First printed edition of the gulistan. The single most important publication for Western studies in Persian language and history in the seventeenth century. Although the compiler Georgius Gentius (1618-1687) was best-known as a Dutch Hebraists, he was also a Persian scholar and this copy of the text includes an appendix of notes relating to the Gulistan by Gentius bound at the end (often lacking).

The Gulstan, or Rose garden, is one of the most important literary works in the Persian language. Sa'adi, being one of the most revered of Persian Poets, completed this masterpiece in 1258 AD and it has been a literary favourite since. Though a vast quantity of manuscripts of the text precede this publication, the delays in printing in the Middle East, which weren't established until the nineteenth century, make this 1651 publication the earliest printed edition of the text. A partial French translation by du Ryer was published in 1634, and a German version of this French text appeared two years later, but this remains the earliest most complete appearance of this monumentally important work in print.

First edition Small folio, pp.[xx], [630], completes with the notes of Gentio bound at the end, printed in Persian and Latin, a clean and attractive copt, title and final leaf very slightly browned, bound in modern green half morocco over marbled boards, gilt ornaments in compartments on spine.