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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [82v] (171/1814)
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.
32
PERSIA
one of these individuals, whose stolidity is proof even against the
agreeable emotion of receiving a tip, and who never deviate, even
by accident, into an expression of gratitude. As a Persian traveller
seldom gives them anything, I suppose they look with contempt
upon a European who is foolish enough to squander a gratuitous
shilling. At the chajoar-Jchaneh, where the traveller puts up for
the night, and where he is supplied with a few conveniences, such
as water and firewood, possibly with milk and eggs, it is usual to
give the postmaster, upon leaving in the morning, a gratuity
varying, according to the nature of the service, from two to four
Jirans. These are the only disbursements required, except for
provisions bought in the villages en route ; and to meet this outlav
a supply of a few hundred hrans, which can either be procured in
one-kran or two-Jcrcm pieces at Baku, or can be sent down from
Teheran, is necessary. These are usually carried in bags in the
rider’s holsters, and are a great encumbrance on a long journey.
But no other currency is in existence, and no other method of
payment is therefore possible. 1 With these preliminary instructions
for his guidance, from which he will already have learnt that the
journey lying before him, if not luxurious, is at any rate cheap,
the traveller will upon arriving at Besht (or Kuhdum) make his
way to the post-house, and after procuring his tezlcereh or postal
order, will arrange for starting upon his ride as soon as possible.
He will not, as did a friend of mine, ask for a porter to take up
his luggage to the hotel! There is an English as well as a Bussian
Consulate at Besht j and the former building, after being for some
time unoccupied, has lately received another official inmate, so that
in the last lesort the help of a countryman and the majesty of
officialdom can both be appealed to for assistance.
The stretch of country between Besht and Teheran may be
roughly divided into three sections—(1) the forest belt extending
Character from Besht to the mountains, which is a portion of the
immense wooded zone that covers the flat coast-line from
Talish in the west to Astrabad in the east, a total distance of 400
miles ; (2) the spurs and the main range of the Elburz Mountains,
f'An C A lnghest P omt of tbe P a ss attain an altitude of over
, eet above the sea; (3) the elevated plateau or plain upon
1 The Imperial Bank has since issued bank-notes, but as they can only be
cashed, at present, in the towns where issued I donhi v i tn ^ ^
at the post-houses. ’ 0Ubt Whether the ^ are acce P ted
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 [82v] (171/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213842.0x0000b2> [accessed 8 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