«Travelogue of O’Reilly»; A European Physician’s Account of Naseri Era Iran

According to Iran Book News Agency (IBNA), the seventeenth account in the collection “Exploring the Treasure of the National Library of Iran,” published by the Library Affairs Department of the organization, introduces the Persian version of O’Reilly’s Travelogue. This work was originally written in English by a European physician named “O’Reilly” or “O’Availes” and presents a clear picture of 19th-century Iran. He entered Iran during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah and, after returning, published his observations in London in 1887 AD (1305 AH).

This travelogue was first translated from English to Russian in 1307 AH by “Monsieur Christophe Russi” and then from Russian to Persian by “Mirza Sayyid Abdullah Isfahani,” a Russian language translator in the retinue of Mas’oud Mirza Zell-e Soltan. Its Persian version was gifted to Naser al-Din Shah and preserved in the royal inner library.

The travelogue is compiled in thirty-two chapters and covers topics such as the situation in Tehran, commodity prices, social customs, Ramadan traditions, developments in Iran in 1880 AD, the establishment of the first theater, and also reports on “Dieulafoy and his companions” and the “Governor of Abushahr.” This information makes O’Reilly’s Travelogue one of the valuable sources on daily life and the social structure of Naseri-era Iran.

The Persian version is inscribed in two volumes, and the paper for both volumes is of the European “pepper-salt” type. The first volume is adorned with golden floral motifs, gold and lapis lazuli tables, and red headings. The second volume features an illuminated headpiece with Islamic motifs and colorful floral designs on a golden background. At the beginning of the second volume, a note attributed to Naser al-Din Shah with the phrase “Fully observed” is visible.

The covers of both versions are cardboard with purple velvet and silk lining. Several seals are observed in this travelogue, including the seal of “Etemad Hozour,” the seal of “Ali Akbar bin Hussein Al-Hosseini 1264,” the seal of “Library of the Sublime State of Iran 1329” with the lion and sun emblem and the Kiani crown, and the seal of “National Library 1316.” At the beginning of the manuscript, a label for the catalog of the Library of the Sublime State of Iran, with the handwriting and signature of Musa Marat al-Mamalek and the phrase “from the inner library,” is also recorded.

These two valuable volumes are currently preserved under retrieval numbers 11545 and 11707 in the rare and manuscript section of the National Archives and Library of Iran.