Shahnamah.

FERDOWSI.

Published by Tehran, Amir Kabir, AH 1350 [AD 1971]., 1971

About this Item

Large folio (385 x 285mm), pp. 1056; text in Persian nasta'liq in double columns within borders of foliage, birds and mythical beasts, with ten full-page illustrations reproducing miniatures by Mohammad Bahrami; a very good copy in the publisher's binding of black calf-backed decorated boards, spine titled in gilt, dustjacket; dustjacket slightly torn at head of spine, a few short tears and some minor fraying elsewhere.A lavishly-produced edition of the Shahnamah (or Shahnameh), rare in the dustjacket, one of a thousand copies printed to mark the 2500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire.'In 1971, a luxury edition of Ferdowsi's ah-nama, based on the famous 19th-century century edition of Jules Mohl and under the supervision of Mohammad Ja'far Mahjub, was produced. Jawad arifi, Mohammad Bahrami, and 'Ali-Asqar Ma'sumi were respectively the artists for the calligraphy, miniatures, and ink drawings of this fine edition. The bookbinding and the artwork of the cover were done by Hosayn Eslamian. The miniatures were printed in 16 colours, and the text itself in six colours' (Encyclopaedia Iranica). This is one of the most significant productions of the Amir Kabir publishing house founded by Abdorrahim Jafari in 1949 and confiscated during the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, chose the edition as a gift for foreign dignitaries who attended his extravagant celebrations at Persepolis in October of 1971. Despite the association with the Shah, the publisher dated the work using the Hijri year (1350) and not the new imperial date (2535) stipulated in a royal edict. Language: Persian. Seller Inventory # G2639

Bibliographic Details

Title: Shahnamah.

Publisher: Tehran, Amir Kabir, AH 1350 [AD 1971].

Publication Date: 1971

Binding: Hardcover

Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included