![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎827v] (1671/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1701.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎827v] (1671/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [827v] (1671/1814)
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.
520 PERSIA ]
naphtha wells of Daliki, which have long been cited among the
unexplored Persian sources of mineral wealth. Two springs ol
greenish-coloured water here wed up, with a temperature of
95° Fahr., strongly impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen, which
exudes a nasty smell, and flecked with drops of naphtha on the
surface. A concession for the working of these wells was granted
a few years ago to Messrs. Hotz, of Bushire, but after sinking an
experimental shaft in an unsuitable spot, they desisted from ^
further operations. The concession has since been transferred to
the Mining Corporation, whose engineers have during the past
year been engaged in sinking a bore to a considerable depth, and
who are still at work. The naphtha-bearing zone apparently
extends from here in a north-westerly direction, the next spot
where the oil comes to the surface being in the district of Bam
Hormuz, and in the vicinity of the Biver Karun. Here, ac
cording to the most recent surveys, there are three oil-bearing
localities. The first is near the village of Shardin, about fourteen
miles east of Bam Hormuz, where there are more than ten springs,
yielding a dark and heavy oil, the three principal of which produce
at present a daily average of only twenty-five gallons, but one of
which gives pure oil. They are claimed by local seyids. The
second site is about ecpiidistant (twenty-four miles) from Weiss
on the Karun, and Beni Baud, and is forty-five miles south-east
of Shushter. Here there are six shallow pits in the bed of a brook,
only one of which is at present productive, yielding thirty-four
gallons of. white oil per diem, which is used in lamps unrefined,,
being sold in the bazaars of Shushter, 1 Isfahan, and Teheran. 2
They are leased to a leading citizen of Shushter. The third
group of wells is situated at Haft Sheid, eighteen farsakhs in a
northerly direction from Shushter, beyond the Akili valley of the
Karun. Owned by the Shushter seyids, these wells yield thirty
gallons daily of a dark green oil, which is sold to the Arabs for
rubbing on camels, and as a cure for itch. In each of these cases
the conditions of locality are perhaps less favourable than at
Daliki, the cost of transporting machinery being very large, and
the tribes being’ superstitious and ignorant. Naphtha is also re-
1 Ram Hormuz naphtha is sold at Shushter for 1 to krans per man.
In the bazaars of Teheran and Isfahan it fetches 50 per cent, more than
Baku oil, and is used by painters and polishers. In the south it is employed to
adulterate American oil.
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 [827v] (1671/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213850.0x000048> [accessed 23 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213850.0x000048
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_100157213850.0x000048">Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎827v] (1671/1814)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100157213850.0x000048"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_1701.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