The opportunity for a major exhibition of the Aga Khan Museum’s holdings in the the arts of the book and calligraphy – extended to include epigraphy – arose with the Sabanc› Museum’s offer to host the show within the context of 2010 – Istanbul, European Capital of Culture. This justified the effort to prepare a substantial catalogue including essays by a broad range of experts. Our contributing authors are to be sincerely thanked for their good grace in the face of the inevitably tight schedule that a project of this nature entails.