Abstract: This file concerns a proposed and actual visits to the Persian Gulf by the writer Lady Dorothy Mills to countries in the Middle East in 1932 for the purpose of collecting suitable material for her literary work, with permission granted to her to travel to Muscat, Bahrain and Kuwait, but not the Trucial Coast (ff 7-11); and Lady Stokes, widow of Sir Wilfred Stokes, and Miss Hastings, daughter of Colonel Sir George Hastings, to Bahrain in 1937 (ff 12-14).Correspondents in this file include: Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven Fowle, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire; Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch, Political Agent at Bahrain; and Sir Courtenay Latimer, the British Resident at Rajkot.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 7-13; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file comprises copies of letters, telegrams and other papers relating to the attempted visit to Bahrain and Kuwait by Winifred Howard-Clitty, a writer of children’s books, in the winter of 1933/34. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle; the Political Agent at Bahrain, Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch; the Political Agent at Kuwait, Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Richard Patrick Dickson.The file includes:correspondence relating to Howard-Clitty’s application to the authorities to visit the Persian Gulf; her particular interests in collecting material for her books (including Bedouin and pearl diving stories); her intentions to travel to Kuwait in order to meet a man named Muhammad Yatim and write a book with him; her intentions to travel to Bahrain to meet with Yūsuf bin Aḥmad Kanoo;correspondence relating the circumstances leading up to the 1933 trip, specifically Howard-Clitty’s previous trip to Bahrain in 1931, where she first became acquainted with Yatim and Kanoo, and copies of correspondence exchanged between Howard-Clitty and Kanoo during the intervening period (ff 5-12);concern amongst British officials at Howard-Clitty’s intentions: relating to Yatim’s poor reputation, the prospects of a European woman visiting and intending to stay at the homes of Yatim in Kuwait and Kanoo in Bahrain (which Kanoo himself is equally uncomfortable about); reported concern of the Sheikhs of Kuwait and Bahrain at the presence of a unaccompanied European woman in their territories;continued updates from British officials in Basra during the period December 1934 to February 1934, where Howard-Clitty resided while awaiting the opportunity to meet her contacts, up until 26 February 1934, when the Bahrain Political Agent reports that Howard-Clitty has left Basra, ‘hysterical and possibly consumptive’, and angry at British officials efforts to obstruction her travel arrangements (ff 45-46). A complete account of Howard-Clitty’s stay in the region is also provided by the Bahrain Political Agent (ff 54-57);reports of Howard-Clitty’s manuscripts having been stolen while en route to Baghdad, her attempts to rewrite her manuscripts from memory, and British officials’ fears that Howard-Clitty may write a book or series of articles that are critical of the British authorities in the Gulf (ff 59-60);recommendations from India Office and Foreign Office staff in London that, in future, all women wishing to travel to the Persian Gulf be made to apply to the Political Resident (f 50).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 72; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 2-64 and ff 65-67 respectively; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the top centre of the recto side of each folio or in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: This file concerns finding a temporary home in Bahrain for a female Belgian artist named Mademoiselle Corbiau who wishes to visit there to earn money by painting portraits. The correspondents in the file include: Ernest Vincent Packer, Petroleum Concession Limited, Bahrain; Cornelius James Pelly, Political Agent at Bahrain; and His British Majesty's Consul-General at Basrah.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 9; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-7; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
In May 1887, the American periodical “Harper’s New Monthly Magazine” published an article about a trip from Tehran to Baghdad. The following images are from that article and show the outfits of Iranian women in that period. The photographs show the clothing of different minorities, as well as outfits for indoor and outdoor use and the different seasons.
At the turn of the 20th century, in the popular art and media of the “West,” the "Middle East" was depicted as a mysterious, exotic region. Cliched images such as camels, deserts, half-naked dancing women, and buildings with minarets and domes were ubiquitous in illustrating anything related to Iran or the Middle East.
Portraits of Iranian women from the late Qajar period (late 19th century to early 20th century). The images are from the photo archive of Institute for Iranian Contemporary Historical Studies.