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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [323r] (648/1814)
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.
1
THE SHAH—ROYAL FAMILY—MINISTERS 419
a younger son of the Shah came in, a nice little boy of eight years
of age, with a pink velvet coat and an immense diamond buckle.
His elder brother appeared to be very fond of him, and caressed
the lad as he talked.
The Shadow of the King is short of stature, unusually corpulent
for his years, and is a chronic sufferer from gout. A defect in one
His ap- of his eyes detracts from the smart appearance that he
and cor? ^ as comm only been made to present in photographs;
versation and his features wear an expression of mingled bonhomie
and astuteness. Upon the present occasion he looked pallid and far
from well. He talked a great deal in Persian, with a very rapid
flow of language and constant laughter. Beginning with the
stereotyped conversational overture that he always had been and
would be the friend of England, which was the centre of civilisa
tion and to whose interests he had devoted his life, he went on to
say that he thought Lord Salisbury’s Government the best in the
world, and hoped it would remain in office for ever. On the other
band, he considered Lord Randolph Churchill not too loyal, and
rather troublesome. I asked him what they would do with him
in Persia. He replied, with some discretion, that a course of office
might be expected to have a steadying effect. He added that he
took in fifteen English as well as French, German, and Russian
newspapers ; and that he employed a special translator for the
purpose. Turning the conversation on to general politics, with
which he seemed creditably familiar, and on to the chances of
peace and war, he expressed sentiments unfavourable to the two
greatest neighbouring Powers. On the other hand, he told a
Russian officer of my acquaintance, upon one occasion, that he
was eagerly awaiting the Russians; and Mr. Stack, in his excellent
book, 1 relates a story that casts similar doubt upon his Anglophile
professions. It is supposed that his general predisposition is in
favour of the English as against their rivals; but that expediency
recommends an application of the same compliments to both.
He then proceeded to pass an elaborate panegyric on the good
government of the Shah, under whose administration life and propertv
were secure, and no one was oppressed or murdered (an example
which, in these respects, it is still not too late for the Prince to
follow). Persia he depicted as 4 hungering and thirsting for civilisa
tion, emotions of very dubious existence, which I question if the Zil
1 Six Months in Persia, vol. ii. p. 27.
e e 2
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 [323r] (648/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213845.0x000037> [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
- 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