LONDON (Dispatches) -- A first-edition copy of the oldest English translation of the Qur’an is to go on sale at a book fair in London.
British rare bookseller H M Fletcher is selling the Qur’an, which was translated as The Alcoran of Mahomet in 1649 by Alexander Ross.
Ross was chaplain to King Charles I. He did not know Arabic and translated his version from a French translation by Andre du Ryer, published in 1647.
The event is being run by Firsts at the Saatchi Gallery in London.
The fair is hosting more than 100 international antiquarian dealers.
The theme of this year’s event is Shakespeare: 400 Years of Influence, celebrating four centuries since the publication of the playwright’s First Folio.
A copy of the First Folio will be presented by Peter Harrington, allowing visitors to see it.
It is one of the rarest of his plays as most copies of The Third Folio were destroyed in the Great Fire of London.
The fair will include many other artifacts from the Elizabethan age, including Queen Elizabeth I’s Second Great Seal, which was created at a time when she was trying to cement her public image.
Jonkers Rare Books will display a copy of Madagascar, the first edition of the 1638 book of poems by William Davenant, Shakespeare’s godson, which includes the poem In Remembrance of Master William Shakespeare.
Many of the books present at Firsts originate from the collections of prominent cultural figures.
Firsts London is one of the world’s leading rare book fairs and showcases unique and unusual data-x-items from more than 100 leading UK and international dealers.