NAVAL INTELLIGENCE DIVISION.
Geology of Mesopotamia and its Borderlands.
EARLY INSIGHTS INTO THE GEOLOGY OF IRAQ & THE GULF
An excellent copy of one of the earliest geological studies of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), Iran, Armenia and the Arabian Peninsula. In addition to describing the geological history of the region, it identifies contemporary sources of oil and mineral wealth and suggests sites for exploration. This is particularly prescient in regard to “the scattered localities around the shores of the Persian Gulf”, which are seen to be “most favourably placed for commercial development” (p.73). These sites, however, are deemed “the least hopeful of yielding oil in quantities of commercial importance” (ibid.), an assertion that would be proven wrong by the middle of the twentieth century.
The pioneering text was compiled by the Naval Intelligence Division of the British Admiralty, as part of their effort to create a series of handbooks on the countries and regions involved in the First World War. This series included several handbooks on the Middle East, issued for the use of British officials during and after the conflict. Most went through two editions: the first marked ‘For Official Use Only’ and printed in small runs; the second issued publicly by H.M.S.O. The present handbook is the second (public) issue.
Scarce in commerce, with just one copy of this edition in auction records.
