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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [196r] (394/1814)
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.
POLITICS AND COMMERCE OF KHORASAN
213
imports of the same article. English knives and scissors, crockery
and porcelain, of which there seemed to be very little in the bazaars,
but which come by this route, are greedily snapped
up when offered for sale, though at higher prices than
the corresponding articles of Russian manufacture. Simultane
ously I found a consensus of opinion that the Russian import of
cheap cotton fabrics of which I have spoken had been very much
overdone, that the bazaars were now overstocked with these goods,
and that they could only be sold at prices which would result in
serious losses to their owners. The main feature of the com
petition between the two countries was undoubtedly this :
that all English articles are considered vastly superior in
durability and quality; but that the enormous distances which
they have to traverse and the high prices which must necessarily
be charged, render it almost impossible for them to compete with
their rivals. For my part I think it extraordinary, when we com
pare the two situations (putting aside altogether the articles
in which Russia cannot compete, such as indigo, minerals and
tea), that Great Britain should still claim so creditable a propor
tion of the trade. Whether it can be maintained is another
question, to which I should hesitate to return an affirmative
answer.
Of the Russian total of 110,400L imported by the Transcaspian
railway, cotton stuffs, plain and coloured, constitute nearly one-
third. The second largest item is sugar, which has
8. Russian 0 y er y other sugar, French or Indian, out of the
market, and is sold in the bazaars at 4^cL a pound—a price that is
in the main due to the bounties granted by the Russian Govern
ment to Russian exporters of the article , 1 and with which it is
next to impossible for Indian sugar, even though made from the
sugar-cane, to compete. Russian crockery and porcelain, which
are almost universal, amount to 11,500L ; and the value of Russian
hardware is only 1,000L less.
If we turn to the exports of Khorasan, physical considerations
will explain the fact that the trade with Russia is vastly in excess
of that with India. Exclusive of such Indian goods as pass
1 One rouble (25.) per pond (36 lbs.) excise duty is refunded on Russian sugar
exported abroad. In the case, however, of Central Asia and Persia, the rebate,
having served its purpose by completely driving out all other competitors from
the market, was discontinued from May 1, 1891.
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 [196r] (394/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213844.0x000001> [accessed 3 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