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HISTORY OF THE BOOK AND BOOK PRINTING IN THE MIDDLE EAST

– The Research Library of Dr. Geoffrey Roper (Cambridge) –

Approx. 900 titles, some multi-volume, in various languages, principally English, Arabic, Turkish, Persian, French, German and other European languages. They are mainly on book history with a focus on printing and publishing history in the languages and countries of the Middle East and Islam. The collection also covers the history of book printing in Arabic in other parts of the world. Mostly publications of the last 50 years, but a few are older (19th century).
Pdf-Flyer and list of titles (in Excel) available for download. (See below!) ]

Geoffrey Roper, who compiled this collection over decades, was the driving force behind four symposia on the history of printing and publishing in the languages and countries of the Middle East, held in Leipzig, Mainz, Paris, and Alexandria between 2008 and 2011. These symposia aimed to build a body of knowledge and understanding of a hitherto neglected aspect of the intellectual and social history of the Middle East. The starting point of this research project was the thesis that only when a considerable amount of dat...
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EVLIYA ÇELEBI – Collection of Sources & Working Library

Collection contains all indispensable sources and working tools related to Evliya Çelebi’s extensive opus.

This material served as Klaus Kreiser's working library for the publication of his latest book on the famous chronicler:
Evliya Çelebi: Das Reisetagebuch. Die Welt zwischen Wien und Mekka. München: C. H. Beck 2023 [Evliya Çelebi: The Travel Diary. The world between Vienna and Mecca].

Items as per flyer & pdf list. (Also available in Excel)

Evliya Çelebi –

Evliya Çelebi (1611 - c. 1683) is the most important travel writer, chronicler and polyhistor of the Islamic early modern era. For almost two hundred years he has occupied Ottoman, historical and philological research in many disciplines. This collection includes mainly first editions, scholarly partial editions, translations and a complete facsimile edition, as well as an almost complete collection of monographs. In addition, there are extensive collective works (such as the so-called Evliya Çelebi Atlas) and indispensabl...
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Observations of the Movements of Sun and Stars during the year 1287 H. [1870 AD] for Submission to the Sultan.

Manuscript in Ottoman Turkish
54 pp., c. 16.5 x c. 10.5 cm
in acid-free cardboard box, includes original leather covers.

Restored in museum quality: Cleaning of surface, some pages stabilised with coated Japanese paper, glued by using alcohol.
Window fold for individual sheets

Müneccimbaşı / Chief Astronomer of Ottoman Sultan Abdulaziz (1830-1876) –

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Three Manuscripts (1) Kifāyat al-waqt li-maʿrifat al-dāʾir wa- faḍlihi wa-ʾl-samt. (2) Tashil al-miqat (3) Faraḥ Fazā

Three Manuscripts in Ottoman Turkish Bound in 1 Volume
Copied by Abdullah Seyyid Feyzullah b. Ahmad in 1166 H [1752 A.D.]
70 fol.,
20 x 13 cm.
Cardboard cover with leather spine

Mustafa ibn Ali al-Muwaqqit, died 978 [1571] –

ad (1): Kifāyat al-waqt li-maʿrifat al-dāʾir wa- faḍlihi wa-ʾl-samt, also known as Risāla fī al-muqanṭarāt, 936 H [1529 AD] written in Ottoman Turkish; it deals with various aspects of geometry, trigonometry and astronomy and also mentions an astronomical instrument called rubʿ al-muqanṭarāt (astrolabe quadrant). ad (2): Tashil al-miqat, written in Ottoman Turkish in 936 H. [1529 AD ], deals with the science of time measurement and the sine quadrant (al-rub' al-mujayyab). ad (3): Faraḥ Fazā, dedicated to the Grand Vizier ...
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Photograph No. III – DIE KA'BAH

Historic photo from Snouck Hurgronje’s Bilder-Atlas zu Mekka, taken in 1885.
Size of photo: 21 x 16.8 cm (Passepartout 37.7 x 27.4 cm)

Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje (1857-1936) –

Following his PhD with de Goeje in Leiden and further studies with Nöldecke in Strasbourg Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje (1857-1936) went on an extended research trip to Jiddah and Mecca during the years 1884 and 1885. He converted to Islam during his stay and lived in the Holy City of Mecca from February until August 1885. Snouck Hurgronje was the first European photographer in Mecca and the second photographer ever after the Egyptian Mohammed Sadiq Bey. Upon return to the Netherlands he became lecturer at Leiden University. ...
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