![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎815v] (1647/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1677.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎815v] (1647/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [815v] (1647/1814)
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.
PERSIA
502
Abbas Khan, formerly British Agent at Meshed. Nor lias the
memory of the Shah’s red-tailed chargers, paraded during his first
visit to England in 1873, yet faded from the public mind. Madder-
roots, saffron from Yezd and Bujnurd, and gall nuts from the oak of
Kurdistan, mast be included among the valuable products, although
the lamentable introduction of aniline dyes has diminished alike
the growth of and the demand for native colouring materials.
In cataloguing the vegetable products of Iran, I must not
omit the curious substance known as cjez, and popularly identified
G-ez, or with the manna of Holy Writ, which, although alleged to
be the deposit of an insect, is yet found upon the branches
and leaves of trees, particularly of the cjez or tamarisk, flourishing
chiefly in the neighbourhood of Isfahan. Chardin was evidently
somewhat dubious as to the origin and character of this production,
of which he spoke as follows :—
The lea\ es of this tree about Isfahan do in summer drop this
liquid Manna, which they pretend is not Dew but the Sweat of the Tree
congealed upon the Leaf. In the morning you may see the ground that
lies under it perfectly flat and greasy with it.
As a matter of fact, gez is a white, glutinous substance, not un
like honey, and is said to be deposited in flakes on the leaves of the
tamarisk bush by a small, pale-green insect. 1 It is gathered in the
early morning by the natives, who go out with broad earthenware
vessels or baskets, and shake the boughs over them. Carefully
scraped off* the leaves, it takes the form of a white paste. It is
more commonly, however, made into a sweetmeat called gezangebin,
with the addition of almonds and pistachios, being sometimes boiled
a ong with the leaves, and allowed to harden into a species of
greenish cake. I frequently tasted it, and, although clogging to
the palate, found it decidedly agreeable, resembling a superior and
less sticky form of nougat.
In the interior of the country the descriptions of my journeys
wi have acquainted my readers with the fact that, with the excep-
Timber tl011 of an occasional straggling row of Lombardy poplars,
and, m ancient towns or places of resort, of venerable
chenars or planes, but little timber is to be seen. The patches
an animal Y aUthoritieS ’ wBo that the substance is no
an animal but a vegetable secretion, and that it exudes from the plant A prior
this is more,probable. It is found not only on the tamarisk, but Lo in differed
places on the hd (willow), Mar (thorn), and Mat (oak).
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
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [815v] (1647/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213850.0x000030> [accessed 14 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213850.0x000030
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_100157213850.0x000030">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎815v] (1647/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213850.0x000030"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1677.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
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
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
- 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