Series RAS COLL8/4 - General Conservation Surveys

At various times the Society has commissioned surveys of its collections or sought funding to do so in order to assess the care needed for them. The material in this series consists of these surveys and some allied correspondence.

Nicholas Pickwoad
In 1988, Nicholas Pickwoad, Bookbinder and Conservator, Adviser to the National Trust on Book Conservation, was commissioned by the Society to survey the Library.

• 'Conservation Report on the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society, Nicholas Pickwoad, 25 May 1988. Typed report detailing the current conditions of the library and making suggestions for improvements, 29 pieces.
• Letter from Jane McAusland, Conservator and Restorer of Art on Paper, to Godfrey Goodwin, Royal Asiatic Society, to give Nicholas Pickwoad's contact details and that of another book conservator. Typed, 1 piece, dated 4 December 1987.
• Correspondence from Nicholas Pickwoad to Godfrey Goodwin concerning undertaking the survey and providing the report. Typed, 6 letters, 7 pieces, dated 4 February 1988 - 13 July 1988.
• 'First draft of the Preliminary Report addressed to the Getty Foundation, L.A.' - a draft report seeking funding for care of the collections, produced after the Pickwoad survey. Typed, and copy of handwritten, 7 pieces.

Behar Profex Ltd.
Behar Profex Ltd. is a London-based specialist antique rug and carpet repair and conservation company. In 1996, they were commissioned to report on the state of the Society's Bidjar and Kashan Rugs and an embroidered wall-hanging.

• Report from Behar Profex Ltd. detailing conservation need and estimated costs. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 30 October 1996.

Jacqueline Filliozat
In 1997, Jacqueline Filliozat undertook a survey of the Society's Pali manuscripts both identifying them and examining their condition.

• 'Survey of the Pali manuscript Collection in the Royal Asiatic Society', detailed typed report, 33 pieces, dated 12 August 1997.
• Letter from Jacqueline Filliozat to the Royal Asiatic Society to send her report. Handwritten in French, 2 pieces, date 12 August 1997.

Application for Archival Funding

• 'Application for a grant for the sorting and minimum conservation of the Rawlinson and Hodgson papers. In addition, there is a separate application for the part funding of conservation work on six Islamic manuscripts which are urgently in need of attention.' - typed report to unknown funding body, 2 pieces, undated [1990s].

RAS Manuscript Survey
A survey of some of the RAS manuscripts was undertaken at some point. Unfortunately the report is undated with no named contributors. A 57 page report was produced divided into the following sections:

• Defining the Levels of Condition for the Manuscripts
• Explanation of the Database Terminology
• Analysis of the findings of the Condition Report on the Persian Manuscripts
• Analysis of the findings of the Condition Report on the Arabic Manuscripts
• Analysis of the findings of the Condition Report on the Turkish Manuscripts
• RAS Manuscript Survey - detailing the condition of each individual manuscript.

Photographic Collections
In 2002 Jane McAusland, Conservator, carried out a survey on the Society's photographs. The material associated with this is:

• 'The Collection of 19th Century Photographs in the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society... A Proposed Strategy to Conserve the Collection', typed report of her findings and suggestions for care, 8 pieces, dated February 2002.
• Letter from Jane McAusland to Helen Cordell, Royal Asiatic Society, to send the report and her invoice. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 10 February 2002.
• There is also a later letter from Alison Ohta, Director, Royal Asiatic Society, to Ms O'Connell, concerning seeking funding for the digitisation of the photograph collection. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 25 February 2011.

Coin Collections
A report concerning the state of the RAS coin collections including recommendation for specialist cleaning. Typed report, 3 pieces, dated 14 August 2002.

Preservation Audit Reports
In 2004, after taking advice from Caroline Bendix, conservator, the Society applied to Archives, Libraries and Museums, London (ALM), for a grant to undertake a preservation audit. This was successful and the audit was carried out. The material associated with this audit is:

• 'Notes on the meeting with book conservation expert Caroline Bendix, 5 May 2004' - typed report detailing possible ways to enhance the state of the collections, 1 piece.
• 'ALM Collections Care Funding Programme, 2004-2005, Application Form, Preservation Audit Visit and Report' - completed application form, electronic document, original content created 28 May 2004, archival document created 12 November 2004.
• Memorandum of Agreement between ALM London and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the Preservation Audit. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 2 August 2004.
• 'Preservation Audit Report on the Books and Archives at the Royal Asiatic Society, Caroline Bendix and Jonathan Rhys-Lewis, November, 2004' - detailed report on the books by Caroline Bendix and the archives by Jonathan Rhys-Lewis created following the funding received by ALM. Softcover booklet, dated November -December 2004.
• 'Royal Asiatic Society Preservation Audit Visit and Report, November 2004' undertaken by Deidre Mulley, Conservation and Collection Care, funded by the ALM. Softcover booklet, dated November 2004.
• 'Action Plan for the RAS Collections', report created for the Library Committee 12 May 2005 after receiving the Preservation Audit Reports. Electronic document, first created 9 May 2005. Archival document created 12 November 2024.
• ALM feedback questionnaire for funding from 2003-2006. Electronic document first created in 23 February 2006. Archival document created 12 November 2024.

Royal Asiatic Society Archive Audit by Simon Fenwick
An audit and report carried out on the archival collections by Simon Fenwick, consultant archivist, detailing the archives found and the care needed. With the report is the invoice for his services. Typed, 16 pieces, dated 8 July 2007.

Computerised Cataloguing Project
Two draft applications for funding to finance a computer catalogue for the Society's collections. Funding was sought from the Mercers Company and the Foyle Foundation. The Mercer application is dated to 2009.