Persian MS 704 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Contents
Physical Description
Collation
Condition
Layout
Written in 1 column with 15 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in clear minuscule black nasta‘līq hand with shikastah ligatures and subheaders in naskh.
Marginalia: notes written throughout, primarily in a single minuscule black nasta‘līq hand with shikastah ligatures.
Inscription:The first right flyleaf a side (f. ia) bears the title and name of former owner George William Hamilton, likely in the hand of his assistant Muhīn Dās.
Bookplates: The left pastedown: ‘Bibliotheca Lindesiana’ with pencilled shelfmark ‘1/J’, and ‘Hamilton MSS No. 621’.
Binding
Probably rebound in the Indian subcontinent for former owner George William Hamilton.
Sewn at two stations, unsupported. Endpapers of comparatively rough, heavily flocked, cross-grained stock added, then edges trimmed and endbands sewn at head and tail, both now missing. Boards hemmed in red goatskin leather along the edges and spine, faced with possibly Indian-made combed marbled paper, with defined joints, but neither with squares nor an envelope flap (Type III binding as per Déroche). Board interiors lined with spattered decorated papers, with the excess width adhered over the joints and onto the flyleaves to serve as hinges connecting the cover to the textblock.
211 × 38 × 9 mm.
Binding in fair condition. Some exterior abrasion, and endbands missing. Boxed.
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 selected 352, now held in the British Library.
Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880) purchased the remainder of Hamilton's collection in 1868.
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, concisely published as 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.
Digital Images
Manchester Digital Collections (full digital facsimile).
Funding of Cataloguing
Iran Heritage Foundation
The John Rylands Research Institute
Please fill out your details.