![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎782r] (1580/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1606.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎782r] (1580/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [782r] (1580/1814)
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.
v A <'
h jf ; fislle fies
i, bailks .
gat^o^u
, mei1 each, and
136 o0,000. ^
animation. ^ »
? tlle Gulf; ^
oes not send its .
’nsiderably.frou
feline to dive in
best pearls are
are composed of
^ not materially
Ion. The diver
to his feet, his
te , 1 and his ears ^
; or basket into
n drawn up to
ry declared that
irs, others less.’
formed, or the
ncestors, for the
fty seconds, and
ar by swordfish
- 0 be averse to
3 ep water, it b
eported to have
I suppose, that
lore,
t
Ibn
X
THE
PERSIAN GULF
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
k/ C Xj £-
457
/
Produce
WEen the pearls have been picked out of the shells, they are
handed to the master of the boat, who proceeds to sort them by the
manipulation of a triple set of brass sieves, pierced with holes of
differing diameter. The pearls that are unable to pass through the
largest sieve are called Hkis ; the residue of the second sieve aie
Batin ; while the resulting contents of the third sieve are known
as Bzel. Made up into separate batches, according to their classifi
cation, the assorted pearls are then sold to the pearl merchant, upon
an intricate scale of values, depending upon the shape, colour,
specific gravity, and size. The merchant rearranges them in
smaller packets, and despatches them to the Indian market, whence
a great many come back again to Arabia and Persia.
Generally speaking the Bahrein pearls are not so white as
Ceylon pearls, but are larger and more regular in shape; while
they are said to retain their lustre for a longer period.
The Ceylon banks require to be carefully watched, and
fishing is only permitted by Government at intervals of years. On
the other hand, the Gulf banks give no indication of failing supply.
During recent years the harvest has been specially abundant; and
as prices have risen within the same period, there has been a
visible increase of prosperity in the Arab ports, and larger vessels
have been built. Too often, however, it happens that the profits,
which are supposed to be divided between the owners of the boats,
the divers, and the crews, are absorbed by greedy money-lenders,
to whom they have been previously mortgaged at usurious rates of
interest. .In each of the years 1888 and 1889, the total export of
pearls from Bahrein and the Arabian cost of the Gulf amounted to
about 430,000?., two thirds of this total passing through the
^ustom-house of Bahrein. The chief imports of the island are,
■cotton goods, dates, grain, spices, tobacco, and coffee. The place
is further remarkable for an almost unique phenomenon, viz. the
presence of several fresh-water springs bubbling up in places at
the bottom of the sea. These are found even at a depth of eighteen
feet, and at a distance of some miles from the shore. X
The history of Bahrein, since the expulsion of the Portuguese
by Persia in 1622, has been one of constant vicissitudes, the result
of the covetous appetites of the surrounding nations. In
all the conflicts for the supremacy of the Gulf waged by
Arabs, Persians, and Turks, each combatant has fixed his eye upon
Bahrein-, and the victor has invariably sought to make it his first
a
rr
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 [782r] (1580/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213849.0x0000b5> [accessed 6 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