685

ACQUISITIONS OF 1996-9 (Or. 25.173, cont., 25.402)

16 lines, undated); and a letter declaring Mehmed Refik Efendi, ekin miifttsi of Emir Feyzullahzade of Salihli, free from a debt of 11 Ottoman lira, which he had paid back in installments specified in the text; signed by Sadika, daughter of Hur§ïdzade Ahmed Efendi, and dated Nisan (April) [1]333/1917 (cream paper, 201x131 mm, nk'a, 8 lines; accompanied by a calligraphed copy on chequered paper with a transcription of most words, made by the previous owner). Purchased from Dr Nico van den Boogert, June 1998.

Or. 25.402 The Hofman bequest The legacy of Henri Franciscus Hofman (1917-98), professor of Turkic Lan guages and Culture at Utrecht University. Hofman prepared for a career as a colonial offical in the Dutch East Indies in Leiden and also attended lectures in Turkish given by Professor J.H. Kramers (see Or. 14.221, above). Interrupted by the Second World War, Hofman moved to Utrecht where, shortly after the war, he accepted a job as assistant-librarian at the University Library. In 1971 he was also appointed ‘extraordinary professor’. Much of his scholarly energy was spent on a bibliography of Central Asian Turkic (Chagatay) literature, which resulted in the publication of Turkish Literature. A Bio-bibliographical Survey, in two volumes (Utrecht 1969), which however was not complete and, in particular, lacked references to the great poet NevaT. To the end of his life Hofman continued to work on this grand project, and the remainder of this exertion, which, alas, was never published, make up the bulk of the bequest. The collection was received from Hofman’s widow, Mrs J.C. Hofman-van Boven on 9 July 1999. It mostly consists of a series of metal and wooden boxes with hundreds of filing cards in various formats with bibliographical and other notes, typed and hand written, and accompanied by cuttings and photocopies; exercise books with hand written annotations on various subjects, among them a draft Turkish etymological dictionary and draft university lectures; a few printed books, mainly Turkish grammars, and an interleaved author’s copy of Turkish Literature in six volumes; and a linguistic map of Central Asia. Worthy of special mention are the following items: 1. An envelope addressed to the curator J.J. Witkam with a postage stamp dated