Showing 284 results

Sketch and description of a temple fresco, Reespa, on the banks of the Sutlej river, Kinnaur district, northern India. The sketch is in coloured pencil depicting the Supreme Deity, attendants and other symbolic figures. This was copied from a fresco, about 6 feet square, on the temple wall. The paper of the sketch is badly torn and care is needed in handling the document.

With the sketch is a detailed description which was told to Major Salter, Bengal Army, by the temple priest. This document also dates the item to 17 July 1838 and records that it was presented to the Society by Sir C. Malcolm (Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Malclom).

Material concerned with the interaction of the Société Asiatique and the Royal Asiatic Society.

Correspondence concerning a special meeting to be held from 20-23 September 1938, at Keble College, Oxford, to celebrate the twenty-first anniversary of the founding of the Society for Old Testament Study. These are:

• Letter from Theodore H. Robinson, Secretary, Society for Old Testament Study, to Colonel Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to inform concerning the special meeting at which several Honorary Members will read papers alongside distinguished British scholars. He asks for the Royal Asiatic Society to be represented at the meeting. Typed with printed letterhead, dated 16 June 1938.
• Letter from Colonel Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to Dr M. Gaster to ask, on behalf of the Council, whether he would consider being the Society's representative at the special meeting of the Society for Old Testament Study. Typed, dated 15 July 1938.
• Letter from Colonel Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to Dr A. Guillaume to ask, on behalf of the Council, whether he would consider being the Society's representative at the special meeting of the Society for Old Testament Study. Typed, dated 15 July 1938.
• Letter from Dr A. Guillaume to Colonel Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to express his honour in being the Society's representative. He states that he may have difficulties attending the whole Conference due to duties as the Bishop's chaplain. Typed with printed letterhead, dated 16 July 1938.
• Letter from Dr M. Gaster to Colonel Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to state that he would be happy to act as the Delegate of the Royal Asiatic Society. Typed, dated 18 July 1938.
• Postcard from Dr A. Guillaume to Colonel Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to state that he has managed to be freed from his duties and will therefore accept the honour of representing the Royal Asiatic Society. Handwritten with printed letterhead, dated 27 July 1938.
• Letter from Dr A. Guillaume to Colonel Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to state that he has not had any communication from the Society for Old Testament Study. If Col. Hoysted has been sent any notice could it be forwarded to Guillaume. Typed with printed letterhead, dated 16 September 1938.
• Letter from Theodore H. Robinson, Secretary, Society for Old Testament Study, to Colonel Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to state that he does not seem to have had a reply concerning the representative for the Royal Asiatic Society. Handwritten with printed letterhead, dated 18 September 1938.
• Letter on behalf of Colonel Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to Theodore Robinson to state that Professor Guillaume will represent the Society. Typed, dated 19 September 1938.
• Letter on behalf of Colonel Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to Dr A. Guillaume to enclose the programme for the meeting and apologise for him not receiving one sooner. Typed, dated 19 September 1938.

Ninety-nine sonnets written in English each titled with one of the names of God.

Material concerned with the Indian Collection at the South Kensington Museum. These are:

• Letter to the Under Secretary of State for India regarding provision of care for the Indian Collection and that it be kept as a unit. Printed, unsigned and undated.
• Letter from Lord Reay, President, Royal Asiatic Society, to the Secretary of State for India to express, on behalf of the Council of the Royal Asiatic Society, their concern regarding the Indian collection at the South Kensington Museum. The collection originated in 1879 when miscellaneous collections from the old East India House were transferred to the Museum. The request is for funds to adequately care for the collections. Typed, dated 12 May 1911. There is also an earlier draft version of this letter, typed with handwritten annotations and labelled, "Sir M. A. Stein's original draft".
• Letter from R. Ritchie, India Office, to Lord Reay, President, Royal Asiatic Society, to advise that when the Collections were transferred one of the stipulations was that no charge should henceforth fall on the revenues of India, and therefore responsibility rest with the Victoria and Albert Museum to provide suitable staff and care. Typed, dated 24 June 1911.
• Newspaper article from The Morning Post entitled "Mr Runciman and an Indian Museum", concerning the care of the Indian Collection. Printed, dated 19 July 1911.
• "List of contacts of various organisations concerned with the Indian Collections and a list of Members of the Royal Asiatic Society Council. Handwritten, undated.
• "The Indian Collection at South Kensington: Deputation to the President of the Board of Education" concerning the Indian Collection. Typed report of the deputation received on 12 December 1912.
• Letter from J.H. Headley to Miss Hughes, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, expressing his opinion on the two leading Indian papers on the Museum. Handwritten, dated 20 January 1913.

The Minutes of the "Syro-Egyptian Society of London. Instituted 1844". These handwritten minutes cover the time period from the first meeting of the Society on 3 December 1844 to their 146th meeting on 12 March 1861. The Society met fortnightly until June 1846, then monthly, with extended summer breaks. The minutes cover the decisions made at the meetings and the Papers read. Yearly Anniversary Meetings were held in April. The minutes are written in a hardbound volume purchased from H. Penny, Stationer & Manufacturer of Improved Patent Account Books.

The Programme for the Tenth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies held at the Palais de l'UNESCO, Paris from 23-26 August 1988, along with some abstracts and papers from the Conference. Some of these exist as individual items, others have been stapled together to create books of abstracts.

A proof volume of what seems to be a partial version of G.M.H. Playfair's, The Cities and Towns of China . The front cover and spine have been lost and the back cover is loose. The text covers from p.253-417, No to Zimerick, with subsequent Appendices of Synoptical Table of the Administrative Cities of China, Radical Index and Corrigenda. The text is printed on one side - the blank pages being written to supplement the text and with further annotations on the printed pages.
The front endpaper has a Royal Asiatic Society bookplate with the text "Presented to the Library by Lionel Handley Derry, Esq., 2 June 1952, in Memory of Lionel Charles Hopkins, Esq., I.S.O.".
The work is undated but Playfair's first edition of the work was published in 1879 and his second in 1910.

A translation into the Braj Bhasha dialect of Hindi of Raja Niti, a version of the Hitopadesha, a series of fables. The translation was undertaken for John Gilchrist by Lallūjī Lāl Kavi and the scribe was Siva Prasanna Diivedi. it is dated to V.S. 1858/ Sāka 1825 which equates to 1802-3. The work was made for John Gilchrist when he was principal of Fort William College, Kolkata.

Pasted inside the front cover is a handwritten explanation of the Hitopadesha taken from 'Colebrooke's Preface to the "Hitopadesa" in the original Sanscrit'. The last front paper bears an English description of the work, the signature of John Romer, dated 1804, the Royal Asiatic Society stamp, and that the work was presented to the Society by John Romer. Also within the volume is a more modern label giving identification details and where it is noted as being a very early edition of the work.

Please note that the boards and some pages are loose from the binding and the book spine is no longer present. The boards are covered in red leather.

'The personal narrative of the Taleb Sidi Ibrahim be Muhammed el-Messi, of the province of Sus; including some Statistic and Political Notices of the extreme south-west country of Morocco'. The Berber manuscript was commissioned by William Brown Hodgson (1801-1871), US State representative to North African Barbary States, who had it translated into Arabic. From the Arabic translation he made an English translation. All three are bound within the book with an introduction by Hodgson, concerning the commissioning of the manuscript, which he believed was the third manuscript to be written in Berber. The introduction is dated 1 March 1835.