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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [150r] (302/1814)
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.
Tales from Turkistan.— Stor L 0 b. Edinburgh and London : William
Blackwood & Sons. 1924. X 5, pp. x. + 307. Two Illustrations.
6s. net.
The author writes under a nom deplume, but it is not difficult to recognize
in him Major L. V. S. Blacker, whose paper read before the Society in 1921
(Journal, Vol. 58, pp. 178 et seq.) covered in part the same ground. Few officers
can have served in so many war areas so widely separated from one another
as Major Blacker and his gallant contingent of the “ Guides,” and after a
perusal of this work the armchair critic, who cursed the “ side-show,” would
perhaps be ready to allow that the tiny force employed was able to carry out
important military work that was out of all proportion to its size and cost.
To take the thrilling pursuit of the fifteen Afghans across unmapped
mountains, where the cold was great and where rations were very short, until
they were finally run to ground and seized in a
caravanserai
A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers).
at Yarkand, not
only are the finest qualities of British leadership displayed, but important
results were secured with a tiny expenditure of force. Again, on the north
east frontier of Persia, what splendid work was done by the same gallant band,
and how much loss of life and property was escaped by the Persians through
the British operations! Moreover, every opportunity was taken to add to the
geographical knowledge of the countries that were visited. Major Blacker has
studied Persian history, but in his account of a visit to the forbidden fortress
•of Kalat-i-Nadiri, he makes a slip in stating that Nadir Shah, whose fastness
and treasure-house it was, came of a Kurdish line. Actually he was of Afshar,
and therefore of Turkish, descent, and so cannot be claimed as belonging to
the Aryans, about whom the author waxes eloquent throughout his book. This
does not a whit detract from a most graphic account of a natural fortress, which
is probably unmatched in the world, and which struck the reviewer with awe
when he visited it. Altogether we have a collection of thrilling stories of peril
and adventure by land and sea, and it is to be hoped that they will be adver
tised as especially suitable for boys and girls, for such deeds must never be
forgotten, as they enrich the annals of our race and also the records of our
Nordic brethren in the Panjab.
One has often wondered how our descendants will compare the great deeds
of the World War with those done by the heroes of the Elizabethan era. The
leaders in those days were as brave as lions, permeated with pride of race, and
did great things, but the men they led were, in some cases, cowardly, owing to
the superstitions of the period and also lack of spirit. Will not the verdict be
that the British officer of the World War was enabled to do deeds that can
never be surpassed, partly owing to his own spirit, but also owing to the splendid
quality of the men he led ? In any case a great tribute for valour is surely due
to those unconquerable Indian troops who fought with success in every war
area, and who covered themselves and the “ Guides ” with undying fame in the
expeditions here narrated. P. M. S.
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 [150r] (302/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x00006d> [accessed 5 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
- 150r:150v
- Author
- The Geographical Journal xx Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London xx Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography
- Copyright
- ©Royal Geographical Society
- Usage terms
- Creative Commons Non-Commercial Licence