Manuscript of the Gulistan [Golestan].

[Persia],: undated [pre-1800]., 1800. 11.25 x 7.5 inches. [ca. 228 leaves] Written mostly in old Farsi, with some Arabic marginal notes. With one leaf [f. 66] illuminated on upper quadrant, another 2 leaves with a penciled sketch where an illumination was planned but never completed [ff. 108, 170]. There are numerous decorative motifs of flowers throughout the manuscript. Each leaf is variously partitioned, perhaps suggestive of a garden[!], in this case with flowers adorning most leaves. Binding style suggests 18-19th centuries. Bound in Islamic style, Ottoman period, full Turkey morocco, with elaborate gilt rule, corner and centre ornamental flourishes, with leather flap; some minor repairs to the sides of the binding are evident when examined closely. MANUSCRIPT OF SAADI' GOLESTAN THE GREAT PERSIAN POET: ORIGINAL COMPLETE MANUSCRIPT OF ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS OF ALL PERSIAN POETS, SA'ADI OF SHIRAZI. The calligraphic style and the binding are suggestive of the 16th or 17th century. This piece is embellished with numerous leaves, many of which are decorated by hand with small compartments of flowers, each realized from the title of Sa'adi's Gulistan [Golestan], Flower Garden of Sa'adi. Sa'adi is "probably the single most influential work of prose in the Persian tradition, completed in 1258 by Mosarref-al-Din Mole, known as Shaikh Sa'di of Shiraz." – Encyclopaedia Iranica. / The manuscript is mixed with both poetry and stories or narratives along with a moral, as well as some commentaries. / PROVENANCE: Signed Kiffin Yates Rockwell (1892–1916) [later label of: Kiffin Ayres Rockwell], Beloit, Wisconsin, June 28, 1942. Kiffin Yates Rockwell was a World War I fighter pilot and the first American to shoot down an enemy aircraft in WWI. He shot down a German pilot. Thus the manuscript is clearly in the United States and kept there since before 1942. "Kiffin Yates Rockwell, the youngest son of James Chester and Loula Ayres Rockwell." [see below]. What may clear up some confusion here is that there are at least two persons with this name and there may be three. Kiffin Ayres Rockwell, II or III (Oct. 8, 1917-Jan. 27, 1998), who served in the air force in Korea, is buried in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Sa'adi opens with poems of Sa'eb of Tabriz, a Safavid poet of Indian style of poetry, added to the text. "Back of the shell, kingly gems are orphans."