Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [826v] (1669/1814)
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.
518
PEESIA
1
4. Kerman
that will find an eager market at the very threshold of produc
tion.
The next district, that of Kerman, is one of whose mineral
wealth glowing accounts have always existed, although, owing
to its great distance from the sea, and the enormous cost
of transport, the export of its varied productions has
never been, and probably never will be, profitably conducted,
except in a few cases of especially valuable minerals. On the
other hand, the market provided by the two great manufacturing
cities of Kerman and Yezd must always create a considerable local
demand. Chardin spoke of lead from Kerman as being used for
many utensils; and it is still extracted in the districts of Kuhbenan,
Jevarun, and Mahuu. 1 At Kaleh Ziri, between Birjand and Neh,
Khanikoff in 1859 inspected the extensive remains of ancient
galleries, whence copper, lead, manganese, and turquoises had at
one time been extracted, but which had apparently not been
worked since the Arab conquest. 2 Stack, in 1881, was shown
rich specimens of lead and copper ore from Tang-i-Mo-i-Aspan,
four farscbkhs from Pariz and two from God-i-Ahmer. 3 Coal exists
at Bazergun thirteen miles north of Kerman city, at Deh Taki in
the Hizumi Pass, to the north-east on the road to Bahwar, and
throughout the Kuhberan district. Between Kerman and Shiraz
at Parpa, near Niriz, are the iron mines of which Marco Polo,
Tavernier, and Chardin spoke as steel mines, and which were ex
tensively worked in ancient times. Very rich manganese ore is
found at Heruzeh, sixty miles from Kerman on the road to Rahwar.
Good borax comes from the Shehr-i-Babek district, to the north
west of Kerman on the northern edge of the Sirjan salt-desert.
Asbestos was discovered only five years ago near the village of
Gujar, in the Kuhbenan district, twenty farsakhs north of Kerman,
where it is known as sang-i-lcakhur, or c wound stone, 5 being locally
applied to stop bleeding. An excellent yellow, semi-transparent
marble is quarried in the mountains near Yezd, the actual spot
being Turun Pusht, forty miles from Taft, and fifty-six miles from
Yezd. From it were made the superb marble throne, and the
twisted marble pillars chat now adorn the throne room, or Talar,
in the Royal Palace at Teheran.
1 Almost the only use now made of lead in Persia is that of casting bullets
and shot, and about 1,000 tons of the metal suffice for the needs of the whole
country. 2 Mcmoire, etc., p. 169. * fe Months in Persia, vol. i. p 211
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 [826v] (1669/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213850.0x000046> [accessed 26 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
![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎826v] (1669/1814) Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎826v] (1669/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1699.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg)