Join us for this talk by two curators from Cornell University Library, who will explain how they designed and built a teaching collection about book culture in Islamic land, highlighting the transition from manuscript to print. Some originals will be on display, including copies of the Persian Shah-Nameh as well as early printed books and maps from the Müteferrika Press (1729-42, 1756, 1783-6) and the Mühendishane Matbaasi (1797-1803) in Istanbul. 

Our speakers are Laurent Ferri, curator of pre-1800 Collections, and Ali Houissa, Middle East and Islamic Studies curator, both at Cornell University Library's Rare and Manuscript Collections. This event is organized by Cornell University Library, the Comparative Muslim Societies Program, and the Near Eastern Studies Department at Cornell.