Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1890-03-21
EXPERT PENMEN.
IN PERSIA STILL
WRITTEN BY HAND.
Almost Incredible Pains Expended in
Transmitting aud Illuminating
the Koran-Thc Persian
Method of w riting.

ulHerence between Europe and Asia than
the fact that newspapers in America are
dashed off by the Hoe press, while in
Asia, or rather iu Persia, they are still
written by hand. Indeed, writes S. G.
w. Benjamin in the New York World,
am surprised on considering the matter
that there arc any newspapers of any sort
in Asia.
No people have ever displayed such
universal and abiding interest in CALI
graphy us the Persians. The writing they
had before the Mahometan conquest was
more di-tinct and graceful than that of
Greece during the same period. After
the Saracens conquered Persia they were
soon absorbed by the Persians, who in
time asserted again their independence
and the superior quality of their genius,
but not before the Arabs had forced on
the Persians their religion and the use of
the, Arabic character and partially of the
Arabic language.
For several centuries this character
had the long, slender limbs and angular
forms of the Arabic written at Cufa ON
on the Euphrates. Gradually, however,
the Persian love of the beautiful modi-
lied this forciblc but ungraceful charac-
ter by giving it agreeable curves and
generally more flexible form. The
various stages that Persian writing has
passed through since the Cutie WIS en-
tirely abandoned about the twelfth
century are called Nase. Nastalick and
Shekesteh. These are all i'll use now,
although the Nastalick is the one most
commonly employed for correspondence
and ordinary, everyday subjects.
1t is almost incredible what art and
pains have been expended upon copies of
tho Koran. 1 have seen large quarto
volume of which every leaf was of
vellum, and each page was supcrbly
illuminated. Each letter was actually
cut entirely through the vcllum and was
made lcgiblc by an underlay of purple
velvet.
Extracts from the Koran of large size
to put over door or on wall, much us
we use the somewhat familiar motto,
"God bless our home!" have also been
common, executed with taste, skill and
infinite patience. 1 have seen such IL
motto with letters Il foot long of which
the shading in the arms of each letter was
produced by colorcd designs represent
ing the pastoral or military scenes, land
scapes or the like, so dclicately drawn
that their full beauty could only be mp
preciated with II magnifying glass.
There are scribes of ability and note
now i'll Persia. They transcribc, and if
need be illuminate in the most sumptuous
manner the Government edicts and other
documents. The archives of the various
departments are illuminated with much
splendor.
But the printing press has at last in
vadcd Persia, and Is used to some extent
at the cupital. There are two periodicals
published there, one the court or official
journal and the other weekly. The
former is nominally edited by Nasr-ed-
Deem shah and the latter is supervised by
the Minister of Art, Literature and In
struction. There is not much in these
papers. Hypcrbole and metaphor occupy
much of their columns; the facts and
news TO the above features are in proper
ton like Falstalf's ''pennyworth of bread
to an intolerabe deal of sack"
However, it is something to have a
newspaper of any sort in Persia But
while these papers are finally printed be-
A'|iS buDiiNaiiOh IL iilusl uDL lOI II IlOIllcUL
be thought that caligraphy has nothing
to do with them. After the editor has
made up an entire copy of the subject
matter it is given to scribe, who makes
n clean copy Of it exactly rs it is to APP
pear. This copy is given to an expert,
who makes beautiful caligraphic copy
with graceful head-lettering This copy
in turn is photographed on photographic
stones, which are bitten with acid, and
thus when the printed copies are struck
off they are identical with the written
copy of the court scribe.
This elaborate process is followed be-
cause it is difficult with type metal to
obtain letters us graceful us the written
letters, and the Persian's eye is so SEN
sitivc on the subject that he shrinks from
reading printed sheets taken from cast
types. For the same reason the books
issued by the missionaries in Pcrsia for
the Mahomctans are printed on litho-
graphic stones.
1t may be worth while to describe the
Persian method of writing. AS may be
generally known, they write from right
to left. They never use a table if it can
be avoided, but write ON their hands.
BY preference they set on their knees
and heels on the floor. The pen is
reed the color Of black walnut; the nib
is cut diagonally. This pen is called a
kelm, and is kept i'll ali oblong box called
It kalemdan. This case is made of brass
or of paper-machc, which is often most
cxquisitely decorated with hand-paint.
ing. The age of a kalcmdan can be in.
variably told by the costume of the fig
ures painted upon it. In one end of the
slide of the kalemdan is the ink-box the
ink is thickened by being mixed with
silk. The paper is glossy and generally
81 cream tint. The best comes from
China.
Every great nan has his secretaries,
each provided with kalemdan and
roll of sheets Of paper, both of which he
carries in his girdlc. If letter or doe
llment IS tn bp vvriftnp tbo cnorofor, ;,,,