The Middle East: Iran and Turkey - Development, 1910-1962
File
Shelfmark: MSS. Brit. Emp. s. 412/50
Held at the Weston Library
Comprises:
Iran: Dr Ossip Solhdoost:
- folder 1 (fols. 1-135) correspondence between Dr Solhdoost and a group composed of Central Mining, Selection Trust, Union Corporation, and the American Metal Company, on whose behalf he negotiated for Iranian mineral concessions. Political pressures ended negotiations and Solhdoost initiated the formation of the Industrial and Mining Bank of Iran, 1943-1944
- folder 2 (fols. 1-87) correspondence between Dr Solhdoost and a group composed of Central Mining, Selection Trust, Union Corporation, and the American Metal Company, on whose behalf he negotiated for Iranian mineral concessions. Political pressures ended negotiations and Solhdoost initiated the formation of the Industrial and Mining Bank of Iran, 1945-1946
- folder 3 (fols. 1-26) correspondence between the British Metal Corporation, British Embassy in Tehran, and Central Mining, concerning investment in Iran and a further proposal by Solhdoost, 1954-1956
- folder 4 (fols. 1-42 and 1 item) translations and explications of Iranian law relative to concessions, based on the Law of 1939, 1939 and 1944
- folder 5 (fols. 1-57 and 1 item) memoranda on the geological structure and mining prospects of Iran, 1943-1944 and 1954-1955.
Max Weston Thornburg: Folders 6 and 7 consist of memoranda by M.W. Thornburg, an American freelance 'Consultant on foreign oil', and mainly concern development plans in Iran and Turkey and the background to them. Thornburg's reports were despatched between 1946 and 1948 to Central Mining as part of his information service to potential investors. The few later papers concern his subsequent career [see also MSS. Brit. Emp. s. 412/52, folder 2 for Thornburg's reports on South American oil prospects]:
- folder 6 (fols. 1-126) Iran, 1946-1948; 1951-1952; and 1962
- folder 7 (fols. 1-160 and 1 item) Turkey, 1946-1947.
The Ottoman Empire: Ore and oil concessions:
- folder 8 (fols. 1-18 and 3 items) copies of correspondence and Agreements concerning three separate ventures relating to the exploitation of oil and mineral deposits in Asia Minor, two of which involve members of the Imperial circle (folder contains handlist), 1910; 1914; and 1922
- folder 9 (fols. 1-6 and 2 items) cover note and file-cover endorsement state these papers to have formed G.S. Frame's 'portfolio of Information on Mines and Mineral Concessions and Laws of Asia Minor... ' compiled from data in 1917 and published in 1920. They include a copy of Imperial Mining Regulations (in French) and a comprehensive list of deposits and (lapsed) concessions throughout the Empire, 1917; 1919; 1920-1917; 1919; and 1920.
Dates
- Creation: 1910-1962
Extent
9 folders
Language of Materials
- English
- French
Shelfmark
MSS. Brit. Emp. s. 412/50
Repository Details
Part of the Bodleian Libraries Repository
Contact:
Weston Library
Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3BG United Kingdom
specialcollections.enquiries@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Weston Library
Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3BG United Kingdom
specialcollections.enquiries@bodleian.ox.ac.uk