Orientalisme

1797 · rif. MEA1066 — London:: Printed for the Editor by Cooper and Graham 1797. 1797. Four parts in one vol. 4to. iii-xii 92 viii 93-196 iv 197-300 iv 301-403 1 pp. Lacks the preliminary title for the annual supplied in photocopy facs. Advertisement prospectus contents 18 engraved plates 2 hand-colored 5 figures including 1 hand-colored pp. 16 307 310 338 2 index errata; minor penciling p.95-6 267. At end of first issue: "Subscription for the four numbers . . . for 1797. Modern half navy blue blind- and gilt-stamped calf blue cloth covers raised bands new endleaves. Very early periodical which lasted for about three years bringing Oriental-themed essays dealing with Middle Eastern & Asian literature language music archeology history fauna & flora birds & animals and celebrates as well some of the earliest translations of the great Persian poets such as Hafez and Sa'di. The work contains anecdotes and an especially early rendition into English of the Arabian Nights "A Tale from an original MS. of the Arabian Nights" translated by Jonathan Scott. The two hand-colored plates depict the Musk Deer of Nepal "The Fighting Bulbul of Bengal" an additional plate offers four beasts shown as "Persian zoology" with four figures. / "Many of his academic contributions were published in the Oriental Collections the three volumes of which appeared in London between 1797 and 1800." "William Ouseley as well as his brother Gore continued the pioneering work of William Jones 1746-94; q.v. in the field of Persian studies in Great Britain. Jones and the Ouseley brothers shared the experience of extended stays in India and their careers in turn illustrate how Great Britain's economic interests in India indirectly promoted Persian studies." / Includes translations from a number of Middle Eastern and Asian literatures including: Arabic Persian Turkish Hebrew Sanskrit with illustrative plates including alphabets and some music; original texts included with commentary on various languages./ Selected papers include all of these from the first fascicule: Sketch Biographical and Literary of Abu'l Taieb Al Motanabbi; with his two Poems on the Sickness and Recovery of Saif Uddaula by the Rev. John Haddon Hindley -- Of the Fighting Bulbul of Bengal -- Extraordinary Persian Distich by P.D.V. -- On the different modes of writing the word ---- in European Characters by Philologus -- Extract of a Journal and Memorandums written during a Tour in the Nizam's Country in the Month of November 1791 by an Officer -- Hebrew Running Hand -- Cufick Inscription -- Persian Lines on the Deity quotes in the Historical Work entitled "Tarik Moagem si Athar Moluck al Agem translated by W. Ouseley -- Sonnet b ythe Poet Sadi paraphrased from the Persian by P.D.V. -- On the Christianity of the Mohammedans; with Anecdotes of Murad Beg a Trukish Writer of the sixteenth Century by I.U. -- Remarks on the Collation of Manuscripts; with various Readings in the Gulistan of Sadi by Major Ouseley -- The Lover to his Taper translated from the Arabick of the Sheick Safy Eddin Alhillay by the Rev. J.D. Carlyle . . . -- The Conquest of the Island of Zoos from the Persian by the Rev. R. Gerrans -- Anecdotes of Indian Musick by W. Ouseley -- Account of a Large Tree Communicated by Colonel Ironside -- Account of a Banian Tree in the Province of Bahar. . . -- Persian Sonnet by Khosroo -- Dialogues in the vulgar Arabick of Morocco by Mr. William Price -- Explanation . . . -- Queries and Notes. Three other fascicules contain as much additional material. BIOGRAPHICAL: Major Sir William Ouseley 1767-1842 British Orientalist went to Paris to learn French in 1787 and then became interested in Persian literature which he undertook to learn in Leiden 1794. He was in the year 1800 knighted by "Charles Lord Cornwallis 1738-1805 who from 1786 to 1793 had been Governor-General of India had him knighted in recognition of his promotion of oriental studies." "Ouseley's life as gentleman-scholar is marked by his unsuccessful efforts to obtain government support for a journey to Iran and by his unfulfilled ambition to become a government envoy to a Near-Eastern court. It was the diplomatic career of his brother Gore that allowed William to make the personal acquaintance of the Qajar envoy Abu'l-asan n Ili 1776-1845; q.v. who visited England between 1809 and 1810 and to become his brother's secretary when between 1810 and 1815 Gore traveled as the British ambassador to the Qajar court in Tehran. Ouseley's memoir of Travels in Various Countries of the East is an important source of British-Persian politics during the Napoleonic Wars." -- Encyclopaedia Iranica. His works are notable including the present annual issued from 1979-1800 Persian Miscellanies. An Essay to Facilitate The Reading of Persian Manuscripts; With Engraved Specimens Philological Observations And Notes Critical And Historica Persian Lyrics of scattered poems with the Diwan-I-Hafiz 1795 Epitome of the ancient history of Persia. Extracted and translated from the Jehan Ara a Persian manuscript 1799 The oriental geography of Ebn Haukal an Arabian Traveller of the Tenth Century 1800 Observations On Some Medals And Gems Bearing Inscriptions In The Pahlavi Or Ancient Persick Character 1801 The Bakhtyar nameh or Story of Prince Bakhtyar and the ten viziers : a series of Persian tales 1801 Travels in Various Countries in the East; More Particularly Persia 1819-23 an edition of John Lewis Burckhardt's Travels in Arabia Comprehending an Account of Those Territories in Hedjaz Which the Mohammedans Regard as Sacred 1829 Arabian Proverbs Notes on the Bedouins and Wahbys Catalogue of Several Hundred Manuscript Works in Various Oriental Languages London 1831 A Critical essay on various mss. works Arabic & Persian illustrating the history of Arabia Persia Turcomania India Syria Egypt Mauritania and Spain 1832. REFERENCES: English Short Title Catalog P6556; "William Ouseley" in Encyclopaedia Iranica Printed for the Editor, by Cooper and Graham, 1797. hardcover books