AUTHOR: AL-SUFI

LANGUAGE: ARABIC, PERSIAN

DATE: 1417

PAGE #: 374

REPRODUCTION DIMENSIONS: 11.75 X 8.75 IN

HISTORY/DESCRIPTION: THE ASTRONOMER ‘ABD AL-RAHMAN IBN ‘UMAR AL-SUFI, COMMONLY KNOWN AS AL-SUFI, WAS BORN IN PERSIA IN 903 A.D. AND DIED IN 986. HE WORKED IN ISFAHAN AND IN BAGHDAD, AND IS KNOWN FOR HIS TRANSLATION FROM GREEK INTO ARABIC OF THE ALMAGEST BY THE ANCIENT ASTRONOMER PTOLEMY. AL-SUFI;S MOST FAMOUS WORK IS KITAB SUWAR AL-KAWAKIB (BOOK OF THE CONSTELLATIONS OF THE FIXED STARS), WHICH HE PUBLISHED AROUND 964. IN THIS WORK, AL-SUFI DESCRIBES THE 48 CONSTELLATIONS THAT WERE ESTABLISHED BY PTOLEMY AND ADDS CRITICISMS AND CORRECTIONS OF HIS OWN. FOR EACH OF THE CONSTELLATIONS, HE PROVIDES THE INDIGENOUS ARAB NAMES FOR THEIR STARS, DRAWINGS OF THE CONSTELLATIONS, AND A TABLE OF STARS SHOWING THEIR LOCATIONS AND MAGNITUDE. AL-SUFI’S BOOK SPURRED FURTHER WORK ON ASTRONOMY IN THE ARABIC AND ISLAMIC WORLDS, AND EXERCISED A HUGE INFLUENCE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE IN EUROPE. THE WORK WAS FREQUENTLY COPIED AND TRANSLATED. THIS COPY WAS PRODUCED SOMEWHERE IN SOUTH OR CENTRAL ASIA, CIRCA 1730, AND IS AN EXACT COPY OF A MANUSCRIPT, NOW LOST, PREPARED FOR ULUG BEG OF SAMARKAND IN 1417. THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE DE FRANCE HAS A MANUSCRIPT OF THE KITAB SUWAR AL-KAWAKIB THAT WAS PREPARED FOR ULUG BEG IN 1436.

REPRODUCTION DETAILS: OUR HARDCOVER BOOKS ARE MADE WITH REAL WOOD FOR THE INTERIOR OF THE FRONT AND BACK COVERS AS WELL AS THE SPINE. THE LEATHER IS A 4 OZ COWHIDE, FROM A SMALL SUPPLIER IN NORTH CAROLINA. THE LEATHER IS ADHERED TO THE COVERS WITH GLUE AND MOLDED INTO THE SHAPE AT THE HAND OF OUR LOCAL ARTISANS. THE SIGNATURES/PAGES ARE HANDSEWN USING A LIBRARY BINDING METHOD. THE SEWN BOOK IS BOUND WITH A STRONG ADHESIVE GLUE THAT MAKES THE BINDINGS LAST, ESPECIALLY FOR THE LARGER BOOKS. WE ALSO ADD A THICK MULL CLOTH TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE BINDING, DRYING IN BETWEEN EACH LAYER, A TRADITIONAL WAY TO MAKE THE BINDING STIFF, STRONG, AND RESILIENT FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

NOTE: ALL OF OUR FACSIMILES ARE MADE TO ORDER. PLEASE ALLOW 4-6 WEEKS FOR NOTIFICATION OF SHIPMENT.