[Cyprus Content] – [Luke, Harry Charles] /

Manuscript Letter Signed (MLS) / Autograph Letter Signed (ALS) from Lieut – Col. Charles William Henry Sealy (‘CWHS’) to Sir Harry Charles Lukach (later Sir Harry Luke), addressed to Luke as Lieut-Commander H. C. Lukach – Chief Secretary’s Office – Troodos, Cyprus). Sealy apologises profoundly for not writing and informs Luke about prices for certain stamps. But the main reason for the letter seems to be an item Luke had waited for from Sealy, an enclosed Manuscript-Family-Tree of the orientalist James Justinian Morier [Author of ‘The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan (1824)’ and fellow Traveller of the Levant and also emplyed as Diplomat]. he letter was obviously started twice by Sealy, at different dates but the letter was finally finished and sent 25th of July, 1916: “Dear Luke, I am a pig not to write – I’m sory & tomorrow I swear I will sit down & [write] you the letter of the year – / Dear Luke, here is some Morier stuff – if you want any more let me know, there is a reasonable notice of him in DNB. Prices of Salonikas are good – a man has offered twenty guineas for a complete set used on an envelope – and one such envelope has actually been sold for £20 and another – just the same – for £25….Long Island overprinted on Turkish – they ask £15 each ! – No job yet – but I worked at Admiralty yesterday to please a pal. Best salams CWHS”. / The enclosed Family Tree tree begins with James Morier’s father Isaac Morier, and his maternal grandfather David Van Lennep, ‘Dutch Consul general in Smyrna President of Dutch Levant Co’. At the foot is a list of seven works by James Morier, with dates. The Morier – Family Tree also includes Clara van Lennep.

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. [London], [on stationery of Charles William Henry, 6 Priory Grove, The Boltons, [London], 25 July, 1916. Octavo. 2 pages. Very good condition. From the personal collection of Sir Harry Luke.

James Justinian Morier (15 August 1782 – 19 March 1849) was a British diplomat and author noted for his novels about the Qajar dynasty in Iran, most famously for the Hajji Baba series.

Morier was born in Ottoman Smyrna, the second son of Isaac Morier, a Swiss-born merchant, British by naturalisation, and a member of the London-based Levant Company, and Elizabeth Clara Van Lennep. After private education in England, he worked in his father’s Smyrna business between 1799 and 1806.

Through the influence of his uncle, Admiral William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock, he entered the diplomatic service. He first visited Iran in 1808 as secretary to Harford Jones-Brydges, a special British envoy to the Shah, publishing an account of his experiences in 1812 under the title A Journey through Iran, Armenia and Asia Minor to Constantinople in the years 1808 and 1809. In 1809 he accompanied the Iranian envoy, Mirza Abul Hasan, to Britain, and in 1810 returned to Iran as Secretary of Embassy on the staff of Sir Gore Ouseley, first Ambassador to Iran. He remained there as Chargé d’Affaires in 1814–1816. After his return to England he published A second journey through Persia, Armenia, and Asia Minor, to Constantinople, between the years 1810 and 1816.

Morier married Harriet Fulke Greville in London in 1820. Between 1824 and 1826 he was special commissioner to Mexico, where he negotiated a British-Mexican Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation ratified in 1827.

With his knowledge of Eastern life and manners, Morier wrote several entertaining novels. The most popular were The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan (1824) and its sequel, The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan in England (1828). The former novel is a sort of Gil Blas set in Persia. The Persian minister to England is said to have protested in behalf of his government against its satire and manner of speaking. There followed Zohrab the Hostage (1832), Ayesha the Maid of Kars (1834), and The Mirza (1841), all full of brilliant description, character-painting, and delicate satire, and several others of lesser quality.

The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan (1824) 1937 edition, Random House, illustrated by the well-travelled Cyrus Leroy Baldridge. Baldridge had a hand in everything, from designing the cover and drawing dozens of illustrations to choosing the typeface and paper. A Persian translation of the book was produced by Douglas Craven Phillott.
The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan 1947 edition, The Heritage Press, imprint of The George Macy Companies, illustrated by Honore Guilbeau, preface by Sir Walter Scott

Morier died suddenly in Brighton on 19 March 1849, from “cerebral congestion”. His wife died in London in 1858. (Wikipedia)

• Keywords: ALS · ALS (Autographed Letter – signed) · British Colonial Administration · British Colonial History · British Foreign Office · British Foreign Policy · Colonial administrators · Colonial History · Colonial History – Rare · Cyprus · Cyprus Content (Autographed Letter Signed – ALS) · Cyprus Content / Sir Harry Luke Collection · Harry Luke – Cyprus / WW I (1911-1919) · Luke, Sir Harry · Mediterranean · MLS · Morier, James Justinian (Haji Baba) · Oriental History · Oriental Literature · Oriental Literature – Rare · Philatelie · Philately · Sealy, Lieut-Col. Charles William Henry (CWHS) · Sir Harry Luke · Sir Harry Luke – Personal Archive of Books and Correspondence · Sir Harry Luke Collection · Stamps · Troodos, Cyprus
• Language: Maltese
• Inventory Number: 31787AB

EUR 275.000,--