Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1836 - 1838 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 archival folder
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Captain Turner Macan (1792-1836) of Carriff, Co. Armagh, was Persian Interpreter to the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in India. His edition of the Shahnameh was the first ever printed in Europe. The text was prepared from seventeen complete manuscripts and four fragments, most of which were written in Persia, lent to Macan by various British army officers and civil servants as well as local nawabs. One of these manuscripts (Rylands Persian MS 932, University of Manchester) was presented to the translator by Nasir-ud-Din Haidar, the King of Oudh.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Richard Macan was with Turner Macan when he died in Calcutta in 1836 and took charge of his affairs.
Repository
Archival history
The Letter Book was compiled by Richard Macan to document his dealings with the estate of Turner Macan to be presented to the executors of Turner Macan's estate, Major Thomas Macan and Mr Graham Johnston.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
It is unknown how this material came into the possession of the Society.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The main item in these papers is the Letter Book, complied by Richard Macan concerned with the sale of the estate of the late Major Turner Macan. There is also a note written by Richard Macan and some modern research notes on the Letter Book and Turner Macan's biography.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open. Please contact the archivist using the email address given here. The archive is open on Tuesdays and Fridays 10-5, and Thursdays 2-5. Access is to any researcher without appointment but it will help if an appointment is made via phone or email. Please bring photo ID
Conditions governing reproduction
Digital photography (without flash) for research purposes may be permitted upon completion of a copyright declaration form, and with respect to current UK copyright law.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Within our Library Collections we have copies of Turner Macan's translations of the Shah nameh and the The Alif laila or Book of the thousand nights and one night. We also have Macan's Kitāb-i Shāhnāmah (كتاب شاهنامه) / taṣnīf-i Abū al-Qāsim Ṭūsī mutakhalliṣ bi-Firdawsī kih bi-saʿy va ihtimām-i Tirnir Makān, and a biography of Macan written by Keith Haines. Further details can be found on our Library catalogue: https://ras.koha-ptfs.co.uk/.
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Macan Turner 1792-1836 (Subject)
- Macan Richard (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
The Papers were catalogued by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in 2019.