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These Papers contain three letters from James Purefoy, a scan of a letter in a private collection, two Bills of Exchange and a note regarding their donation.

The Royal Asiatic Society has operated as a membership organisation since its founding. This collection contains records relating to the Society's membership, including administrative and financial documents such as membership lists and subscriptions ledgers. There are also papers relating to membership application and election of members, as well as textual and visual material relating to members which came into the Society's holdings as a result of its interaction with members. The relationship between the Society and its members is further documented in this collection through letters, notices and other communications such as newsletters.

The first minutes for the Committee of Correspondence are for 19 May 1831. However before this time items communicated to the Society were being recorded. Thus these two volumes are both connected with the administration of correspondence. These are:

Register of Communications, April 1823 To February 1846
This volume lists papers and correspondence sent to the Society, including their date and correspondent. Many of the entries also detail the outcome of the correspondence at the Society - whether read at a General Meeting or published within the Society's Transactions or Journal.

Minutes of the Committee of Correspondence May 1831 To July 1842
The Minutes for the Committee of Correspondence cover the time period 19 May 1831 - 9 July 1942 when the 'Committee resolved themselves into a Meeting of the Council'. In the meetings correspondence to the Society was read and decisions made how best to respond. This volume also contains a copy of the 'Memorandum on the Babylonian Inscriptions forwarded by Mr. Norris to Professor Wilson for transmission to Major Rawlinson. Dated, 15th May 1846'. The copy fills 5.5 pages of the book.

The Royal Asiatic Society moved into the premises, 14 Grafton Street, in 1824 and remained there until 1848. Unfortunately no original archival material remains dating from this time, but there are historic photographs, plans of the premises and some accumulated research notes among the material connected to 14 Grafton Street.

This volume contains copies of, or extracts from, letters sent to the Royal Asiatic Society between 1846 and 1852. They are written into a leather-bound volume with the title 'Extracts' on its front cover. Besides the letters which cover 93 pages, there are subsequently some rough pencil notes and a diagram in a different hand (possibly a child's) followed by blank pages and an index at the end of the manuscript.

A bound volume containing copies of letters sent in the administration of the Society between the years 1823-1835 and 1846-1861. The earlier ones, covering 1823-1835, are all concerned with the finances of the Society. There is then a break in the letters until 1846, after which the correspondence covers a broader spectrum of activities.

The Royal Asiatic Society leased the premises at 5 New Burlington Street from 1848 to 1869. There is no original archival material for this period. These papers consist of copies of a perspective drawing executed from Regent Street. There are 2 copies of this view with an explanatory note. And a further copy of numbers 78-86.

The Royal Asiatic Society leased the premises at 22 Albemarle Street from 1869-1919. These papers contain official lease documents, correspondence regarding the property and possible alternatives, and a more recent photograph.

In 1923 the Royal Asiatic Society celebrated its Centenary. This archival material contains a scrapbook with Centenary correspondence and invitations, further congratulatory correspondence, material concerning the Centenary Events, and correspondence concerning the publication of a Centenary Volume.

The records of the Public School Medal cover the institution of the medal and the conferment of the Honour in subsequent years. They include examples of the medal, an original Declaration of Trust, and subsequent printed versions of the declaration; correspondence and newspaper cuttings. However there are not records for all instances of the presentation of the Medal. Researchers are advised to also examine the Council Minutes and the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (both held in the RAS Collections) when researching concerning the Public School Medal and its recipients.