The Poems of Nizami

Laurence Binyon, The Poems of Nizami, London: The Studio Limited, 1928

30 numbered pages introduce the work and provide an English version of the text, then 16 full-page plates finish the book showing beautiful manuscript examples of the work; full cream vellum, gold end papers, binding with gilt lettering to the spine and five raised bans, deckled edges
15.4 x 10.8 x 1 in (38.5 x 27 x 2.5 cm)

This edition is limited to fifty-five copies, of which fifty numbered copies were for sale. This copy is numbered 11.

One of the finest Persian manuscripts in existence, original now in the British Museum.

Nizami Ganjavi (1141 to 1209), or Nezami, whose formal name was Jamal ad-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas ibn-Yusuf ibn-Zakki, was a 12th-century Persian poet. Nezami is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature, who brought a colloquial and realistic style to the Persian epic. His heritage is widely appreciated and shared by Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kurdistan region and Tajikis. (Source: Wikipedia)

This book was printed by the Studio Limited. It was founded by Charles Holme in 1893. Holme was in the wool and silk trades, had travelled extensively in Europe and had visited Japan and the United States with Lasenby Liberty and his wife Emma. During his travels he had formed: "... the idea of an art magazine crystallised around his recurring observation that the chief barrier between countries was language, and his belief that the more the culture of one part of the world could be brought "visually" to the attention of another, the greater the chance of international understanding and peace."