An attractive Qur'an,

A surprisingly rare example of a large-letter Indian Qur'an, very attractively presented and prepared for print by the Fath al-Karim publishers from a manuscript copied by Muhammad Abdulaziz.

The invention of the printing press with moveable type was revolutionary in fifteenth-century Europe with the development of the Gutenberg press However, this printing revolution didn't take off with the same vigour in the Muslim world, and arguably printing wasn't fully established in the Middle East until the 19th century with the invention of lithography. Aside from the obvious difficulties in the adaptation of the Arabic script to type, Islamic cultures were adapted to the tradition of the written word through the art of calligraphy. By the mid-19th century lithography was very well established in major cities such as Tehran, Tabriz, Bombay and Calcutta and printed Qur'ans were mass-produced throughout these regions. Despite this, large-letter formats such as the present example are seemingly more scarcely available and would likely have been produced primarily for use in a madrasa (or similar educational establishment) for ease of use for reading as a group or in a classroom setting.

Small folio (25.8 x 34.4 cm), lithographed throughout in Arabic, from a manuscript copied in elegant naskh script, with catch-words, marginalia and decorated head-pieces, double-ruling and pagination, verses marked with spheres, first leaf laid-down in places, a few small marginal tears (not affecting text), particularly to first few leaves, leaves evenly age-toned; housed in contemporary leather over pasteboards with flap, covers and flap ruled, some small stains and a hole to the leather on the lower board, text-block detatched from binding (gatherings holding firm).