![An Account of a Journey in Kashmir by David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer and Letters from Emily Overend Lorimer to her Parents sent from Bahrain and Kerman [‎601v] (1224/1291)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000323.0x0002bc/Mss Eur D922_1_1224.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "An Account of a Journey in Kashmir by David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer and Letters from Emily Overend Lorimer to her Parents sent from Bahrain and Kerman [‎601v] (1224/1291)")
An Account of a Journey in Kashmir by David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer and Letters from Emily Overend Lorimer to her Parents sent from Bahrain and Kerman [601v] (1224/1291)
The record is made up of 2 files (630 folios). It was created in 1898-1914. It was written in English and Persian. 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.
KERMAN,
13 - 8 - 14 .
LXXIII.
Oy^-
^ TTell man prop sea - - - !
Horo I am awaiting the advent of possible ylsltora on my _
At Home lay. while Lock speeds off to the illustrious clt^
of Bam — 160 miles and a T-days’ Journey 1 — and our
summer holiday has evaporated into air.
And the tale of how it all came about is long but inter
eating and so characteristic of Persia that I must try to te
tell you In detail.
The fone ot origo mall, as the despatch language would
have it la one, the Nazim ut Tujjar by name. He is a*
Kermani. but being a man of some means has Invested a 101
money in property in Bam and has made himself something of
local power there. His previous record. Is not a good one
and he has been responsible for sundry disturbances before.
This time he presented himself as a candidate for t..e recent
election of an M.P. in Baia. B^ing very anxious to succeed,
he marched n armed force of 500 men through the town on
colling days (this is known to be a fact) and is aald a i*°
to have cooked some 600 votes for himself with his own HamU
and smuggled there into the ballot box (this is not proved).
He was therefore elected. But the anti-Nazim.,ee, who
include the real Bam notables, protested that his election
was not valid, and to his immense annoyance a aignitary was
sent down from the Gov. Gen. to report on th# question -nd
in the meantime the election was declared vo.d, ^nd our
friend was not allowed to proceed, to Teheran as Waq.ii (M ).
His next move woe to organise a
Bast
(Per.) A Persian custom allowing an individual to seek asylum at a designated location.
at t$e elegraph
Office in Bam. I have told you before all about the
tionable Persian habit of taking B at or
pretexts or none. The Teheran Legation has always been
very weak on the subject in practice, but in theory t-Hey hol
that only fugitives in actual danger of their lives should oe
admitted to
Bast
(Per.) A Persian custom allowing an individual to seek asylum at a designated location.
, and Lock In practice iiveo up to this zmx
constantly ejocts fro m the Consulate premises would-be Bastxg
In this case, as soon as he heard that Hast is were ^ u..-
irig into the T. 0 . at Bam, he vrdired at once that he
not recognise them, that the British Govt, was not going to
mix intself into their petty election quarrels, and that
they must at once vacate the premises on which they were
tresnaesing. This message had no effect, however, - ne
fear of the Nazim or his bribes acting more potently on the
crowd of peasants and villagers collected, than any thought
of a distant Consul or a mythical Br. Govt. Finally the
» +<4*.t**
About this item
- Content
This file consists of two separate physical files as follows:
1) An account of a journey in Kashmir in 1898-99 written by David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer of the Indian Army. His account is entitled 'Three Months of Privilege Leave'. It contains his observations on the languages, peoples, transport, flora and fauna, trade and climate of the region. There are occasional edits and corrections to the original text marked in red pen. The Persian language material in the file is a proverb written on folio 194.
In addition to this travel diary, the following is enclosed: an essay by Lorimer entitled 'Modern Education' dated 9 February 1895 (folios 1-24); two copies of a pamphlet that was published 'for private circulation' in memory of David's brother, John Gordon Lorimer, following his death on 8 February 1914 (folios 255-262); and another essay by Lorimer entitled 'Our Indian N.W. Frontier - a study in a bye-gone Civilisation. A forgotten Chapter of Frontier History' (folios 221-253).
2) Copies of letters that were sent from Emily Overend Lorimer to her parents, Thomas George Overend and Hannah Kingsbury. The letters describe the lives of Emily and her husband, David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer (referred to as 'Lock' in the letters), while living in Bahrain from October 1911 until November 1912 (folios 263-310) and in Kerman from January 1913 until November 1914 (folios 313-634). David served as Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. in Bahrain 1911-12 and as HM Consul, Kerman and Persian Baluchistan, 1913-14.
The letters discuss a range of topics including Lorimer's observations of local customs, food, climate, scenery and festivals; the couple's domestic life and arrangements (especially their servants, who are often discussed in racialised, insulting language); and her interactions with other non-local residents. Also discussed are Lorimer's reading habits, her and her husband's health, family news and, occasionally, world events and political developments.
On folios 322-324, the file contains a description of a walk around Kerman in March 1914 that is accompanied by a sequence of six small black and white photographs of various points in the journey (folios 315-321).
In addition to these letters, the file also contains a number obituaries and letters of condolence written upon the death of David's brother, John Gordon Lorimer, on 8 February 1914 (folios 299-302, 415-416 and 543-544).
On folio 417, the file contains an obituary of David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer published in an unknown newspaper following his death on 26 February 1962.
- Extent and format
- 2 files (630 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this file consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the front cover of volume one (ff 1-262) and terminates at the inside back cover of volume two (ff 263-634); 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.
- Written in
- English and Persian in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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An Account of a Journey in Kashmir by David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer and Letters from Emily Overend Lorimer to her Parents sent from Bahrain and Kerman [601v] (1224/1291), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur D922/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100179946972.0x00008d> [accessed 5 July 2026]
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- Reference
- Mss Eur D922/1
- Title
- An Account of a Journey in Kashmir by David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer and Letters from Emily Overend Lorimer to her Parents sent from Bahrain and Kerman
- Pages
- 263r:298v, 303r:306v, 309r:391v, 393r:411v, 418r:542v, 545r:634v
- Author
- Lorimer, Emily Martha
- Copyright
- ©Munro Family
- Usage terms
- Creative Commons Attribution Licence