In the great days of manuscript collection, when institutions began accumulating vast amounts of ancient material, the need was felt to catalogue these documents. This historic catalogue represents such a work. The University Library of Leipzig was one such institution. This catalogue presents the Islamic, Oriental Christian, Judaic and Samaritan manuscripts in that library’s collection. The largest part of the material is Islamic, and it is presented here according to categories. Manuscripts are described by title (if known) and a brief summary of the contents. Dimensions for most of the pieces are given as well. The Christian material includes manuscripts in Arabic, Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, and Georgian. A numerical concordance adds to the utility of this important manuscript collection.

Karl Vollers (1857-1909) was a German Orientalist. After directing a library in Cairo, he took a teaching post at Jena University.