Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [79r] (164/1814)
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.
:ertai ^e llt
’ Bi s i! 5
ntor mati 0 u
author iti eS) j
1 aav e a] re
% faithful
111 mterestw
3d to f) le su®
e ? virtue 0 (
irve P^motio,
1 i ei P Hanway t
inson ‘ Of ^
{ En gPsh ideas
irst named, by
els, has gained
ank is, in my
:ance with and
an life, and by
his ponderous
irs, and whicl
f a full decade
travellers the
) the French
to exaggerate,
tan, which is ire-
!rv, and represents
ekke Turkomans;
at this date,con-
coal mines in the
t of coal has ever
by half a century,
thinks there are
INTRODUCTORY 25
and he cannot invariably be relied upon; but he is always pains
taking, frequently ingenious, and not seldom profound. The
second class I have already filled with a goodly array of names.
There are others who might well have been, and should perhaps
still be, included under the same heading, were it not that the
romantic atmosphere of the East has proved too much for their
critical equilibrium and has swept them aw r ay on gusts of sent!
merit, now lifting them to giddy heights of rhetoric, now plunging
them into woeful depths of bathos. Of the early travellers John
Struys, a Dutchman, made the widest excursions into these farry
fields. In the present century he has been ably seconded by Srr
R. Ker Porter, who, though a most diligent enquirer, has diminished
the appreciation arising from careful plans and excedent diawings
by a turgid pomposity of style that is alternately exasperating and
ludicrous. It is when they contemplate the majesty of Nature, or
the pathos of ruin, that these rhapsodists are impelled to their
greatest efforts ; and on such occasions a Howling Dervish might
learn something from their transports. Of the class of writers,
daily receiving fresh and enthusiastic recruits, who rush through a
country, either not having read what has been written by better
men before, or reading it only in order to plagiarise and reproduce
it as their own, and who misunderstand, misspell, and misinterpret
everywhere as they go, I will say nothing. They too have fastened
upon Persia. But the aids to such compilation as theirs are here
less readily forthcoming than elsewhere ; some considerable exer
tion must be endured; there are no railroads to ease the body,
while great folios must be read to supply the place of mind ; and
altogether the kingdom of the Shah does not promise the best of
spoils. Neither would I waste one drop of ink in rescuing any
such from a salutary oblivion.
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
Use and share this item
- Share this item
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [79r] (164/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213842.0x0000ab> [accessed 6 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213842.0x0000ab
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213842.0x0000ab">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎79r] (164/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213842.0x0000ab"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0175.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- 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
![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎79r] (164/1814) Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎79r] (164/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0175.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg)