Early Arabic Printed Books from the British Library: Literature, Grammar, Language, Catalogues and Periodicals, the final module of the Early Arabic Printed Books from the British Library collection, launches this month on the 16th December. This module showcases works of Arabic fiction, poetry, grammatical works, catalogues, newspapers and periodicals. Here are some highlights of the collection:
Fiction
One cannot think of pre-twentieth century Arabic fiction and folklore without thinking of The Thousand and One Nights, and this collection includes 58 editions of the work, in both the original Arabic and in several translations, from English to Icelandic. There are also several publications of the individual stories within The Thousand and One Nights, as well as other works of Arabic folklore such as Bidpai’s Fables. As with the other parts of Early Arabic Printed Books from the British Library, this final part continues to demonstrate the transmission of ideas between East and West, as evidenced by Arabic translations of English fictional works such as Robinson Crusoe:
Poetry
Poetry is the most prevalent form of literature in Arabic culture, and therefore in this module, with over 400 poetical texts included. Many different authors and styles are represented here, including works by female poets such as ʿĀʾishah Taymūrīyah and Wardah Yāzijī:
Grammatical and lexical works
This module contains several works crucial to the study of the Arabic language, especially as it was understood in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Works that explore Arabic linguistics, Arabic calligraphy, phraseology and pedagogic works are all found here. Many of them showcase the beauty and skill of the Arabic script, such as this work from 1803:
Newspapers and Periodicals
Included in this release are some Arabic newspapers and periodicals. Over 30 newspapers and periodicals will be added to the collection in the next few weeks, starting with ‘al-Muqtaṭaf’, a monthly magazine of science, humanities and arts, as well as novels and short stories printed in Beirut, then Cairo from 1876:
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