Persian MS 40 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)

Binding

Probably originally bound in the 18th-century in the Indian subcontinent, in full dark greenish-black goatskin leather, by Asad Khān valad-i Ḥafz̤ Khān as per the detached pendants engraved with his name, along with the number 8, which possibly indicates the regnal year of an unidentified ruler. Subsequently restored, probably by a British bookbinder, possibly for former owner Charles Fox (1749–1809).

Resewn on three recessed cords, laced them into new pasteboards, then covered spine and board edges covered in tight-backed straight-grained red morocco leather, and remounted the original sides over top.

Boards originally blocked with central scalloped mandorlas, engraved with central sextfoils surrounded by floral palmette finials, along with detached flanking pendants engraved with the binder's name, and similarly decorated corners. The central Decoration outlined in white, with radiating scrollwork flourishes, bounded by a single-ruled white line along the perimeters. When restored, a presumably British bookbinder paletted panel lines and floral decoration on the spine, titled it ‘GERBEH MOOSH’, in gold, and decorated the board perimeters with decorative rolls engraved with floral scrollwork, rope designs, and diagonal thick-and-thin dotted lines on the interior dentelles, all in gold, in circa 1800.

Vividly handpainted endpapers, likely completed with the main volume in the Indian subcontinent feature pink birds set within floral scrollwork on a yellow ground, bounded by wide silver marginal ruling, outlined with thin, single red lines on either side, surrounded by a single white ruled line, and mounted on hand-coloured black paper. Due to restoration of the volume, these now comprise the third and fourth right (ff. iii–iv) and corresponding fifth and sixth left (ff. v–vi) flyleaves. The restorer subsequently added further stiff-leaved, Stormont-patterned endpapers with large gray spots over bright milori blue, green, red, and black veins, adhered to ivory-coloured paper that bears a Britannia watermark on the second to last left flyleaf (f. vii), with the second right flyleaf (f. ii) countermarked Durham & Co., 1796, at that time owned and operated by William Durham (d. 1803) together with his son John Durham (d. 1799) in Postlip, Glousctershire.

258 × 171 × 10 mm.

Binding in good condition.