![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎82r] (170/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0181.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎82r] (170/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [82r] (170/1814)
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.
31
. v iz. jji.
LS °' Vl1 ani lli[
er mean ^
,, 1Sl 'api,l
eSS ’ ^ k
but i s n ttei
6 arm i *'
, 2 h
a e 0116 ca St
' " is tia n ,
V 1 as ttucl
letirnes abo^
ltIlal on h 01%
r Ilouse s, whid
Les hi s food h
fixed tariff f or
trom the main
t one appetite
3paration—tie
' large number
rvants to look
isequent upon
he other hand,
ovements, and,
aals cannot be
verage in the
wording to his
iVe very little
anxious to go
rly active and
a family and
V
ng, still more k
explore, and
;en track (f° r
the number
he will travel
r to adopt the
hen make rff
[e some fibenl
ersian servant
WAYS AND MEANS
to meet him at Enzeli or Eeslit, lie will be saved from the agony
of the opening struggle with an unknown people and tongue, and
will pass with less mental exasperation through the grim oideal ot
Persian chapar-khanehs and post-boys. In favour of this decision
are also the facts that lie can take a carriage from Itesht as fai as
Kuhdum, eighteen miles, and therefore need not begin bis lide till
the latter place j that the post-houses between Resht and Teheran
are somewhat better equipped than those on the other lines, that
more and rather better or less execrable horses are engaged in
the service ; and finally, that at Kazvin they can be abandoned
altogether for the luxury of a carriage which will conv ey him
the remaining hundred miles to the capital ovei the sole i oad
m the country on which the European method of locomotion is
common.
In passing I may say that the charge for post-hoises is one
hr an (yd.) per farsakh (approximately 3J to 4 miles) for each horse
^ ^ ^ required. The minimum number usually employed by a
chapar- single traveller is one for himself, one for his native
ridmg servant, 1 and one for the chapar-shagird, or post-boy, who
takes back the animals, driving them in front of him, when the
stage is over. If the traveller is carrying a good deal of baggage,
a fourth horse may he required ; hut the vagaries of this animal,
who is far too obstinate to be led by a rein, and who, being rider
less, takes every opportunity of bolting from the track and
disappearing across country, where he has to be pursued and
whipped hack again, constitute such a check upon progression as
well as such a tax upon temper, that most persons will gladly
purchase immunity from so indefinite an expansion of their journey
by the necessary contraction of their personal effects. And it is
surprising, as I shall presently show, how much can he carried on
the backs of the three horses already named. The charge for each
stage must be paid beforehand to the chaparchi, or post-master, at
the chapar-hhaneh where the fresh animals are engaged ; and at
the end of the stage it is customary to give one hr an for an
ordinary stage, or two brans for a very long stage, to the post-boy
who has accompanied you. Not once in postal rides of over 1,200
miles did I receive the faintest sign of acknowledgment from any
1 I should prescribe as a golden rule, not to take a European servant unless
travelling by caravan. In the latter case, be is merely a single addition to a large-
cavalcade, and may be of use, as well as a luxury.
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 [82r] (170/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213842.0x0000b1> [accessed 10 July 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213842.0x0000b1
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_100157213842.0x0000b1">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎82r] (170/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213842.0x0000b1"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0181.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