Arabic Medical Manuscripts of the Wellcome Library ― A Descriptive Catalogue of the Haddad Collection (WMS Arabic 401-487)

The Arabic medical manuscripts of the Wellcome Library in London have been uniformly catalogued for presentation in this valuable resource for researchers in the history of medicine. The works are divided into three sections: the Haddad collection, acquired by the Library in 1986; the Iskandar collection; and all other manuscripts, fragments, and new acquisitions. Each entry includes the shelf mark and a detailed physical description, including paper, ink, numeration, quires, binding, state of preservation, description of hands, and the manuscript's provenance, among other characteristics. The entry then provides a short summary of the manuscript's content, and transcriptions of its title, incipit, explicit, and colophon, as these apply, followed by a more detailed transcription of the contents. Much of the material is in Arabic. Numerous indices and other information is included in appendices. A group of b&w plates contains thumbnail images of each manuscript; digital images of the manuscripts are on the CD-ROM. Serikoff, Asian Collections Librarian at the Library, is also affiliated with the Institute of Oriental Studies in Moscow. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Nikolaj Serikoff is Asian Collections Librarian at the Wellcome Library.