Qajar Era Children’s Book Republished

An old children’s storybook from the late Qajar era (1786-1925), originally published as a lithograph, has been reprinted.

The educational short stories and instruction for children “Ta’dib ol-Atfal” (Education of Children), written by Mirza Mahmoudkhan Mazandarani, has been compiled by Seyed Ali Kashefi-Khansari and published by Madreseh Publication, ISNA reported on its Persian website.

According to Kashefi-Khansari, Mazandarani had translated and rewritten the stories from an Arabic translation of a French book. The book is adorned with Persian miniature illustrations. First published in 1914, it is considered as one of the earliest printed works of children literature in Iran. Mahmoudkhan Mazandarani, also known as Meftah ol-Molk, (1881-1916) was the editor of Ma’aref newspaper. He was a pioneer of schoolbooks and one of the first writers of a Persian course book for children. He also compiled and edited old stories for children.