Reading Nastaliq: Persian and Urdu Hands from 1500 to the Present (English, Persian and Urdu Edition)

William L. Hanaway Brian Spooner Language & Literature Reading Nasta`liq Persian and Urdu Hands From 1500 To The Present Bibliotheca Iranica: Literature Series #3 2007: x+278,9 x 12,illus.,bibl.,index. ISBN:1-56859-213-2; ISBN 13: 978-1-56859-213-8(Paperback). Second and revised edition. Description Most writing in Persian and Urdu since the fifteenth century from Iran, Central Asia, and South Asia has been in a style known as nasta`liq and its derivative, shekasta. In rapidly written, informal hands these types of writing present serious obstacles to scholars who need to use primary sources in their research. Although calligraphy forms of writing have been fully reviewed and explained, no aids are available to help scholars learn to read these hands. This volume is designed to fill this gap and as an aid to historians, literary scholars, and others who need to read manuscript documents in these two styles of script. It presents seventy six examples, representing literary, bureaucratic