Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate World

Persian MS 97 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)

Persian Manuscripts

Contents

Summary of Contents: A round paper disc of paper card faced with heavily flocked blue on both sides, embossed with a coat of arms surmounted by a crown on the obverse bearing a rose cross and symbols of the Four Evangelists in each corner, and what may be a sacred heart of Jesus design on the reverse, surrounded by partly legible, possible Latin mottos. Wrapped in a folded sheet of paper, it bears a description in the hand of former owner Nathaniel Bland who identifies it as a ‘Specimen of stamped paper found at Fort Hai, Chusan, when that town fell into the hands of the English 6th July 1840.’
Language(s): probably Latin

Physical Description

Form: disc
Dimensions (leaf): 37

Hand(s)

Written in bright vermilion red ink.

Accompanying Material

Housed in a folded piece of white paper within another heavy-weight sheet of browmn handmade paper, the latter bearing the ‘Bibliotheca Lindesiana’ bookplate with pencilled shelfmark ‘F/10’, and ‘Bland MSS No. 317’, with the name and number crossed out and ‘Persian’ and ‘97’ written aside.

History

Origin: Reportedly found in Fort Hai after the seige of Chusan (Zhoushan); 6th July 1840 CE.

Provenance and Acquisition

Subsequently acquired by scholar Nathaniel Bland (1803–1865) for his library at Randalls Park, Leatherhead.

After Bland's death, London bookseller Bernard Quaritch (1819–1899) sold his oriental manuscripts to Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880) in June, 1866, paid in two instalments of £450 and £400, and then moved to 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 by Jake Benson in 2025 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.

Funding of Cataloguing

Iran Heritage Foundation

The John Rylands Research Institute

The Persian Heritage Foundation


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