Octavo. (34)pp. Printed and hand-decorated with gold throughout, and with a highly ornamentally painted double-page opening spread, this primer teaches a speaker of Modern Arabic the grammatical and syntactical rules of Quranic Arabic. Quranic Arabic, hailing from the Classical period when the Qu'ran was originally revealed, is more complex, requiring study of particular parts of words, various additional diacritical symbols, and changes in pronunciations and grammatical contexts in order to direct the reader toward the emphases and pauses necessary for a deep reading of the text. Following the usual primer structure, the opening spread shows letterforms and two prayers (or the same prayer in Modern versus Quranic script), then guides the learner through increasingly complicated exercises, each one laid out in a 5x6 grid and bordered in gold. The final spread asks the learner to understand five separate prayers, testing their mastery of the language. A remarkable example of the linguistic intricacies of Arabic, emphasizing the holiness of the Qu'ran. In an unusual binding of what appears to be contemporary floral wallpaper, the outer facing side of which has been decorated in Dutch gilt brocade on a blue wash. The upper cover bears a holograph notation in ink that appears to be German, but the combination of the blue ink against the blue wash has hampered legibility. About fine overall.