About the Cover Illustration

The figure on the cover of ASP.NET 2.0 in Action is a “Tatar,” a Turkic-speaking inhabitant of Russia. The name “Tatars” was originally used for the people that overran parts of Asia and Europe under Mongol leadership in the 13th century. It was later extended to include almost any Asian nomadic invaders, whether from Mongolia or the fringes of Western Asia. The illustration is taken from a collection of costumes of the Ottoman Empire published on January 1, 1802, by William Miller of Old Bond Street, London. The title page is missing from the collection and we have been unable to track it down to date. The book’s table of contents identifies the figures in both English and French, and each illustration bears the names of two artists who worked on it, both of whom would no doubt be surprised to find their art gracing the front cover of a computer programming book...two hundred years later.