Persian MS 593 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Contents
Inscriptions on the first right flyleaf a side (f. ia) and the colophon on folio 57a both misattribute this work to Ḥusayn Vā‘iẓ Kāshifī.
Physical Description
Collation
Condition
Layout
Written in two coumns with 13 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Copied in a minute black nasta‘līq hand with subheaders in red.
Decoration
Ruling: Horizontal section breaks, vertical column dividers, and margins all ruled in single red lines.
Marginalia: Notes in different hands on the margins throughout.
Inscriptions:
- The first right flyleaf a side (f. ia) bears a Persian transcription of the incipit in bold black nasta‘līq, probably in the hand of Muhīn Dās, assistant to former owner Colonel George William Hamilton, which also copies the scribe's incorrect ascription:
‘ در نظم فارسی نسخهٔ زاد المسافرین تصنیف حسین واعظ محرره سنه ۱۰۸۵ هجری. ’ - Folio 57a, signed vertically, perpendicular to the colophon, by a former owner named Sayyid Bāz valad-i Ḥusayn Muḥammad al-Ghanī ibn Sayyid ‘Abd al-Rasūl Tabrīzī Ḥusaynī.
‘ کتاب سیر باز ولد حسین محمد العنی ابن سید عبد الرسول تبریزی حسینی. ’
Binding
Probably rebound in Multan, Punjab for former owner Colonel George William Hamilton.
Sewn on a single support put down onto the first and last flyleaves. Twined chevron endbands worked over a core with red and green silkthreads. Hinges are embellished with zig-zag serrated cut paper strips adhered over top. Covered in a hybrid British-Indian style in full, tight backed, polished red goatskin leather over pasteboards, without a flap (Type III per Déroche) with squares and defined joints. Internal doublures of the same red leather, with the hinge put down over the support onto the first and last flyleaves, and embellished with serrated zig-zag cut strips of paper adhered over top.
Titled ‘Zād al-Musāfirīn’ in black ink on a paper label adhered to the spine.
161 × 102 × 14 mm.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Subsequently acuired by one Sayyid Bāz valad-i Ḥusayn Muḥammad al-Ghanī ibn Sayyid ‘Abd al-Rasūl Tabrīzī Ḥusaynī as per his signature by the colophon.
Later obtained by Colonel George William Hamilton (1807-1868) who served in India from 1823 to 1867, latterly as Commissioner in Delhi, where he collected over a thousand Indian and Persian manuscripts.
After his death, the British Museum selected 352 volumes, now held in the British Library, after which Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880) acquired the remainder.
Purchased by Enriqueta Rylands (1843–1908) in 1901 from James Ludovic Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford (1847–1913).
Bequeathed by Enriqueta Rylands (1843–1908) in 1908 to the John Rylands Library.
Record Sources
Bibliographical description based on an index created by Reza Navabpour circa 1993, derived from a manuscript catalogue by Michael Kerney, circa 1890s and his Bibliotheca Lindesiana, Hand-list of Oriental Manuscripts: Arabic, Persian, Turkish, 1898.
Manuscript description by Jake Benson in 2022 with reference to the volume in hand
Availability
To book an in-person or online appointment to consult the manuscript, visit Using the Special Collections Reading Rooms. For any other enquiries please email uml.special-collections@manchester.ac.uk.
Bibliography
Funding of Cataloguing
Iran Heritage Foundation
The John Rylands Research Institute
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