Geographical treatise focusing on Afghanistan, Iran and India during late 18th and first half of 19th century. 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. World Digital Library.
Manuscript. Persian. Title from fol. 1b. Pagination: 1st work: fol. 1b-26a (14 lines); 2nd work: fol. 27b-43a. (15 lines) First work written by ʻAlī ibn Aḥmad al-Shīrāzī; scribe of second work not identified. Gift of Cyrus Ebrahim Zadeh, Nov. 9, 2009. First work written in al-Ṭihrān [Tehran], Iran; second work written in Iran, city not identified. Paper: yellowish, polished cream color commercial paper with no visible watermarks; black ink, with rubrication and some overlining in red; some pages folded over; catchwords. First work: Cursive Naskh; 14 lines in written area 16 x 9 cm.; second work: Nastaʻliq; 15 lines in written area 16.5 x 9.5 cm. First work: Cursive Naskh; second work: Nastaʻliq. Astronomical drawings throughout in red and black. Folio 1b-26a; Folio 27b-43a. Library of Congress. Manuscript, M305. Binding: blue grain over cardboard sides, dark blue cloth spine.
On creation in Islam and Islamic ethics. Ṭarab al-majālis (The delight of assemblies) is a book of moral advice written in the 13th century by Husayn ibn ʻAlim, also known as Mir Husayni Haravi (1272 or 1273-circa 1317), a well-known Sufi. Born in Ghor (in present-day Afghanistan), the author appears to have spent much of his adult life in nearby Herat, hence the appellation Haravi. The work is divided into five sections: creation; various classes of human beings; the superiority of humans to animals; ethical behavior; and vice. The edition presented here is a lithographic printing produced in Tashkent, Russian Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan) in 1914-15, during the waning years of the tsarist empire. It was published at the Yakovlev printing press, which was known for printing works in Persian and other non-European languages during the first decades of the 20th century. The book has sustained considerable damage to a number of its initial and final leaves and has been partially repaired. World Digital Library.
Manuscript. Persian. Title from colophon. Name of scribe not indicated. Probably written in India. Paper; cream-color laid paper of varying thickness, with no visible chain-lines or watermarks; black ink with rubrication; catchwords on versos. Nastaʻliq; 14-16 lines in written area approximately 18 x 9.5 cm. Folios 1a-200b Library of Congress. Persian manuscript, M 62. Limp red leather binding; originally with embossed gold medallions in center and at four corners from which the gold has now been rubbed off. Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.