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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [100v] (207/1814)
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.
68
PERSIA
packed with bales of cotton waiting for shipment. I he General
hoped to be able to undertake the extension fioni Samarkand to
Tashkent, which, he said, had been finally sanctioned, in the
forthcoming summer; 1 and at no distant date to effect a junction
with the projected Omsk-Tomsk line through Siberia to Vladivos-
tock. Nor in the dim future had he renounced his pet project of
a Merv-Penjdeh-Herat-Kandahar diversion, which should bind the
East and West in friendly fusion.
At Uzun Ada the number of native passengers waiting to take
tickets at the single small window of the ticket office—Uzbegs
Native from Bokhara, Sarts from Samarkand and Tashkent,
passengers Chinese Mohammedans from Kulja, Turkomans, and even
Afghans, returning from pilgrimages to Mecca or other sacred
shrines—was so great that it was not till two hours after the
quoted time that the train steamed out of the station. It appeared
to be difficult to persuade these inveterate Orientals either to
regard the price of a ticket as a fixed quantity or to comprehend
the French system of the queue. They fought and jostled each
other at the tiny opening; and when the ticket distributor named
the price, in true Asiatic fashion they offered about half the sum
in the expectation of a leisurely haggle and a possible bargain.
A cloudless sun on the following morning showed me again
the staring waste of the Kara Kum and the crumpled mountain
The Desert S 01 ^ es ^ ie ^ uren Dagh. Great improvement was
noticeable at most of the railway stations—more trees,
more water, greater general comfort. We passed Geok Tepe at
11.30 a.m., and I had time to pay a flying visit to the ruins of the
famous fortress which I have described at length in my previous
work. The solidly-built walls of rammed clay appear to dwindle
very little, and, unless artificially levelled, should be visible for at
least a century. It has since been announced (November 1890) that
a new use is to be made of Geok Tepe. A penal settlement is to
be established here, and a large prison erected for convicts from
the Caucasus sentenced to hard labour, whose constitution is
unequal to the rigour of biberia. Kussian convicts at work amid
a native population by whom, only ten years ago, Russian prisoners
in battle were being put to death, will be a dramatic accessory
thoroughly in keeping with the surroundings. Two hours behind
1 Nevertheless, at the time of going to press (winter 1891), it has not been
begun.
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 [100v] (207/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x00000e> [accessed 2 April 2025]
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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