880-03 [Mukātabāt-i Navvāb Sayf Khān va Ruqʻāt-i ʻInāyat Allāh Kanbūh, 1203?, i.e. 1788? and 1789?]

Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Library, Isl. Ms. 1021 Origin: As appears in colophon on p.146, opening work copied by Muḥammad ...[?] Munshī ( محمد ... منشي [?] ) with transcription completed 20 Ramaḍān 1203 [?] [ca. 14 June 1789 ?]. As appears in colophon on p.217, transcription of second work completed 1 Muḥarram 1203 [?] [ca. 2 October 1788]. Use of same or very similar paper in each work suggests such nearly contemporary dates of transcription. Accompanying materials: a. Used call slip with notes in handwriting of Jameson on reverse "'Coal-cellar' MS | Sulaiman purchase | 10-20-70" (paginated pp.1-2) -- b. Slip with notes in handwriting of Eilts [?] and Jameson "1253 AH 1837 or 8 =colophon | Persian | title – ? | author – ? | Brought to RBR on 10-27-70 by Mr. Eilts. | Purchased by Mr. Sulaiman from Librarie Tunisienne in 1967. Letter & invoice in MSS file. [actually, this manuscript does not appear in the inventory listing in the administrative files and was not purchased from Librarie Tunisienne but from Haziq-n-Mohi Rare Book Sellers of Hyderabad ; likely mistakenly assigned to "Sulaiman Purchase" manuscripts]| See inscription in book" (paginated pp.3-4). Former shelfmark: Mich. Isl. Ms. temp. no. 170 Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark red-brown leather ; Type III binding (without flap) ; pastedowns and flyleaves in laid paper ; upper and lower covers carry stamped (with yellow-tinted paper onlays) mandorla, pendants, cornerpieces and borders defined by 'gold'-painted fillets ; epigraphic stamps used for cornerpieces ; sewn in heavy white thread, two stations ; worked chevron endbands in red and now dull cream, fairly good condition, primaries stitched through spine lining ; overall in poor condition with much abrasion and staining, lifting and losses of onlays, cover detaching at upper hinge and spine lining (except where primaries stitched), minor delamination of boards, etc. Support: non-European (likely Indian) laid paper of at least two types ; mainly a type (appearing in opening work and bulk of second work) with roughly 8 laid lines per cm. (vertical, somewhat indistinct, some curving) and chain lines only faintly visible (see p.148), cloudy formation, many fibers and inclusions visible, thin and transluscent though sturdy, lightly burnished, dark cream in color ; final type (appearing at close of second work) with 7 laid lines per cm. (horizontal, fairly distinct, some curving) and no chain lines visible, slightly thicker and sturdier than main type. Decoration: Keywords and headings rubricated ; overlining in red ; textual dividers in the form of three inverted commas. Script: Shikastah-nastaʻlīq ( شكسته نستعليق ) ; two bold Indian hands ; opening work supplied in fluid though somewhat angular hand in a medium line, freely ligatured and casually pointed with gentle effect of words descending to baseline, elongation of horizontal strokes, etc. ; second work supplied in a graceful hand in a medium line, freely ligatured with effect of words descending to baseline, quite rounded with smooth curvilinear descenders (some dramatically sweeping), pointing (though somewhat casual) mainly in distinct dots. Layout: Written in 15 and 16 lines per page. Collation: 13 IV(104), II (108) ; exclusively quaternions ; middle of the quire marks in the form of oblique strokes in black in the upper-outer corner of the right-hand leaf and lower-outer corner of the left-hand leaf ; catchwords present ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes inserts). Colophon: [Mukātabāt] "كتبه محمد ... منشي ... تحرير بستم شهر رمضان المبارك سنه ١٢٠٠٣ [؟] هجرى"; [Ruqʻāt-i ʻInāyat Allāh Kanbūh] "... ... رقم الحروف ... تاريخ غره ماه محرم سنه ١٢٠٣ [؟] هجرى" Incipit: [Mukātabāt] " بر راز شناسان سخن نهفته نماند مکاتباتی که از زبان خدیو پاک روان سیفخان به بعضی خوانین..." ; [Ruqʻāt-i ʻInāyat Allāh Kanbūh] "این مکتوبات چند از شیخ عنایت الله کنبوه که منشی عهد بود نوشته شد جزو اغارید است ..." Title supplied by cataloguer. Ms. composite codex. 5. p.219-p.220 : [assorted excerpts including "recipe containing sesame, ginger and sugar, etc. to help gain weight and have a bright complexion," a charm, etc. from description of Connie Bobroff]. 4. p.218 : [blank]. 3. p.149-p.217 : Ruqʻāt-i ʻInāyat Allāh Kanbūh / ʻInāyat Allāh Kanbūh. 2. p.147-p.148 : [blank]. 1. p.6-p.146 : [Mukātabāt] / Navāb Sayf Khān. Bazmee Ansari, A.S. "ʿInāyat Allāh Kańbū." In EI2, vol.III, p.1203, col.2 Fihrist-i mīkrūfilm-i nuskhahʻhā-yi khaṭṭī-i Fārsī va ʻArabī Kitābkhānah-i Mawlānā Āzād Danishgāh-i Islāmī-i ʻAlīgar Hind, no. 1335 Composite manuscript carrying two works comprising collections of correspondence, the first of Faqīr Allāh Navvāb [Navāb] Sayf Khān (d.1683) with his pupil the prince Dārā Shikūh (Dārā Shukūh, d.1659) son of Shāh Jahān (r.1628-57), and the second of ʻInāyat Allāh Kanbūh (d.1671). Contributions to the cataloguing from Connie Bobroff (including identification and transcription) and Abdullah Ghouchani. See another ms. copy of the first work in Maulana Azad Library, Aligarh Muslim University, no. 1335. Purchase Purchased from Haziq-n-Mohi Rare Book Sellers ; Received: 6/24/1968 ; (Haziq & Mohi 643225-424) Persian. UM Library inscription on facing incipit page (p.7) "General Library | 643225-424 | Haziq & Mohi | 6-24-68" ; occasional glosses and corrections.