This partial catalogue of one of the greatest Arabic-language collections in the world, housed in what in now the Berlin State Library, describes over 10,000 manuscripts in nine volumes; there is a tenth volume of indices. Each manuscript is described physically, with the Arabic title and colophon are described, and the contents summarized. They are listed by category in an intricate tree; the main heads are General Works (encyclopedic works, school books, and so on); the Koran (together with introductions and commentaries); the Hadith; Theology; Kufic texts of all kinds; Prayers, including magical texts and fortune-telling; Law; Philosophy; Ethics; Astronomy; Mathematics; Geography; Natural Science; Medicine; Grammar; Dictionaries; Scansion; Rhetoric; Literature; History and Biography; Bibles and other Christian literature. Also included are an appendix of works acquired during the compilation; introduction on the nature of the collection and its major acquisitions; and samples of Arabic script in plates.
