![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎768v] (1553/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1573.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎768v] (1553/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [768v] (1553/1814)
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.
TJye above Map shows the principal Passes
along the southern boundary of Galicia am
The line of the Russian advance through (
General Staff—depend upon the results of
strategical reconnaissance.
The intelligence upon which such plans will
be based is that referring to the amount of
transport and rolling stock on roads and rail
ways, the strength of columns of troops, the
size and situation of bivouacs, parks, and supply
depots, second lines of defence, and any other
facts which may afford a clue to the strength
and disposition or movements of an enemy’s
masses and to his intentions.
An Observer’s Qualities.
To gather information of this nature by
aerial reconnaissance the observer either travels
above a previously selected line of country or
passes to and fro over a certain definite area,
noting and recording everything of value that
he sees. This latter method is the slower and
is used only when very detailed information
is required.
This is not work which can be carried out
by every one. The really first-rate observer
must possess extensive military knowledge
in order to know what objects to look for and
where to look for them ; he must have very
good eyesight in order to pick them up ; and
he must have the knack of reading a map
quickly, both in order to mark correctly their
positions and to find his way. To reconnoitre
is not easy even in fine weather ; but in
driving rain or snow, in a temperature perhaps
several degrees below zero, or in a gale, when
an aeroplane travelling with the wind rocks and
sw r ays like a ship in a heavy sea and may
attain a speed of 150 miles an hour, the diffi
culties are immense. In these circumstances,
and from the altitude at which it is necessary
to fly in order to escape the projectiles of
anti-aircraft guns, columns of transport or of
men are easily missed. Indeed, at a first
attempt an observer will see nothing which
is of military value, for it is only after con
siderable practice that the eye becomes accus
tomed to scouring a great stretch of country
from above and acquires the power of dis
tinguishing objects upon it.
Psychology also comes,in, and the tempera
ment of an observer is of the greatest import
ance. He must be cool and capable of great
concentration in order to keep his attention
fixed upon his objective in spite of all dis
tractions such as, for instance, the bursts of
shell close to him, or the noise of rifle bullets
passing through the planes of his machine.
He must withstand the temptation to make
conjectures 01 to think that he has seen some
thing when he is not absolutely certain of the
fact, since an error in observing or an in-
reDortinsr mo-" 1 - ^ '
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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 [768v] (1553/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213849.0x00009a> [accessed 23 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/33
- Title
- Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Questionby George Curzon, with Inserted Papers
- Pages
- 767r:768v
- Author
- Unknown
- Usage terms
- Public Domain