Persia, Iraq, Arabia, Gulf

SAPE 059SAPE 059

Collection of 4 pages dating from 1855-1863, from the Illustrated London News on the occupation of Herat, 1856-1857. B

Price: $100.00

Note: The independent rulers of Herat always turned to the Iranians for support against re-absorption into the Afghan kingdom. After complicated negotiations between Shah Nasr ed-Din and local Afghan provincial rulers, and despite British warnings, Persian troops occupied Herat in October, 1856. The British, whose policy it was to maintain the independence of this city, declared war against Iran. After three months the Iranians withdrew from Herat and committed themselves never again to interfere there or elsewhere in Afghanistan. This brief war convinced the British that they should bolster the strength of Dost Mohammad, the ruler of Afghanistan, in an attempt to enable him to meet future challenges by the Iranians.SAPE 059SAPE 059 In 1857 an addendum was signed to the 1855 treaty that permitted a British military mission to go to Kandahar (but not to Kabul) and to provide a subsidy during conflict with the Iranians. Fraser-Tytler notes that as Dost Mohammad signed the document, he proclaimed, “I have now made an alliance with the British government and come what may I will keep it till death”.

The British governor general of India at the time of the 1857 agreement with Afghanistan stated in a memorandum that the British would never again intervene in Afghan internal affairs or send an army across its borders unless Herat was besieged, and then only with Afghan consent. He went so far as to argue in favor of the Afghan absorption of Herat. In 1863 Dost Mohammad retook Herat with British acquiescence.

PR 089

Iranian stock certificate from the  Chapaq tobacco and distribution company of East and West Azerbaijan and Tabriz. Issued in 1973. B

Price: $30.00

ME 212

1975 issue of History of the Second World War. This issue contains an article by Stephen Longrigg on Persia and Arabia in the aftermath of World War 2. B

Price: $60.00

ME 211

Rare card produced by Smith’s Cigarettes in 1911 titled Famous Explorers. Portrayed here is Sir Richard F. Burton, who made a daring pilgrimage to Mecca in 1853. Text on reverse. B

Price: $70.00

ME 210

Two cards produced by Mitchell’s Cigarettes in 1937 titled Our Empire. They show the tanks of Aden and the Sheikh of Bahrein, Sir Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa. Text on reverse. B

Price: $60.00

PR 088

March 11, 1899 page from The Navy and Army Illustrated titled Muscat Under british Guns, with complete text. B

Price: $70.00

ME 208

Early postcard by the Hasso Brothers of Baghdad showing the bazar in Mosul. B

Price: $30.00

PR 087

Three photos of the 1927 visit to Italy of Seif al-Islam Mohamed Ben Yahya el-Husayn, who was the son of the leader of Yemen, Imam Yahya. One shows him disembarking at Rome airport, another undertaking a naval review, the last is at Piazza Venezia in Rome. B

NOTE: In the 1920’s Mussolini's plan was to be able to control, together with Great Britain and France, above all the naval traffic heading north, towards the Mediterranean Sea. To this end there was a particular episode, now almost completely forgotten: the Italian attempt to control both sides of the southern access to the Red Sea, thus turning the Bāb el-Mandeb into a sort of second channel of Suez, but this time a completely natural canal.

Mussolini, already shortly after coming to power, had begun to think of setting foot in that part of the Arabian peninsula overlooking the southern coast of the Eritrean colony and belonging, officially since 1926, but in fact since 1918, to the Kingdom of Yemen, a state which, it should be noted, was only a portion of the territory of present-day Yemen. The southernmost area was at the time divided into various sultanates, emirates and sheikhdoms, almost all under the protectorate of Great Britain, which also owned both the colony of Aden and the islet of Perim, located right in the middle of the Strait of Bab el Mandeb.

To formalize and consolidate relations with Yemen, the son of Imam Yahya, Seif al-Islam Mohamed Ben Yahya el-Husayn, was invited to Italy, where, in June 1927, he was received on an official visit by the king and Mussolini. On this occasion, aiming for Italy to make possible sales of heavy weapons, the prince first attended military exercises with the use of tanks in the Tor di Quinto field, subsequently visiting the steel mills of Terni, where they also produced pieces of artillery for naval and land use, and thereafter the military airport of Rome-Ciampino, where he had the opportunity to examine some examples of fighter and bombing aircraft.

In the following months and years not only commercial relations grew (with the Italian import of food products - in particular, coffee and spices - and precious ones - such as pearls and amber) and exports to Yemen (in particular, of vehicles , machinery and refined petrol), but also organizational ones in the field of communications (with the creation of two radio stations in the ports of Hodeidah and Mokha and two telegraph stations in Sana'a and Mokha) and health care, with the creation of a medical clinic in the capital, with Italian personnel, mostly from military health care. By the 1930’s however, Italian relations with Yemen had a series of setbacks and the British, now suspicious of Italian aims, worked hard to prevent any meaningful agreements that could undermine British interests in the region. See: https://www.ilcornodafrica.it/quando-litalia-sognava-di-poter-controllare-laccesso-meridionale-al-mar-rosso/

Price: $390.00

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Photo album of Bahrein and possibly other sites along the Arabian coast from a British officer serving in the region in 1942. Mostly aerial photos, most are identified on reverse. Some of military installations. There are 12 large format aerial photos and 12 snaps of military in Mazira, the RAF landing strip on Basirah Island with Indian guards, military camp at Ras-El- Hadd, the Sheikh of Ras-El-Hadd and his bodyguard, all from 1942. One early post-war photo of RAF planes. B

Price: $1400.00

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ME 204

Vintage Belgian chromo card on a Kurdish village.m

Price: $30.00