Imad Hussein bin Hassan (أعني مادة حسبتن بكحسنى)

Al-Abriz (الأبريز) [Arabic-English Lexicon and Phrasebook].

Al-Maṣrah (Cairo), Maṭbaʻat Būlāq al-ʻAmīrīyah (Bulaq Press), 1294 [1877].

4°. [2], XIII, 423 pp.

Contemporary half roan with blue cloth sides.

An Arabic-English lexicon made by Arabs, for Arabs. This book, printed in Cairo at the Bulaq Press, seems to be unrecorded in major digitally available bibliographies.

In the preliminaries, the author, Imad Hussein bin Hassan, specifically states that this lexicon was made for an Arabic audience rather than a Western one. The need for this approach possibly arose from the publication around the same time of Edward Lear’s famous and highly influential An Arabic-English Lexicon (1863–1893). Imad Hussein argues that his lexicon is “not foreign in its aim or method, but strives to simplify English concepts and return to the beauty of Arabic forms,” this, in contrast to Lear’s work. The book was authored “for students […] to resist the English tone, not to corrupt the Arabic language.”

The Būlāq Press, established in 1820 by Muhammad Ali Pasha (1805–1849), the self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, was the first indigenous Arabic governmental printing press and remains one of the most significant printing houses in Egyptian history. Located in the Būlāq quarter of Cairo, its operations began in 1821. It was initially created to serve Muhammad Ali’s modernization ambitions, but under Muhammad Ali's successors the press's fortunes declined. The press’s activities were reduced to printing government forms and elementary schoolbooks and was ultimately closed in 1861 due to financial constraints. Under the new name “Rushdi Press” operations were expanded until the press was reclaimed by Isma‘il (1863–1879) in 1865 and integrated into the Royal Domain. Renamed Matba‘at Būlāq al-Saniyah (Royal Būlāq Press), it entered a period of renewal. This is when the present Arabic-English Lexicon was printed. Modern steam-powered machinery replaced hand-operated presses, new equipment was imported, and European printing specialists were hired, transforming it into a thriving center for high-quality printing and publishing that significantly contributed to Egypt's modernization.

Provenance: Presentation inscription in ink on front pastedown from Harold Bridgewater to Hormashahi Dinshah Gandhi Esq, dated "1/10/[18]99", on p. I in pencil “Hormasji Dinshaji Gandhi”.

Condition: a used copy. Spine heavily worn, front cover almost detached, some leaves loose or partially detached. Paper sporadically stained, minor repairs to a couple leaves, a few pencil annotations and underlinings. Nonetheless the contents in good condition.

Literature:

Hassan, A. B., ‘The Government of Egypt’s Press (Matba`at Bûlâq): A Historical Analysis of Two Hundred Years of Performance’, Cogent Arts & Humanities, 8(1), 2021.

Tadrus, Fawzi M. Printing in the Arab World with an Emphasis on the Būlāq Press in Egypt. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Qatar, [Doha], [1982], pp. 61-77.

Verdery, Richard N. "The Publications of the Būlāq Press under Muḥammad 'Alī of Egypt." Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 91, no. 1, Jan.-Mar. 1971, pp. 129-132. American Oriental Society.