![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎122v] (251/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0262.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎122v] (251/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [122v] (251/1814)
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.
108
PERSIA
would not give a farthing in excess. What the quality or worth of
his return gift may have been I never discovered; because, although
he brought a bundle with him on his valedictory visit the next day
which I afterwards heard contained an intended present of carpets
or embroidery, he failed to offer it to me, and it was said to have
been purloined by some of his servants.
Such were the main incidents of my intercourse with the old
chief of Kuchan. I am glad to be able, if not to contradict the
Dinner versions of his character and accomplishments that have
KWs 16 b een given by my predecessors, at least to depict another
kitchen an q m0 re favourable side of his nature. I note that on
Sir C. MacGregor in 1875 he left the same impression of dignified
manners and considerable intelligence. In the evening I had an
opportunity both of becoming acquainted with the Persian cuisine
and of testing the quality of the Khan’s own kitchen. A dinner
that would have fed a regiment was brought ready cooked from his
house to that which he was pleased to call mine, and deposited in
dishes upon the floor of the room. There were soup, chickens
cooked in no less than three different ways, leg of lamb, mutton
ragout, excellent Nabobs, a Persian omelette, three gigantic platters
of rice, two of them containing the famous Persian chilau or plain
boiled rice, the third a pilau, or rice mixed with meat and currants, 1
and other dishes for which I cannot find a name. The cooking of
such as I tried was excellent, and the rice especially was prepared
m a manner that no Parisian artist could emulate. For drink
there was Kuchan wine, which I thought extremely nasty, sour
milk, which is equally distasteful to the untrained" palate’ and
native sherbet, which, though little else than iced sugar and water,
is a most agreeable and refreshing beverage. Delicately carved
and transparent pear-wood spoons from Abadeh floated in the
sherbet-bowl. Lastly there were piles of grapes. I more than
., , ’ wmcn 18 a triumph of cooking, comes up in the form of ‘ a w
pyramid of steamed rice, every grain of which is dry outside, but inside is fu
] ce, an . is served with a large number of entrees. For its recipe, ride Thieln
{Journey m the Caucasus, vol. ii. p. 26), copied from Polak’s Persien. As for
^ . ’ ar in eclared that there were above twenty sorts, for which he gave
pes, ma e up with mutton, lamb, pullets, &c. The results of a long experk
• ? I1Se r . ^ ese wor ds : 4 It has a wonderful, sobering, filling, and nom
60 ne ea ^ s 80 lrj uch that one expects to expire ; but at the end of
^ know what has become of it all; you no longer feel
c oaded (edit. Lloyd, vol. ii. p. 226; edit. Langlts, vol. viii. p. 187).
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 [122v] (251/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x00003a> [accessed 10 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x00003a
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_100157213843.0x00003a">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎122v] (251/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x00003a"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0262.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