![Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎123v] (253/1814)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00033b/Mss Eur F111_33_0264.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Annotated Copy of <em>Persia and the Persian Question</em> by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [‎123v] (253/1814)")
Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [123v] (253/1814)
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.
110
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PERSIA
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of Pis visit to Kuchan in 1822 ; because I should have liked to as
certain the whereabouts of the fragments, described by him of
magnificent Koran which had been brought by some of the Kiicliart
soldiers of Nadir Shah from the grave of Timur at Samarkand
Seventy years ago about sixty of these pages, ten to twelve feet Ion *
by seven to eight feet broad, and covered with beautiful calligraphy
were seen by Eraser lying upon a shelf in an imamzadeh, or saint’s
tomb.
While at Kuchan I also visited the native bazaars. They are
of the usual Oriental character—long alleys roofed over with
timbers meeting above in an arch, and covered with mud and faggots
Native fo keep out the glare. I stopped in the cotton bazaar
where I saw a number of shops stocked with what were
evidently European printed calicoes and cottons, and asked where
they came from. 4 Russia,’ was the reply. Every piece bore the
name of a Russian firm. I asked if there were any English goods
sold in the bazaar. In reply some Turkey red was produced, and
also some striped cotton-stuff. Neither, however, bore any English
mark, and the vendor could not say where they came from. At
length was produced some calico bearing the stamp of a Bombay
manufacturer, and doubtless made of Indian cotton. I asked how
it was that it was worth while to import goods from such a distance.
The answer was that, though the price was high, yet the quality,
which was not equalled in other wares, created a demand. All the
glass, hardware, and crockery in the bazaar were Russian. So was
the sugar. I was told that most of the tea came from India via
Bunder Abbas and Meshed, but that some also came from Russia.
Russian interests, political as well as commercial, are indeed well
looked after at Kuchan, for the Russians keep a paid agent in the
town. The export trade, which is principally in cotton and skins, is
in the hands of Armenians, whose commercial aptitudes place much
of the trade of Persia in their control. The proximity of Kuchan
to Ashkabad, and the easy and secure communication between the
two places, are alone sufficient to account for the Russian prepon
derance. The town is connected by a single (Persian) telegraphic
wire with Meshed on the one hand, and Bujnurd, thirty miles lower
down the Atrek valley, on the other. There connection is esta
blished with the Russian wires at Kizil Arvat. Kuchan is also
seived by a weekly Russian post from Ashkabad, carried by
mounted Turkomans, who ride via Kuchan to Meshed.
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 [123v] (253/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x00003c> [accessed 9 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