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Catalogues and handlists for the archives within the Society's collections. These are:

General Archival Lists

• A Catalogue of the English Manuscripts in the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society, London, 1833. - A handwritten bound volume detailing English manuscripts concerning Asian topics sent to the Society in its early years. There is an index at the front followed by a summary for each manuscript listed. Those that are still in the Society's collections have become part of the archives. Quarter bound with green leather and marbled board.
• 'Royal Asiatic Society' - summary lists of many of the Personal Papers and Special collection material in the Society's collection. Typed, 2 pieces, foolscap paper.
• 'Presentations' - summary list of mainly archival material. Typed, 2 pieces, foolscap paper.
• A list of the archival material thought to be worthy of closer attention during a survey conducted by John Payne in 1993. With the list is a letter from John Payne to Michael Pollock, Librarian, Royal Asiatic Society explaining his findings. Typed, 6 pieces.
• 'List of Documents - Box "A"' - list of the items kept within one of the boxes which historically had been considered archival material. Computer printed, 7 pieces, dated 13 July 2005.
• 'Archival Material' - a list of institutional records kept within the archives and the type of material. Typed,3 pieces, c.1990s.
• 'RAS Archives Assorted numbered letters and papers' - short list of individual archival items and their location. Typed, 3 pieces. c.1990s.
• 'Documents in the Catalogues and Handlists Box 17/1/2007' - two versions, one listing in numerical order and the other according to types of material. The majority of material in the box was archival. Computer printed, 6 and 7 pieces.
• 'Catalogue and Handlists Box: Captain Newbold Papers' - list giving details of the Newbold papers to be found within the Catalogues and Handlists box. Computer printed, 2 pieces.
• 'Papers possibly read before the RAS in the 1840s and other documents of interest' - list of archival documents, 3 pieces, computer printed.
• 'Royal Asiatic Society Archives' - detailed list of the archives in the Society as known at the time and their location in the Society's library. This list was compiled by Simon Fenwick, an external assessor, in 2007. Computer printed, 11 pieces.
• 'Summary list of RAS papers which need to be listed' - summary of some of the papers of the Collection. Computer printed, 2 pieces.
• 'Manuscript “statistical survey” volumes etc at the Royal Asiatic Society' - list of volumes created by Francis Buchanan Hamilton, Sir Henry Miers Elliot, and Elliot & Hutchinson. Created in 2012 (Archival electronic document created in 2024).

Papers of Brian Houghton Hodgson

• 'Royal Asiatic Society: The Brian Hodgson Papers' - a summary list of the collections created by David Waterhouse in 2002. (Archival electronic document created in 2024)
• 'Inventory of Hodgson's private papers at the Royal Asiatic Society, London' - a more detailed list of the papers held at the Society, created by Ramesh Dhungel in 2008. Computer printed, 39 pages.

Papers of William Claxton Peppé

• 'Preliminary handlist of transcripts of the William Claxton Peppé correspondence from the papers of Neil Peppé, Esq., prepared by Charles Allen with additions by Kathy Lazenbatt', Royal Asiatic Society Librarian. Detailed list including some transcriptions of correspondence created in 2008. (Archival electronic document created in 2024).

Papers of Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson

• 'Sir Henry Rawlinson's letters to his sister Miss Maria Rawlinson, later Mrs Brooke Smith' - typed list given date and location where the letters were written. 3 pieces, foolscap.
• 'Henry C. Rawlinson Letter in the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, London; process of deciphering Old Persian cuneiform from Bisitun Inscriptions in Iran' - list of the letters associated with this. Computer printed, 3 pieces.
• 'Rawlinson Box 1: 13 packets' - table of the packets and contents. Computer printed, 3 pieces.
• 'Items in Box I as at June 2010'; 'Items in Box II as at June 2010'; 'Items in Box III as at June 2010'; 'Items in Box IV as at June 2010'; and 'Items in Box V as at June 2010' - detailed lists prepared by Roger Parson, RAS Volunteer in 2010. (Archival electronic document created in 2024).

Catalogues and handlists for the artworks in the Collections of the Society. These are:

• 'Pictures and Busts etc. at the Royal Asiatic Society' - typed catalogues with handwritten annotations and insertion. There are three copies, each bound with ribbon and two still having brown front and back paper covers. One of these is labelled Library copy, the other Mr Foster. W. Foster prepared these lists and subsequently wrote an article about the collections for the Journal of the Society. These give descriptive listings of the artworks of the collections in the 1920s.
• 'Index to List of Pictures, Prints, Busts, & other sculptures' - two copies of alphabetical lists of the artworks in the collections. One list is handwritten on lined foolscap paper, the other is handwritten on individual labels which have been pasted into an unlined notebook. These presumably accompany the above catalogues.
• 'The Pictures of the Royal Asiatic Society' by W. Foster. Offprints from the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, January 1924. Two copies with some annotations.
• 'Royal Asiatic Society: List of prints, drawings and photographs kept in the Library' - typed list on foolscap paper, undated
• Artworks on view in the Society's premises at Stephenson Way. Information sheets produced c.2012. Computer printed.

Historic catalogues and handlists created for the Society's books:

• 'Royal Asiatic Society: MSS. Catalogue of the Chinese Library 1881' - two large handwritten bound volumes with leather spines and gold titling on their front covers containing details of the Chinese books in the Royal Asiatic Society in 1881.

• 'Catalogue of the Chinese Library of the Royal Asiatic Society' - a hard cover notebook with title on the front board containing a list of the Chinese books in the Library under subject headings. This is undated. Please note the boards are loose from the notebook.

• 'Chinese books of which the Library of the R.A.S. has apparently more than one copy' - handwritten list, 4 sides, identifying duplicates. With this list is a second list, 2 sides of 'Chinese Books apparently not in the R.A.S. Library and in the University College Library in duplicate apparently'. Both are undated but the paper of the second list is watermarked for 1859.

• 'Catalogue of The Russian Books in the possession of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland' - handwritten notebook without boards detailing Russian books, undated.

• Annotated Proofs for the 'Catalogue of Printed Books published before 1932 in the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society'. The publication was printed in two volumes in 1940. The proofs are pasted into 6 large bound volumes and are extensively annotated.

• Photocopy of the Card Catalogue - a card catalogue was created for the Society's collection probably dating from post-1945. This is a series of photocopies of that catalogue created to form a back up and divided according to the drawers containing the cards. There are 17 archival folders. The copy for Drawer 6 FAA - GOS is absent.

• List of Complimentary Copies of Books & Magazine, published by the Burma Translation Society, Rangoon Burma' with annotated title, 'Accessions in Burmese 1954'. Typed list, 2 pieces, dated 1954.

• 'A Few Rare Books Found in this Library' - typed list of 68 books on 4 sheets of foolscap paper.

• 'List of Rare Books held in R.A.S. Old & New Strong Rooms (May 1969), computer printed with handwritten annotations, 28 pages held together with a red plastic spine. This list is located in the Reading Room Office.

• List of publications undertaken with the James G. Forlong Fund, Miscellaneous R.A.S. Publications, the Dr B.C. Law Trust Fund, Royal Asiatic Society Seminar Papers, The Oriental Translation Fund original and new series, the Prize Publication Fund, and the R.A.S. Monograph Fund, computer printed, 9 pages, c. 1999.

• 'Japanese Vernacular Language Books at the R.A.S.' created in 2000, with associated background information, computer printed, 14 pages. This list is located in the Reading Room Office.

• 'South Asia - Official Publications - Back Basement' - computer printed list, 2 pages, undated.

• 'List of Aurobindo Books' - computer printed, 8 pages, undated.

Electronic documents - all these were created into archival documents in April 2024. Their original creation date is noted in the list.

• 'THE SIR GEORGE THOMAS STAUNTON COLLECTION HELD IN THE R.A.S. LIBRARY - BOOKS (UP-DATED LIST AS AT THURSDAY 18TH MARCH 1999) - first created in 1998 and updated in 1999.
• 'Books on Central Asia in the RAS Library' - created 04/02/2003.
• 'Borneo Books' - created 12/04/2011.
• 'Contents of Items Located in Old Strong Room as of April 1998' - created 22/06/1998.
• 'Early Turkish Books' - created 06/09/2010.
• 'Preliminary Catalogue of Japanese Books catalogued by Peter Kornicki in October 2007, with notes by Akira Hirano, September 2007', document created 21/11/2007.
• 'Pre 1820 book's - created 13/05/201.
• 'Turkish Printed Books' - prepared by Evrim Bimbas with introductory email and report, document created 11/07/2011.

Catalogues and lists which concern more than one type of material in the Collections. These are:

• 'Catalogue of the Chinese Library of the Royal Asiatic Society' by the Rev. S. Kidd, Professor of Chinese Literature, University College, London. Printed with handwritten annotations, 117 pages. Bound volume with note saying bound, November 1930. Dated 1838. This contains both the Chinese books and manuscripts that belonged to the Society at that time. This volume is kept in the Reading Room Office.
• ‘A Catalogue of the Chinese Manuscripts (Books) in the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society, compiled between 1878 and 1881 by Mr Henry F. Holt, Joint Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society with Mr Giles of the Chinese Consular Service correcting the proofs'. Printed with handwritten annotations, 116 pages, bound volume, dated 1889. Two copies. Inserted in one volume is ‘Chinese Catalogue: List of Missing numbers not found by Professor Shelley Wang’, handwritten list, 3 pieces, dated 4 April 1938. Again this catalogue describes both the Chinese books and manuscripts. These books are kept in the Reading Room Office.
• Bound manuscript volume of lists identified on the label of front board as 'List of Sanskrit and Prakrit MSS from Colonel Tod; List of Nepalese Buddhist MSS (B.H. Hodgson'; List of South Indian Sanskrit MSS from General Whish; and List of Buddhist MSS in Burmese Character'. On the back board the label states 'Catalogue of Maps, Charts, Plans, Drawings, Engraving, Inscriptions &c in the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society'. However the lists cover more then either these titles suggest and have been added to at different periods. Handwritten, the spine is missing from the volume and is therefore in a fragile condition.
• Catalogue of MSS in packing case since the Library was in Albermarle St. & now in Blue Binders' - typed list of mixed material (much of it now considered archival). There is also a 'Duplicate copy' which is more extensive and includes many maps. The Society left Albermarle St in 1920 and so these lists date to some time after that. Foolscap paper, 6 and 12 pieces including covers.
• 'Portraits', 'Busts', 'Illustrated MSS' - handwritten lists detailing some of the Society's possessions. 2 pieces, foolscap paper.
• 'R.A.S. MSS & Books sent to Nat. Prov. Bank, St. James's St.' - handwritten lists of the contents of each box. 4 pieces, foolscap with accompanying envelope.
• List of MSS & Books deposited with Lloyd's Bank, 16 St James's St., April 1939 (Boxes 1-12), Sept 1939 (Boxes 13,14) - handwritten lists of the contents of each box. 6 pieces, foolscap.
• 'Periodicals', 'Sets', 'Individual Works', 'R.A.S. Supplementary List I: Books for Storage', 'Royal Asiatic Society' - typed lists with handwritten annotations detailing various of the Society's collections according to their headings. 10 pieces, foolscap.
• 'Royal Asiatic Society. List of contents of cupboards not yet fully sorted. 1956' - typed list detailing collections by cupboard. 3 pieces, foolscap.
• 'Royal Asiatic Society' - typed lists giving information concerning uncatalogued European manuscripts, Drawings, Pictures, Casts & Busts, Photos, Copper Plates and Seals, and Maps. 2 pieces, foolscap.
• Two guard books containing lists of the Collections of the Society. These are mainly typed sheets and photocopies pasted into the books with handwritten annotations. They are divided into sections.
  Volume I
  • General Introduction to the Plan and Aim of the two ledgers (this was not included – but a note added to say this would happen at the Section level).
  • Manuscripts Section
  • Papers Section
  • Elsewhere Section
  Volume II
  • Elsewhere Section – continued
  • Paintings Section
  • Photographs and Lantern Slides
  • Objects Section
  • Printed Section
  • Maps, Charts
  • Index
  It is unknown when these were compiled but probably date to 1970s-1980s. These are kept in the Reading Room Office.
• 'Contents of Items located in Old Strong Room [OSR] - Front Basement Boxes. As at April 1998.' Computer generated list of items, 16 pieces.

The Burton Collection

The Burton Collection of Oscar Eckenstein was acquired by Lewis C. Loyd in 1921 and donated to the Society in 1939. This contains both printed material and archives. A list was compiled by Mary S. Lovell and Bernadette Rivett in March 2000 with a final amendment 27 April 2000. Computer printed, 43 pages.

Storey Collection
After the death of Charles Ambrose Storey his possessions were bequeathed to the Society. This included, printed material, manuscripts, archives and some artworks. The following lists are related to this collection.

• 'Shelf List of Storey Collection: Catalogues of Persian Manuscripts', typed, 5 pieces.
• 'Shelf List of Storey Collection: Catalogues of Arabic, Hindustani &c Manuscripts', typed, 2 pieces.
• 'Shelf List of Storey Collection: Catalogues of Printed Books', typed 1 pieces.
• 'Storey Collection' 'Introduction' written by Michael Pollock, Librarian, Royal Asiatic Society with 'Handlist of Printed Books in the Storey Collection', computer printed, 67 pieces.

Catalogues covering multiple types of manuscripts. These are:

• ‘Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hindustani, Tibetan and Armenia Manuscript’. Several catalogues bound into one volume. These are:
  1. ‘A Descriptive Catalogue of the Historical Manuscripts in the Arabic and Persian Languages, preserved in the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland’ by William H. Morley, dated 1854.
  2. ‘Catalogue of Arabic, Persian, Hindustani, and Turkish MSS in the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society’ by O. Codrington, Honorary Librarian, dated 18 January 1892.
  3. ‘The Schrumpf Collection of Armenian Books’ by Professor Minas Tchéraz, dated October 1893.
  4. List of the Tibetan MSS and Printed Books in the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society’ by H. Wenzel.
     These are all bound into one volume and have extensive annotations and some inserted material too. This volume is found in the Reading Room Office.
• ‘A Catalogue of South Indian Manuscripts (especially those of the Whish Collection) belonging to the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland’ compiled by Dr M. Winternitz, Professor of the German University of Prague, with an appendix by F.W. Thomas, dated 1902; and ‘Catalogue of Buddhist Sanskrit Manuscripts in the possession of the Royal Asiatic Society (Hodgson Collection’ by Professors E.B. Cowell and J. Eggeling and ‘Catalogue of the Tod Collection of Indian Manuscripts in the Possession of the Royal Asiatic Society’ by L.D Barnett, dated 1940. Printed catalogues with handwritten annotations and notes inserted, 347 pages, Bound volume - title on cover reads 'R.A.S. Catalogues of Muhammadan and Tibetan Manuscripts, 1892'. This is located in the Reading Room Office.
• 'R.A.S. Catalogue of Collection of M.S.S. &c.' - handwritten lists of manuscripts divided according to the languages. Bound volume with black cover and some inserts. This volume is in a fragile condition.
• 'Oriental MSS in Glazed Case on Landing', listed according to shelf. Handwritten small notebook - cover and pages loose.
• 'Royal Asiatic Society - Oriental MSS not found in any printed catalogue or hand list 1956' - typed list with handwritten annotations, 2 pieces, foolscap.
• 'Oriental Manuscripts in the R.A.S.' - list of the quantities of each type of manuscript subdivided into type. One piece, photocopy of typed list.

Electronic documents (archival documents created in 2024)

• 'RAS Manuscripts lists and catalogues' - the document explains the different types of manuscripts held in the Collections and some of the lists and catalogues that have been created for them. The document was first created in 2014.

Lists of catalogues of the collections in the Royal Asiatic Society. These are:

• 'Manuscript Catalogues of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland', list to accompany a letter from Assistant Librarian, Royal Asiatic Society to Professor G.E. Weil, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Universitie de Nancy, France, concerning the Society's collections. Typed, 5 pieces, dated 12 July 1977.
• 'Printed Book Catalogues'- two different versions. One is of 4 pages and lists printed catalogues of books and Arabic script manuscripts. The second is of 7 pages and lists catalogues of books, Arabic script manuscripts, Malay and Indonesian manuscripts, Chinese books and manuscripts, Sanskrit and other Indian manuscripts, Manuscripts from S.E. Asia and Sri Lanka, Tibetan and Mongolian manuscripts, European manuscripts, Archives, Maps, and Periodicals. All computer printed.
• 'London, Royal Asiatic Society' - a comprehensive list of the catalogues produced for the Society's collections. 9 pieces, computer printed.

Electronic documents - archival versions were created in 2024.

• 'LIST OF CATALOGUES 1987' - detailed list of the catalogues produced for the collections of the Society. Content created in 2001.
• 'CATALOGUES OF THE COLLECTIONS IN THE LIBRARY OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY' - summary of catalogues for printed books, manuscripts and artworks. First created c.2001.
• 'CATALOGUES OF THE COLLECTIONS IN THE LIBRARY OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY' - detailed version of catalogues for collections of the Society and includes a statistical supplement to approximate the amount of each type of material. Content created in 2001.
• 'LIBRARY CATALOGUES' - summary list of the catalogues held for the Society's collections. Content created in 2006.

Catalogues and lists for manuscripts in Arabic script - Arabic, Persian, Hindustani and Turkish languages:

• ‘A Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Hindustani Languages preserved in the Libraries of the Royal Asiatic Society and the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland, 1838’ by William H. Morley. A handwritten catalogue with further handwritten annotations and stamped with ‘William H. Morley, Middle Temple’. Bound volume but the front board and the introductory pages have come loose from the rest of the volume. Inserted are handwritten lists: ‘Morley Catalogue of MSS not yet found’, Nos. 1, 2 and 6. Five pages. The volume is located in the Reading Room Office.
• 'R.A.S. 21/12/1989 MSS with paintings from Morley's Catalogue 1854' - list of the Arabic script manuscripts which also contains paintings checked against the provisional handlist of March 1999. Two piece, one computer printed and one copy of handwritten.

Electronic documents - archival copies were created in 2024:

• 'PROVISIONAL DRAFT HANDLIST OF ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY MANUSCRIPTS IN ARABIC SCRIPT (Updated March 1999 and box locations revised August 2013)'. This was first created by Julian Reade, Honorary Librarian, Royal Asiatic Society in 1996. It is based on the Morley Manuscript Catalogue amended by Codrington Catalogue (JRAS 1892:502-8) with further amendments by Julian Reade and Michael J. Pollock (Librarian). This document was first created in 2010.
• 'ARABIC MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY' - list of the Arabic manuscripts in the collection, first created in 2009.
• 'CONCORDANCE of Manuscript Numbers for the Persian Collection' - numerical lists matching manuscripts from the catalogues created by Morley (manuscript and printed), Codrington and le Strange. This document was first created in 2002.

Catalogues and handlists for the maps in the Society's collections. The digital documents were created as archival documents in 2024.

• Card catalogue - handwritten descriptions of the maps on index cards.

Electronic Documents

• 'Maps list with dimensions highlighted' - first created in 2019 and modified in 2021. Excel document.
• 'Philip Jagessar map List' - first created in 2021. Philip Jagessar, as a postdoctoral researcher, researched and listed the Society's map collection. Excel document.
• 'Maps of Arabia in the Royal Asiatic Society collections' - first created in 2021, pdf document.