same event in disguise. Both the hero and the heroine win prizes in the riddle competition and are invited by the temple acolyte to drink wine, where they compose poems in response to each other. Returning from the celebration, they board the wrong boats. The hero’s mother accepts and adopts the heroine as her daughter. But the heroine’s father sends the hero to jail after he finds his daughter’s poems on him. The judge, however, turns out to be the hero’s own brother who takes an assumed name due to a bureaucratic error. The hero also uses an alias so that he will not bring shame on the family. The judge finds him not guilty and sets him free. In the end, the hero takes the imperial examination and wins the highest degree. When the judge marries the heroine’s sister, he also arranges for the hero to marry his adopted sister, that is, the heroine. On the wedding night, all truths are happily revealed and the play ends with a great reunion.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms with Li Zhuowu’s Critical Comments

December 24, 2013, 7:04 am

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Sanguo yan yi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), written by Luo Guanzhong (circa 1330–1400), a late-Yuan and early-Ming author, is a historical novel set in the third century, in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. The part-historical, part-legendary, and part-mythical story chronicles the lives of feudal lords and their retainers, who vied with each other to restore or replace the declining Han Dynasty. The novel follows literally hundreds of characters, with plots, personal and army battles, intrigues, and struggles, but its focus is mainly on the three power blocs that emerged from the remnants of the Han Dynasty and eventually formed the states of Wei, Shu, and Wu. With a total of 800,000 words and nearly 1,000 dramatic characters, in 120 chapters, it is acclaimed as one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature and is widely read in China. Numerous editions have appeared. This one, containing the commentaries of Li Zhuowu, is unique. Li Zhi (1527–1602), style name Zhuowu, a native of Jinjiang (present-day Quanzhou), Fujian Province, was not only a thinker and historian, but a master of popular literature who devoted considerable effort to producing and annotating such literature. Among the novels for which he prepared notes and commentaries and provided punctuation are Shui hu zhuan (Water margin), Xi you ji (Journey to the west) and Huan sha ji (Tale of washing dress). In this edition, Li’s commentaries are found on the top of each page and a shortened running title and page numbers are provided. At the end of each chapter is an overview comment. The work has three prefaces, one by Li Zhuowu, the others by Jiang Daqi and Miao Zunsu. Two essays are appended to the end of the work: Du Sanguo shi wen da (Questions and answers on the history of the Three Kingdoms) and Sanguo zhi zong liao xing shi (Names of officials of the Three Kingdom period). Each chapter has a subtitle, which is also the title of the preceding illustration. The illustrations are exquisitely executed.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms in Illustrations

December 24, 2013, 7:04 am

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Sanguo yan yi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), written by Luo Guanzhong (circa 1330–1400), a late-Yuan and early-Ming author, is a historical novel set in the third century, in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. The part-historical, part-legendary, and part-mythical story chronicles the lives of feudal lords and their retainers, who vied with each other to restore or replace the declining Han Dynasty. The novel follows literally hundreds of characters, with plots, personal and army battles, intrigues, and struggles, but its focus is mainly on the three power blocs that emerged from the remnants of the Han Dynasty and eventually formed the states of Wei, Shu, and Wu. With a total of 800,000 words and nearly 1,000 dramatic characters, in 120 chapters, it is acclaimed as one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature and is widely read in China. There have been numerous editions, and during the Ming and Qing dynasties book merchants brought out illustrated versions to boost sales. At the time, few people could read, even among the middle class, and illustrated books thus were highly popular. The 240 illustrations in this 120-chapter work are exquisitely produced. Each chapter has a two-sentence title, which is also the title of the illustration. The book was printed with the woodblocks of Dakuitang workshop. The title is placed above the frame and the chapter number in the middle portion. Preceding the illustrations is a preface written in 1644 by Jin Renrui (1608–61), a late Ming and early Qing literary critic who changed his name Renrui to Shengtan (Deep sigh) after the fall of the Ming dynasty. Mao Shengshan, Jin’s contemporary and a fellow literary critic, added commentaries and punctuation. Jin greatly admired ancient books and often referred to them as works by and for men of genius. Together with others, he was executed in 1661 for “treasonous conduct,” his property confiscated, and his family banished to Manchuria.

General Atlas Depicting the Conditions of the Yellow River Dykes in Henan Province

December 24, 2013, 7:04 am

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This Qing-dynasty atlas painted in color is formatted in accordion pleat-like leaves, in 21 folded sheets. The directions used in the maps are the exact opposite of those commonly used, that is, the south is on the top, the north at the bottom, the west is on the right side, and the east on the left. The maps illustrate the distribution of dykes along the Yellow River within the territory of Henan Province. The atlas starts from the west with Huayin Xian, which borders Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces, and continues eastward to Caodan Ting in Shandong Province and Xiaonan Ting in Jiangnan. The fortresses, dams, and numbers of soldiers and dam laborers along the tributaries of the Yellow River are listed in detail. The descriptions attest to the difficulty of regulating the river and the degree of distress that it sometimes imposed on the people living near its banks. The word sao in the title denotes a kind of material used in ancient times in river conservancy projects to protect the riverbanks and to block the mouths of rivers. It was made of 70 percent willow and 30 percent straw, tied together into bundles. Later, stalks of sorghum were also used. The bundles were stored for use in emergency. The word was also applied to name different kinds of laborers according to their tasks. Sometimes dykes made with such material were also called sao. Sao was discussed in detail in juan 11 of Meng xi bi tan (Jottings written by the Dream Stream), a work on natural science written by the Song author Shen Kuo (1031–95).

Collected Songs and Verses of Li He

December 24, 2013, 7:04 am

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Li He (790–816), courtesy name Changji, was a Chinese poet of the late-Tang dynasty, known for his unconventional and imaginative style. A native of Changgu, Henan Province, Li was unsuccessful in the imperial examination. He died at age 27, having worked, despite his distant royal ancestry, as a poor minor official. About 240 of his poems survive. Although his works were admired by the late-Tang poets, none of his poems made their way into the popular anthologies, such as Tang shi san bai shou (300 Tang poems). As indicated in the preface by Tang poet Du Mu (803–circa 852), the original version of this four-juan work consisted of 223 poems, which Li He compiled, arranged into four groups, and gave to his friend, the classical scholar Shen Ziming. These poems do not represent his entire output, as there were later Song editions of his works with additional and different numbers of poems. This copy, with 207 poems, has several distinctive characteristics. The text is printed on Song paper made for official use and bears the dates of 1165–73, the first nine years of the Qiandao era of Southern Song emperor Xiaozong (reigned 1163–89). It contains seal impressions of some official bureaus, such as the Da li yuan di dang ku (Debt Security Treasury of the Supreme Court). In addition, the final strokes of characters in words considered taboo during the Song dynasty were not printed. Japanese scholar Abe Ryūichi suggested, in his work entitled Chūgoku hōshoshi,that, based on the style of characters and the engraving, the printing can be dated to the Shaoxing era (1131–62) of the Song dynasty. According to a postscript by Yuan Kewen, the book was originally in the collection of poet and calligrapher Wang Zhideng (1535–1612) and passed later to the collection of Ming calligrapher Zhang Chou (1577–1643).

Score of Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom and Other Compositions by Artemiĭ Vedelʹ

December 24, 2013, 7:04 am

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This manuscript is the only known work in the hand of Artemiĭ Vedelʹ (1767–1808), one of the most famous Ukrainian composers. It consists of six parts of the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, 12 spiritual choral pieces, and a composition for trio with choir. Different colors of ink reflect the fact that the compositions were written at different times over a period of several years. In 1856 the historian, publicist, and professor at the Kiev Theological Academy, V.I. Askochenskyi, offered the score as a gift to the library of the academy, and in 1872 it went to the church archaeological museum of the academy. The compositions in the manuscript are all masterpieces of late-18th century Ukrainian music. This authentic autograph score has great scientific value, as it makes possible comparative manuscript research on copies of other works by Vedelʹ, with the aim of possibly identifying more autograph scores. This work is in the collection of the V.I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine.

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Album Number 14: Drawings and Sketches by Students of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Monastery Workshop

December 24, 2013, 7:04 am

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The collection of kuzhbushki (a corrupt form of the German, Kunstbuch, meaning “book of art”) held by the V.I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine contains albums of drawings by teachers and students at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Monastery icon-painting workshop. Also included in the collection are albums containing examples of West European engravings from the 16th–18th centuries. The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Monastery workshop was one of the oldest art schools in Eastern Europe. Among the drawings in this album are portraits of prominent church and political figures, sketches on religious and mythological subjects, landscapes and ornamental designs, genre scenes, and anatomy exercises, many of which are signed and dated by the artists. Kuzhbushki constitute an important historical source for the study of the development of easel and mural painting in Ukraine. They testify to the artistic and cultural connections between Ukrainian and West European art and constitute a unique monument of Ukrainian and broader East Slavonic culture and art of the 18th century.

The Aeneid

December 24, 2013, 7:04 am

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This book is the first printed work of the new Ukrainian literature written in the popular language. It introduced to the world the Ukrainian people with their history, language, traditions, faith, and ethical and aesthetic views, drawing upon materials derived from the social life of Ukraine of the late 18th–early 19th centuries. The work is based on The Aeneid, the epic poem by the Roman poet Virgil (circa 70–19 BC), but the author, Ivan Petrovych Kotlyarevsky, transforms Virgil’s ancient heroes into Ukrainian cossacks. The author used a poetic form that was new for that time: decasyllabic strophe of iambic tetrameter with right rhyme interchange. The work met with great success among contemporary readers and led to the displacement of the old bookish language by the new Ukrainian folk language. At its beginning, the edition has a dedication that reads: “To those who love Malorussian words.” At the end is a Ukrainian–Russian dictionary compiled by O.K. Kamenetzky, entitled “Collection of Malorussian Words.” Malorussian (literally “little Russian”) was a term used in the Russian Empire, now obsolete, to denote the Ukrainian language and people. This is one of five copies of the first edition of Èneida (The Aeneid) of 1798 held by the V.I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine.

The Lectionary (Orsha Gospel)

December 24, 2013, 7:04 am

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This gospel, believed to have been created in Polotsk (present-day Belarus) in the second half of the 13th century, is one of the oldest monuments of the Cyrillic Slavonic alphabet and one of the most ancient decorated Belarusian manuscripts. It contains two multicolor miniatures with gilding portraying the evangelists Luke (folio 42 verso) and Matthew (folio 123 verso). The miniatures reflect the influence of the early Palaeologian (relating to the last Byzantine dynasty, reigned 1259–1453) Byzantine style in old Belarusian art. The images are vividly depicted in bright colors. The work has two headpieces and 310 rubricated initials made in the floral-geometrical and animal-form styles close to the style of decorations of Belarusian manuscripts (the 12th-century Polotsk Gospel and other works). The book has a lower board binding made of oak panel with three brass bosses, broken in halves lengthwise. The manuscript contains readings for the entire year, without the beginning (the first 25 folios are missing). It begins with the lection for Saturday of the seventh week after Easter. After the Gospel readings is a menology (an arrangement of the readings according to months and saints' days) and the Sunday matutinal (early morning) gospels. The manuscript was found among the property that invading Napoleonic troops in 1812 discarded from the monasteries of Orsha (in present-day Belarus). It was contributed to the museum of the Kiev Theological Academy by the landowner I.S. Melenevskyi in 1874 and is now in the collections of the V.I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine.

Kyiv Gospel

December 24, 2013, 7:04 am

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The Kyiv Gospel was created in 1411 by a monk called Makarii in the Pustynno-Mykolaivskyi Monastery in Kiev, by order of the monk Ionah Bolakyrev, as recorded in one of the historic inscriptions on the work. This copy is one of the few 15th-century manuscripts from Kiev that specifies where it was made. The Gospel is known as a paleographic specimen of the “younger” semi-uncial script in Ukraine. Two headpieces of simple composition, headings, and initials are executed in dark-brown ink and vermilion. The manuscript was restored and bound in the first quarter of the 16th century. The binding was restored again in 1721, and on the upper board appears the date "June 4, 1721." The manuscript consists of the tetraevangelion (an ornate book of the Orthodox Church containing the text of the Gospels for liturgical readings), a menology (calendrical work commemorating the dead), and indices of lections. In the 19th century the manuscript was known as the Gospel of 1411. Four historic inscriptions were found in the manuscript, two of which were on folios (1 and 324) that are now missing. These inscriptions, known only from the investigations of N.V. Geppener and I.I. Sreznevsky, indicate the names of the scribe and the person who commissioned the original manuscript (note of June 20, 1411, folio 1 recto) and tell of a contribution made by unknown prince (note of March 23, 1427, folio 324 recto). One of two surviving inscriptions tells of another donation (folio 323 recto); the other is the 1721 note of the book binder. The manuscript is in the collection of the V.I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine.

Pinkas of the Talmud Torah Religious School from Kopychintsy

December 24, 2013, 7:04 am

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This pinkas (record book) of the Talmud Torah religious school from the town of Kopychintsy in eastern Galicia, Ukraine, reflects the activity of a religious school in the late 19th century. It consists of the traditional components of such works: the title page, the second title, blessings, the statutes, a list of members of society, and the diaries of the activities of the Talmud Torah school. All pages of the pinkas are richly decorated in the traditional manner of this type of Jewish document. The title pages are designed as portals bearing architectural elements with flora and zoomorphic ornaments. Separate pages are decorated with the cycle of the zodiac, vignettes, cartouches, and other decorative elements. Some of the decorated pages of the pinkas previously were published in 1918 and republished in 1994 and 2001. This pinkas is in the collection of the V.I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine.

General Ledger, 1590–1599

December 24, 2013, 7:08 am

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The Officina Plantiniana, also known as the Plantin Press or Plantijnse Drukkerij, was established in Antwerp in 1555 by Christopher Plantin (1520–89), the greatest typographer and printer-publisher of his day. The Officina grew to become the largest printing and publishing house in Europe and helped to make Antwerp, along with Venice and Paris, one of the most important centers of printing in the West. Shown here is a ledger that provides a summary of the daily journaux (account books) of the activities of the press in the years 1590–99, when Jan Moretus I (1543–1610) was its head. Moretus, Plantin’s son-in-law, inherited and ran the press after Plantin’s death. On the left side of each page is noted what every client owed to the press; on the right side is what each person supplied or paid. These account books offer a unique source for the study of the history of the book in Europe around 1600. The ledger is mainly in French, with parts in Latin and Dutch. The business archives of the Officina are an important source for the study of the book trade in Europe, economic and socioeconomic history, and intellectual developments at an especially turbulent time in the history of Europe and the West. The archives were inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2001.

Drafts of Letters Sent by Various Members of the Plantin-Moretus Family, 1597–1617

December 24, 2013, 7:08 am

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The Officina Plantiniana, also known as the Plantin Press or Plantijnse Drukkerij, was established in Antwerp in 1555 by Christopher Plantin (1520–89), the greatest typographer and printer-publisher of his day. The Officina grew to become the largest printing and publishing house in Europe and helped to make Antwerp, along with Venice and Paris, one of the most important centers of printing in the West. Shown here is a volume containing copies of the letters sent during the years 1576-1617 by Jan Moretus I (1543-1610), his heir Balthasar Moretus I (1574-1641), and Jan Moretus II (1576-1618). Jan Moretus I, the son-in-law of Plantin, inherited and ran the press after Plantin’s death. Descendants of the Moretus family continued the business until 1876. The letters are in French, Dutch, Latin, and Spanish. The business archives of the Officina are an important source for the study of the book trade in Europe, economic and socioeconomic history, and intellectual developments at an especially turbulent time in the history of Europe and the West. The archives were inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2001.

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Drafts of Letters Sent by Balthasar Moretus I, 1598–1607

December 24, 2013, 7:08 am

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The Officina Plantiniana, also known as the Plantin Press or Plantijnse Drukkerij, was established in Antwerp in 1555 by Christopher Plantin (1520–89), the greatest typographer and printer-publisher of his day. The Officina grew to become the largest printing and publishing house in Europe and helped to make Antwerp, along with Venice and Paris, one of the most important centers of printing in the West. Shown here is a volume containing copies of the letters sent by Balthasar Moretus I (1574–1641) during the years 1598–1607. Plantin’s son-in-law Jan Moretus I inherited and ran the press after Plantin’s death. His son Balthasar was employed in the family business, and together with his brother Jan Moretus II (1576-1618) he inherited the press after his father’s death. Descendants of the Moretus family continued the business until 1876. The letters are in French, Dutch, Latin, and Spanish. The business archives of the Officina are an important source for the study of the book trade in Europe, economic and socioeconomic history, and intellectual developments at an especially turbulent time in the history of Europe and the West. The archives were inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2001.

Drafts of Letters Sent by Jan Moretus I, 1591–1602

December 24, 2013, 7:08 am

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The Officina Plantiniana, also known as the Plantin Press or Plantijnse Drukkerij, was established in Antwerp in 1555 by Christopher Plantin (1520–89), the greatest typographer and printer-publisher of his day. The Officina grew to become the largest printing and publishing house in Europe and helped to make Antwerp, along with Venice and Paris, one of the most important centers of printing in the West. Shown here is a volume containing copies of the letters sent by Jan Moretus I (1543–1610) during the years 1591–1602. Moretus, Plantin’s son-in-law, inherited and ran the press after Plantin’s death. Descendants of the Moretus family continued the business until 1876. The letters are in French, Dutch, Latin, and Spanish. The business archives of the Officina are an important source for the study of the book trade in Europe, economic and socioeconomic history, and intellectual developments at an especially turbulent time in the history of Europe and the West. The archives were inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2001.

Selections from the Shāhnāmeh of the Learned Abū al-Qāsim Firdawsi, May he be Blessed and May his Sins be Pardoned

March 5, 2014, 8:02 am

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This manuscript from the early 17th century contains selections from the Shāhnāmeh (Book of kings), the epic-historical work of Persian literature composed at the end of the tenth century by the poet Abū al-Qāsim Firdawsī (940–1020). This beloved epic of pre-Islamic Persia (present-day Iran) was widely read in Persia, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. The manuscript contains three half-page paintings showing different battles. The text is preceded by an introduction and table of contents (folios 1b−6b) and is written in black ink in a nastaʻliq script. The pages are in four columns of 25 lines each within a blue-cream-gold-cream-gold border. Rubrication is used, and there are catchwords on the recto pages. A few notes and corrections have been made in the margins. The colophon states that the manuscript was completed on Jamādī al-Avval, 14, 1027 (May 9, 1618); the place of writing is not given. The binding, newer and of Central Asian origin, is olive-green leather with embossed medallions, two in dark red, with a light-red leather spine.

An Enclosed Garden of the Climes

March 5, 2014, 8:02 am

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Hadíkatu-l Akálím (An enclosed garden of the climes) is a compilation of geographic and historical information by Murtaz̤á Ḥusayn Bilgrāmī (circa 1729−95), also known as Sheikh Allahyar Usmani. Bilgrāmī was employed as munshi (secretary) to Captain Jonathan Scott, Persian secretary to Warren Hastings (1732−1818), the first British governor-general of India. Scott commissioned Bilgrāmī to write the book, which is mainly a work of geography but which also includes information on history, biography, and literature. It emphasizes Afghanistan, India, and Iran, but Europe and other parts of the world are covered to some extent. Much of the book consists of extracts from older works. The work is especially valuable as a source on events, including battles between the British and local rulers, that occurred during Bilgrāmī’s lifetime. This lithographic print edition was produced in 1879. Lithographic printing was invented in Europe in the late-18th century and spread widely on the Indian subcontinent from the early 19th century onward, its popularity stemming from the relative ease with which it could be used to reproduce different scripts not based on the Latin alphabet.

The Book Known as “The Sulṭānī History”

March 5, 2014, 8:02 am

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Tārīkh-i Sulṭānī (The Sulṭānī history) is a historical study of the Afghan people and the rulers of Afghanistan from the beginnings of Islam to the mid-19th century. The work was published as a lithographic print in Bombay (present-day Mumbai) in 1881. This copy has been rebound, with “Ṣaḥāfī Sulṭān Muḥammad, Kabul" gold-stamped on the back cover. The title page and pages 3−4 are damaged and repaired with no loss of text. The last page (page 291) has been repaired and missing text added in ink in a later hand. Lithographic printing was invented in Europe in the late-18th century and spread widely on the Indian subcontinent from the early 19th century onward, its popularity stemming from the relative ease with which it could be used to reproduce different scripts not based on the Latin alphabet.