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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [80v] (167/1814)
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.
28
PERSIA
peclitious route. In any case the traveller cannot rely upon reach
ing Baku under eight or nine days from London.
From May to November the Caucasus and Mercury steamers
run weekly, and sometimes bi-weekly, to Enzeli, leaving Baku as
Caspian a rule on Sunday night; during the remainder of the
year somewhat irregularly. After touching at the
Russian (once Persian) port of Lenkoran, and the frontier village
of Astara on Monday afternoon, they are timed to arrive at Enzeli
—a total distance of 197
nautical miles
Originally one minute of arc measured along a meridian, but since 1929 redefined as 1,853.20 metres.
, in from 30 to 36 hours
from the start, i.e. at some time on Tuesday morning.
Here, however, the peculiar and doleful idiosyncrasies of
Persian travel are not unlikely to begin, for there is often such a
Landing at surf on the bar 1 that it is quite impossible to land pas
sengers in boats; and in the winter months it not infre
quently happens that the unhappy voyager, after being tossed
about for several hours in sight of his destination, is taken all the
way back again to Baku, whence, after a mournful week of dab
bling in naphtha and becoming saturated with petroleum, he returns
in order to repeat the experiment.
Should the elements, however, prove propitious at Enzeli, he is
transferred to a small steam-launch, in which he is conducted to
The the projecting spit of land, at the western extremity of
which stands the hptom-house of Enzeli, and where also
is a somewhat decayed but picturesque five-storeyed pagoda or
summer-house belonging to the Shah. The decorative features
of this structure, which is painted blue, red, and green, increase in
smartness as they approach the upper storeys, the topmost of
which is reserved for the use of His Majesty; but they are in a
s ate. of great dilapidation, and are moreover often rendered
invisible by a mat covering, intended as a protection against the
appalling damp From here the launch steams across the Murdab,
mi V °^^i ° a . ten ni ^ es? an fr° m * and three-quarters,
ns shallow and wind-swept lagoon is some thirty miles long
Tom east to west, by twelve, in maximum»breadth from north
o south, and is peopled with every variety of wild fowl—
canno^ntt 1 T ^ ° Ver
cannoL entei, out must lie outside. The Pprcian
pressed, but has never yet taken any steps either tore , often be6n
account of the Shah’s small steam yacht, the ‘ Nasr-ed Dtekh ’T 1 - 106 ^ ^ “
the Murdab, vide a later chapter on the Navy. 18 generally ° n
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 [80v] (167/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213842.0x0000ae> [accessed 4 June 2026]
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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