Persian Manuscripts in the Birnbaum Collection, Toronto. A Brief Catalogue

Abstract

This collection, consisting of 31 works in 20 physical volumes and one single page document, is remarkable for the high proportion of rare and early manuscripts. They cover a wide range of subjects, including history, literature, Islam, ethics, language and lexicography, encyclopedia, astrology, etc. The manuscripts include Hasht bihisht, a history of the Ottoman Empire and dynasty, copied shortly after Idrīs Bidlīsī (d. 1520) composed it in the early 16th century; Ḥadāʾiq al-siḥr, a treatise on rhetoric by Rashīd al-Dīn Vaṭvāṭ, copied in the late 12th or early 13th century; a rare treatise on riddles by Muʿammāʾī Mīr Ḥusayn (d. 1499) of Herat, dedicated to Mīr ʿAlī Shīr Navāʾī, and here copied shortly after its composition; part of an unknown encyclopedic work, copied ca. 13th century; Kūshyār b. Labbān’s Kitāb al-Ikhtiyārāt on astrology, copied ca. 13th century; a fragment of a Qurʾān with interlinear translation in Persian, ca. 13th century; etc. Each manuscript is described in detail. The manuscripts were acquired at various dates between 1958 and 1991, mostly in London and Istanbul.