Skip to item: of 1,814
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎812r] (1640/1814)

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.

Apply page layout

REVENUE, RESOURCES, AND MANUFACTURES
495
and manufactures. 1 She is a country rich in undeveloped resources.
Possessing every variety of climate, from the extremes of tropical
heat to the perpetual snow line, and every quality ot soil,
rndmanu- her vegetable productions are almost as numerous and
factures diyergifie( j as are the mineral treasures that lie concealed
beneath her surface. A scanty and diminishing rainfall, the desola
tion arising from frequent invasions in the past, ignorant agriculture,
and gross maladministration, have impaired or reduced her capa
cities in the former respect just as effectively as the dearth of
communications, the difficulty of transport, and the want of enter
prise have impeded the development of the latter. In the one case,
verdant plains have relapsed into stony wildernesses ; in the other,
no attempt has been made to profit by a natural endowment.
Nevertheless, putting on one side her mineral resources, with which
I shall deal separately, and at rather greater length, Persia at this
hour can present a catalogue of products and manufactures re
markable, if not for its total bulk, at least for its ample variety of
detail.
Grain, mainly wheat and barley (the latter of which, in the
absence of oats, is commonly used as fodder for horses), is grown
throughout the country, but in greatest plenty in the
Cereals p r0 yi nC es or districts of Azerbaijan, Kermanshah,
Luristan, Arabistan, Fars, Khorasan, Kerman, Yezd, and Isfahan.
The Russians bought almost the whole of their grain for the
Turkoman campaign of 1880-1 in Khorasan, the price rising so
enormously in consequence, that there were very nearly bread
riots in several of the towns; while the confidential reports of
Russian military and diplomatic advisers invariably recommend
the annexation of that province on the ground that, in the event
of a movement upon India, its cereal wealth would be needed to
supplement the scanty produce of Transcaspia. The implements
of tillage are primitive in the extreme. A rude wooden plough-
i For information on these points, I recommend: Sir J. Malcolm (1810), His
tory of Persia, vol. ii. cap. xxii.; Dr. 0. Blau (1858), Comviercielle Zvstdnde
Persiens ; Dr. H. Brugsch (1860-1), Reise der K. Prenss. Gesandtsehaft vach
Persien, 2 vols.; J. E. Polak (1865), das Land und seine Bewohner, 2 vols.
(Leipzig); J. E. Polak (1878), Persien (Vienna!; J. E. Polak (1888), Notice surla
Perse au point de me commercial ; F. Stolze and F. C. Andreas (1871—81), Pie
Jlo/ndelsverhdltnisse Persiens Q Petermann’s Mittheilungen, 5 1885); Sir K. Mur-
doch-Smith (1876), Handbook on Persian Art ; S. Oh W. Benjamin (1883-85),
Persia and the Persians, cap. xiv. ; A. Herbert (1886), Commercial Report of the
F.O., No. 18, 1886.

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

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎812r] (1640/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213850.0x000029> [accessed 2 April 2025]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213850.0x000029">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [&lrm;812r] (1640/1814)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213850.0x000029">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1670.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image