The Papers include publications written orcollected by the academic Gerald Tibbetts connected to his research interests in early Arab navigation in the Indian Ocean. Related to this are draft copies of a lecture given by Tibbetts at the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the origins of navigation in the Indian Ocean.

There is also material collected by Tibbetts relating to his work on the Sindbad Voyage project (1980-1981) and his invitation to participate in the Heritage of Oman Festival.

The material within this collection comprises of correspondence and publications by and about Richard Francis Burton and his wife Isabel Burton (nee Arundell). There are also two photographs of Burton and artefacts.

Also included within this Collection are correspondence concerning the acquisition of the material by the RAS and some supplementary material regarding Oscar Eckenstein, its original collector.