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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [78r] (162/1814)
The record is made up of 2 volumes with inserts (898 folios). It was created in 1892-1924. It was written in English, Urdu and German. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
INTRODUCTORY
23
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" S bein g, in t
t ptain H
’ ass isted by
> wrote the"],
S an d E. Sta (
thought and
‘ations. I n t
istinct additio
the English a
as the scene of
ls on the north
:he larger cife,
from the rants
se is Major (noir
r n topographical
; 6 of Mohammed
hat subsequently
later times tk
an archaeological
f the Cuneiform
'ank of Oriental
most fortunately
3 those gifts cl
s; whilst among
iployed in Peri
ble and scholarly
ig to Persia tk
in later years, o
)orted by anqi
d volumes, ilh 8 '
■he Geograptisj
.off, who appW
scientific scW 8 '’
And if, ^
)mmission ed ^
h she appeal "
be unpardonably slack—at least the political undertakings with
which the British Government has charged itself, have resulted in
the labours and writings of Sir F. Goldsmid, and of bis able band
of collaborators in the services of the Telegraph and Boundary
Commissions. A useful history of Persia within the compass of a
single volume, has* been published by Mr. Clements Markham,
while the history of the first half of the present century has been
carefully compiled by Mr. R. G. Watson. The field of Persian
history, however, as a whole, is one that still calls for the enteipiise
of some English student, combining the rare gifts of familiarity
with Oriental tongues, historical knowledge, and classical erudi
tion. In Germany, Spiegel, Justi, Noldeke and Gutschmid
have worthily divided the role. I should add that by far tbe
best and most accurate account of Persia, within the limit of 100
pages, that I have ever seen, occurs in the monumental work
of the Frenchman Elisee fteclus. 1 During the last thirty years
the north-east portion of Persia has been brought more closely
under our view by the labours of a succession of competent
explorers; Khanikoff, the Russian, already mentioned; Colonel
Valentine Baker and Captain Gill, tbe former of whom displayed
a rare intuition of Central Asian politics; Sir C. MacGregor,
whose impetuous patriotism was reflected in his unpolished but
masculine style ; and E. O’Donovan, the ‘Daily News’ correspon
dent, who penetrated to Merv and afterwards perished in the
Soudan, and whose literary accomplishments equal those of any
other
writer
The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping.
on Persia. All of these have since died.
In the same period Messrs. Stolze and Andreas have thrown
much light upon Persian commerce, industry, administration, and
resources; and General Houtum Schindler, whom I shall so fre
quently have occasion to quote, upon almost every branch of topo
graphy, archgeology, and general knowledge. Dr. Wills, who was
for many years Doctor to the Indo-Enropean Telegraph Establish
ment, has given us a series of vivid and entertaining representations
of life and customs in modern Iran. Mr. Benjamin, the first
American minister to Persia, is the author of the last work in
English on the country ; but his observations on manners and arts,
which are interesting, are handicapped by a general inaccuracy
that renders his book of little value. 2 Madame Dieulafoy’s portly
1 This has been translated into English, Universal Geography, vol. ix.
2 What, for instance, can be thought of a
writer
The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping.
who describes as ‘a small
salt lake at Oroomieh 5 an expanse of water which is three hundred miles in cir-
About this item
- Content
These two volumes are George Curzon's own personal annotated copies of both volumes of his book Persia and the Persian Question , which was published in 1892. Alongside the volumes are various loose papers relating to Persia [Iran], consisting of the following: received correspondence; newspaper cuttings; publishers' press releases; cuttings from various booksellers' catalogues; various journal and magazine articles; two items of printed official British correspondence; several prints of photographs and sketches; and a few handwritten notes by Curzon.
In most cases these papers, which range in date from 1892 to 1924, relate to the chapters in the book where they were originally inserted, suggesting that they were kept by Curzon with the intention of using them to inform a revised edition of the book.
Of particular note among the small amount of correspondence are two letters received by Curzon in 1914 and 1915 from retired schoolmaster and Islamic scholar Sayyid Mazhar Hasan Musawi of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India (ff 5-9 and ff 44-53). These letters, which are written in Urdu and are accompanied by English translations, discuss in detail several inaccuracies found in the Urdu version of Persia and the Persian Question .
The various prints of photographs and sketches, which were originally inserted into volume two, are of different locations in the Gulf region. Several of these appear to have been produced in preparation for the publication of the second volume of John Gordon Lorimer's Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Oman and Central Arabia (i.e. the 'Geographical and Statistical' section) in 1908, as they are identical to the versions found in that volume.
Also of note among the loose papers are an illustrated article from Country Life dated 5 June 1920, entitled 'The People of Persia' (ff 36-37), and a printed family tree of the Shah of Persia [Aḥmad Shah Qājār], produced in preparation of his visit to Britain in 1919 (f 233).
Volume one of Persia and the Persian Question contains a map of Persia, Afghanistan and Beluchistan [Balochistan], which is folded inside the front cover (f 1).
The German language material consists of a publisher's press release for two books authored by German archaeologist Ernst Emil Herzfeld (ff 29-30).
- Extent and format
- 2 volumes with inserts (898 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this shelfmark consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the first folio of volume one (1-463), and terminates at the last folio of volume two (ff 464-898); these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Each volume contains a large number of loose leaves, which have been foliated in the order that they were inserted into the volume; for conservation reasons, these loose folios have been removed from the volume and stored separately. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers of the two volumes.
Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English, Urdu and German in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [78r] (162/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213842.0x0000a9> [accessed 17 March 2025]
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/33
- Title
- Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Questionby George Curzon, with Inserted Papers
- Pages
- 54r:135v, 147r:149v, 158r:180v, 183r:221v, 224r:224v, 227r:246v, 248r:257v, 259r:260v, 268r:362v, 364r:364v, 367r:388v, 390r:400v, 402r:416v, 419r:432v, 434r:444v, 448r:462v, 464r:471v, 475r:481v, 483r:513v, 516r:525v, 527r:544v, 546r:563v, 566r:598v, 600r:622v, 624r:656v, 658r:665v, 667r:675v, 678r:684v, 687r:688v, 691r:691v, 693r:693v, 695r:708v, 711r:721v, 724r:726v, 728r:729v, 731r:736v, 742r:742v, 746r:757v, 759r:761v, 763r:763v, 765r:765v, 772r:777v, 780r:789v, 793r:794v, 797r:809v, 811r:821v, 825r:840v, 843r:898v
- Author
- Curzon, George Nathaniel, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
- Usage terms
- Public Domain