The astute observations of linguist Paul de Lagarde on Persian manuscript in Europe predating 1700 make an essential catalogue for anyone interested in the state of the field in the late 19th century. Citing each manuscript, Lagarde provides an annotated catalogue of 61 pieces that include descriptions from the editio princeps of each text as well as his own observations. His study gives a sense of importance of each piece considered, demonstrating their relationships with other known documents. Also included in this unique study are the Judeo-Persian versions of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel (the latter only through chapter 9). These materials formed the basis of what was known of Judeo-Persian in the late 19th century as used by other scholars, and were based on manuscripts in the Bibliothèque Nationale. These pieces represent important evidence for the history of the Persian language, and their annotated form, as presented in this edition, remains an important step in the history of comprehending the language.

Paul Anton de Lagarde (1827-1891) was a biblical scholar and student of ancient languages. Having studied at Berlin, Halle, London, and Paris, he had a wide exposure to international thought. He eventually taught at Göttingen. Despite his participation in the anti-Semitism of his day, he was a gifted student of Semitic languages. His voluminous linguistic works are still recognized for their insights into oriental languages. He made important contributions to the study of Syriac, Aramaic, Arabic, Hebrew, and Coptic, as well as Greek and Latin.