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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [94r] (194/1814)
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.
WAYS AND MEANS
55
would appear to estimate rank by the extent to which the hinder part
of the body is enveloped, if one may judge from the voluminous skirts
that are worn by H.M. the Shah. On the other hand, they care nothing
for head gear ; and the Sovereign is the only man in the country
for an interview with whom a tall hat is de rigueur. Stout riding-
oloves are required ; and I agree with MacGregor in recommending a
double Terai hat. It cannot get smashed, like a helmet; it furnishes
ample protection against any but a summer sun, and when you enter a
city you strip off the outer shell, and appear as smart as if you have
just stepped out of Bond Street. But of all the necessaries of outfit,
commend me, after a long experience, to a suit of dress clothes. Were
I setting out to-morrow either for Lhasa or for Timbuctoo, they should
accompany me ; for I am convinced that I should find them equally
useful were I to meet in audience either the King of the Negroes or
the Dalai Llama of Tibet. I remember having heard that Gordon
started in a dress suit from Cairo for Khartum. For outer coverings, I
recommend a covert-coat for everyday wear, a macintosh (if in the
rainy season), and an ulster of the amplest and warmest type, the col(£_
at nights being sometimes excruciatingly severe.
The Vzvsi&Tichapar-khanehs contain nothing in the least degree resem
bling a bed. If unprovided, the traveller will have to sleep on the mud
floor. By far the best substitute to carry is a big canvas bag,
Bedding some seven f ee t long by four feet broad, with an opening which
can be buttoned up. At every village in Persia, chopped barley or kali is
procurable. Stuffed with this, and stretched out on the floor, the canvas
sack makes the most comfortable couch in the W'orld. A quilt or resai can
be purchased in any Persian bazaar ; and some good rugs or blankets and
a pillow must be brought from home. A waterproof sheet, to wrap
round the bedding for transport in the daytime and to spread under it
at night, is also useful. I took linen sheets with me ; but I never once
used them in a chapar-khaneh. The weather was always much too
cold, and I was far too tired to admit of complete undressing at night.
For purposes of ablution, a folding indiarubber bath and basin are an
invaluable luxury ; nor must towels be forgotten. The Persians do not
wash in our sense of the term ; and accordingly their provisions or sue i
requirements are of the slenderest. As the room in the chapar-khanehs
occupied by the traveller usually has doors on two, and sometimes on
three sides, opening on to the outer air, and as these are always ric ety
and frequently non-existent, iu is advisable to carry with one a couple
of light curtains and nails, in order as far as possible to vanquish t e
inordinate draught.
The traveller who is riding hard will probably find that he eats
very little, and that his needs in this respect aie easily satis e •
the villages on the road, or at the post-houses, he can always purchase
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 [94r] (194/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x000001> [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