A key subset of Princeton's Persian collections consists of a core of 442 periodical titles published from the mid-19th century up to 1979, and amounting to approximately 500,000 pages in a range of print sizes and formats. This particular set of periodicals was assembled as a distinct collection by Husayn Kay Ustuvan Tihrani (d. 1969-70), himself an author and newspaper editor (most notably of the influential "Ruznamah-i Muzaffar"). Kay Ustavan was among the founding members of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis), and served as a diplomat representing Iran in China. He had assembled this personal collection of important, well-regarded Persian periodicals, primarily of political and popular content, from his own and earlier eras. The collection covers the culturally and politically important late 19th century (the latter days of Iran's Qajar Period) up through the Pahlavi period -- a span including what is sometimes referred to as the "Constitutional Period" of Iran's political history. Rudolf Mach (Princeton's Curator of Near East Collections from the 1950s through the 970s) purchased this collection from Khalil Mostofi (owner of the Kitabforushi Mostofi) who acted as Kay Ustavan's family's representative after his death.
The Pre-1979 Periodicals and Newspapers Collection unlocks unparalleled insights into Iran's past, providing context for comprehending contemporary Iran today. This collection includes 50 meticulously bound and numbered volumes of journals and newspapers, as well as individual periodicals bound in their own volumes, spanning a vast historical canvas from the 1850s through the 1970s. The digitized holdings of this collection focus on the first 50 volumes, and are a work-in-progress. Make sure to visit every so often to see the new digitizations added to this collection.
While the great majority of these periodicals were published in Iran (in Isfahan, Mashhad, Qazvin, Rasht, Shiraz, Tabriz, Tehran and Yazd), others are Persian periodicals published by and for Iranian emigre communities in Azerbaijan (Baku), Egypt (Cairo), England (London), India (Bombay, Calcutta), Iraq (Baghdad), and Turkey (Istanbul).
We are continuously growing our digitized collections at PUL. This list represents a growing prioritized subset of materials selected for digitization.
