As editor and contributor, William Ouseley (1767-1842) published this three-volume collection of essays between 1797 and 1800. Educated at Paris and Leiden, Ouseley became an honorary fellow of the royal societies of Amsterdam, Göttingen and Edinburgh. He researched extensively on Persia, producing important work on Persian handwriting. Several of his translations of works by fellow orientalist J. L. Burckhardt (1784-1817) are also reissued in this series. Ouseley's Oriental Collections consists of miscellaneous pieces contributed by a number of writers on aspects of Asian history, culture and literature. Volume 2 includes essays on Chinese vocabulary, the Eastern origin of mankind and Persian lyric poetry. Also featured are translations of Arabic travel memoirs and poetry by Hafez, as well as a catalogue of the Turkish, Arabic and Persian manuscripts in the British Museum. The diverse subject matter will appeal to readers interested in oriental scholarship in the late eighteenth century.
