Persian MS 651 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Contents
گل محمد ولد شیخ عبد الرسول
A prior record misattributed authorship of this work to the scribe Rā'i Rājā Lāl Jī, 1838–1885 who copied two other copies of this work held in the Rylands Persian MS 649 and 650. For another copy held in the Rylands, see 786/5.
Physical Description
Collation
Condition
Layout
Written in 1 column with 11 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in clear black nasta‘līq by Gul Muḥammad valad-i Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rasūl.
Inscription: The first right flyleaf a side (f. ia) bears the alternate title of the volume written in nasta‘līq.
Bookplates: The left pastedown: ‘Bibliotheca Lindesiana’ with pencilled shelfmark ‘F/9’, and ‘Hamilton MSS No. 568’, with the name and number crossed out and ‘Persian’ and ‘651’ written aside.
Binding
Covered in a European-style flush-cut blue paper pamphlet binding, probably for Colonel George William Hamilton.
Two bifolia of cross-grained, ivoury-coloured handmade paper added as endpapers. Sewn at two stations unsupported. Thin card adhered to the endleaves, covered in European-manufactured blue paper, flush cut, without a flap (Type 3 binding per Déroche).
Octagonal paper label on teh right board exterior bears the alternate title in Persian.
115 × 67 × 3 mm.
Binding in fair but stable condition with some wear and discoluration to the exterior. Insect damage on the flyleaves.
Accompanying Material
Stored within a historical envelope, labelled in an unidentified hand with the Lindesiana class mark, housed in an archival envelope.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Subsequently acquired by Colonel George William Hamilton (1807-1868) who served in India from 1823 to 1867, latterly as Commissioner in Delhi. He acquired over a thousand Indian and Persian manuscripts, from which the British Museum purchased 352 from his widow, Charlotte Logie Hamilton (1817–1893), now held in the British Library.
Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880), purchased the remainder in 1868 for Bibliotheca Lindesiana at Haigh Hall, Wigan.
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, Manchester.
Record Sources
Bibliographical description based on an index created by Reza Navabpour circa 1993, derived from a manuscript catalogue by Michael Kerney, circa 1890s, concisely published as Bibliotheca Lindesiana, Hand-list of Oriental Manuscripts: Arabic, Persian, Turkish, 1898.
Manuscript description and corrections by Jake Benson in 2023 with reference to the manuscript 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
The Soudavar Memorial Foundation
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