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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [171r] (344/1814)
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.
MESHED
167
i
%
daggers, there is not the same demand for new blades. Silk and
cotton and velvet stuffs are made here, but of a quality greatly
inferior to those of Bokhara. There are in the town 650 silk
looms and 820 shawl looms. On the other hand, good carpets are
procurable, particularly those of genuinely Oriental pattern, close
texture, and imperishable vegetable dyes, that hail from Kain and
Birjand. The Kurdish carpets are also original, but less artistic.
In Meshed itself ate forty carpet-looms. Turkoman carpets,
jewellery, and weapons were formerly a common object in the
bazaars, but are now almost entirely bought up by the Russians
in Transcaspia or exported to Europe. Astrabad, near the camps
of the Goklan Turkomans, is probably, next to Teheran (whither
everything converges), the best place in Persia for procuring
Turkoman articles. Old Tartar and even Bactrian coins are
frequently to be met with at Meshed. I naturally anticipated that,
being in such close proximity to the famous turquoise mines of
Nishapur, the bazaars would be well stocked with specimens of
that stone. I saw little but rubbish. All the best stones are
bought at the mouth of the mines and are exported to foreign
countries. Meshed seems to receive the residue, of a price and
quality likely to attract the itinerant pilgrim. Nor was I any
better pleased with the carved objects, cups, bowls, basins, ewers,
which are hollowed with the aid of a very primitive lathe and
tools out of a soft slate or steatite that is found in the neighbour-
kood. There are two varieties of this stone, a dull reddish brown,
and a blue-grey. But though previous travellers have spoken in
terms of great admiration of these works of art, I failed to
appreciate either the material, the shape, or the workmanship.
At the time of my visit, the scale of artisans’ wages was as
follows: Carpenters, 3 krans, or Is. 9 d., per diem ; masons, 2 hrans,
or Is. 2 d.', blacksmiths, hr an, or lid.; common labourers, 1 hr an,
Wages and or ^d. The price of bread was about ^d. per lb., ol
pnces mutton 2 |d. Fowls, which had cost i hr an, or 3 |d., in
the mountains, cost 1 hr an, or 7 d., in the capital. The price of
wheat was a little less than 6d. a stone, of barley a little less
than 4 d.
There were reported to be 144 private bankers or usurers in the
city, with a united capital of 931,000
tomans
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
, or 266 , 000 Z. Two
only of these had a capital of 100,000
tomans
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
( 28 , 570 Z.); three a
capital of 50,000
tomans
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
( 14 , 285 Z.) each; and two a capital of
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 [171r] (344/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x000097> [accessed 24 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