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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [304r] (610/1814)
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.
*SK!
^igarucl) '•
( ter U t J ’ 18 tli e
8 towT^
3 Iast al so to i V f - Cl1
a tie 1 0VV t0
-s always
of the «w
‘t* «
f0 ''»
; f ^ ^ *p»» 5
f ^^-Producin,
export trade, Very
erec l its name on e
s fi ears i and wkict
> British, Russian,
,re fr°m an early
heir several coun-
dominance in the
mg position; the
, chiefly Russian-
mderstood to own
lit of mortgage,
issecl. Early in
enitli, its bazaars
ities: Armenians,
even Povindahs
liis first journey
atious imprison-
red and brought
]imated its popn-
It was almost _
wept like a tor-
itural fever-beds
the ghost of its
6; in
Ustoirt dcs
, e Casp^
[_ • in 1861)
ivan’s
THE NORTHERN PROVINCES 385
former self. The silk trade, however, which continued to flourish
till the last twenty-five years, enabled Resht to raise its head more
quickly than any ol its neighbours. It was a flourishing town in
the middle part of this century, and many English travellers have
occasion to recollect the hospitality of the firm of Ralli, who kept
a laige establishment here, and maintained a country house in
almost European style. With the collapse of the silk trade they
disappeared, and the fortunes of Resht experienced a sensible
decline. I he counterbalancing increase, however, in the cultivation
and expoit of lice and cotton have caused it to revive, and the
population is now calculated at from 25,000 to 30,000. The
situation of Resht as the chief maritime outlet on the north, must
always lender it an impoitant place, quite apart from the trade of
the province whose capital city it is. For instance, in 1878, the
last year in which published statistics are accessible, the exports to
Russia from the province of Gilan, via Resht, equalled 192,000Z.;
while the exports from the rest of Persia through the same Custom
house were only 4,000?. less ; the internal trade between Resht and
the Persian interior amounting to 143,000?. in the same period.
; Anyone who has followed me so far, will by this time be ex
pecting the statement, that considerable as is the trade of Resht,
Possible ^ might be increased and, in all probability, doubled, did
ments^" ^ ie ^ >ers ^ ans ^ a ke the most elementary steps to expedite
or facilitate its transit. It is safe to say that in no other
country in the world would the main avenue of mercantile entrance
and exit be left in so miserable and chaotic a condition. The bar
at Enzeli, the entrance to the Murdab, or Lagoon, the anchorage
therein, the ascent by r creek to Pir-i-Bazaar, the road to Resht, are
so many successive and undisputed obstacles to freedom of inter
course. In any other country the bar would have been dredged,
steamers would have been admitted into the lagoon, jetties
would have been built for lading and unlading therein, the
creek would have been deepened and widened, or a canal con
structed to Resht itself. Above all, the' marsh and forest
roads would have been kept in good repair. The question of
railway communication with the interior is one that has fre
quently been mooted, and was once on the verge of being put
into execution, the embankments being built, and even the rails
being laid for the distance of a few miles from Resht ^ but this is
a subject which I must reserve for a later chapter. The only
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 [304r] (610/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x000011> [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