Two volumes bound in one, 4to, (322 x 246 mm). 294 pp.; 256 pp. Lithographed throughout in the nasta'liq calligraphy of Nesar Ahmad ibn Hafez Niaz Ahmad Barelvi. Early 20th century multi-coloured Russian trade cloth (export cloth for Central Asia) over boards, designed by L. N. Silich; cloth pattern datable to 1924-1930. Stored in a custom-made purple cloth case with felt lining. Text block evenly browned throughout with negligible stains, sporadic worming, text minimally affected; an uncommonly fresh survival of a fragile publication.

The first printed edition of the Arabian Nights in Persian and with lithographic illustrations appeared at Tehran in 1855. "The Persian translation of the Arabian Nights experienced some seven illustrated editions between 1272/1855 and 1320/1902" (Encyclopaedia Iranica), though the majority were based on the 1855 edition. This Bombay edition is embellished with a floral-ornamented title-page and a suite of 35 half- to full-page illustrations and decorations in a Persian idiom, distinct from the better-known Tehran pictorial tradition but in a similar style. The Fath al-Karim printing house, owned by the philanthropist Kazi Abdul Karim Porbandari, was known for its book production in Arabic, Persian, Hindu, Malay and other languages. This text of this edition was printed in Arabic and Hindi at the same time (see patz 1, p. 294). It is possible that this edition was used as a pattern for Arifdjanov's 1914 Tashkent imprint, due to the similarities in some illustrations and composition.

This specific cloth was designed by Lyubov Nikolaevna Silich (1906-92, later a celebrated designer for the theatre) and manufactured by one of the Ivanovo factories. The pattern is an example of Soviet 'thematic' or 'agitprop' fabric - the whirling machine wheels symbolise power and productivity. This style of cloth did not prove popular in Soviet Central Asia, and from around 1930 onwards it was abandoned in favour of traditional paisleys and florals. Since the Persian of the book would have been perfectly intelligible to any Tajik speaker, it was likely bound in Tajikistan, or amongst the Tajik-speaking populace of Uzbekistan, principally concentrated in Bukhara and Samarkand.

Provenance: French private collection.

Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Alf Layla wa Layla", s.v. Cf. Susan Miller, Russian Textiles: Printed Cloth from the Bazaars of Central Asia (New York, 2007). OCLC 37243932 ("1889").