Description of Columbia University. MS Or 278: al-Abjad. Columbia University. These images and the content of Rare Book and Manuscript Library MS Or 278: al-Abjad. are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/. To the extent possible under law, Columbia University, Rare Book & Manuscript Library has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this metadata about Rare Book and Manuscript Library MS Or 278: al-Abjad.. This work is published from: United States. For a summary of CC0, see https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/. Legal code: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode. Manuscript codex. Title supplied by cataloger. Three loose leaves formerly inserted in this manuscript have been identified with MS Or 285, and have been returned to that volume. New York, NY. 10027 Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library MS Or 278 13720579 http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1085517008 http://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0032/html/ms_or_278.html https://clio.columbia.edu/catalog/13720579 Book illustrating how to write the Arabic alphabet. The majority of the leaves contain grids showing letters in their isolated and connected forms (f. 1v-16r). The final leaves contain short, model sentences (f. 16v-18r). Arabic with one line in Ottoman Turkish al-Abjad. [الأبجد] scribe ʻAlawī, ʻAlī علوى، على. former owner Plimpton, George A. 1855-1936 1v [al-Abjad].

paper

 18 leaves : 222 x 160 (128 x 100) mm, bound to 222 x 160 mm Chiefly grids of 5x6 with one or two letters in each box, border ruled, otherwise 7 long lines, border ruled. Written in naskh in black ink; pointed, vocalized Illuminated headpieces on the first page opening, along with a floriate frame in gold, red, green, blue (f. 1v-2r). Tables of letter examples, 5 x 6 with all borders ruled in gold (f. 1v-16r). Writing sample pages border ruled in wide gold, titles surrounded by gold, red, green foliate fill. Margins of page-opening have foliate fill in gold and blue with a narrow gold frame rule (f. 16v-18r). Bookplate: "George A. Plimpton" Illuminated headpiece Foliate frame Letter grid: 5x6, independent forms Illuminated headpiece Foliate frame Letter grid: 5x6, independent forms with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, independent forms with tanwīn Letter grid: 5x6, joined with bāʼ with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with tāʼ with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with thāʼ with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with jīm with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with ḥāʾ with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with khāʼ with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with dāl with vowels, partially scrubbed Letter grid: 5x6, joined with dhāl with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with rāʼ with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with zāʼ with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with sīn with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with shīn with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with ṣād with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with ḍād with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with ṭāʼ with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with ẓāʼ with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with ʿayn with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with ghayn with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with fāʼ with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with qāf with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with kāf with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with lām with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with mīm with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with nūn with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with wāw with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with hāʼ with vowels Letter grid: 5x6, joined with yāʼ with vowels Illuminated example Foliate frame Illuminated example Foliate frame Illuminated example Foliate frame Illuminated example Foliate frame

Reddish leather over pasteboard with flap. Covers have large, light green central rectangle with designs in white paint visible in it framed by bands of blue and gold which have been painted over repeating geometric patterns. Pastedowns of paper with depictions of large gold birds and fruit. Flyleaves of light purple paper with gold horizontal lines and small, repeated depictions of fruit.

Item is dated 1261 AH and was copied by ʻAlī al-ʻAlawī, a student of al-Ḥājj Muṣṭafá, Khawājah-yi Mashq-i Sarāy-i Humāyūn (f. 18r).

1845 Turkey? Gift of George Arthur Plimpton, 1936. Formerly owned by George A. Plimpton (bookplate front flyleaf verso). Arabic alphabet--Writing Alphabet books Penmanship, Arabic Manuscripts, Arabic--New York (State)--New York Codices Tables (documents) Full covers Islamic bindings (Binding) Envelope flaps (features) Pastedowns