A duplicate of a Petition to the House of Commons from the Natives of Bombay (Mumbai) and others: Christians, Jews, Chinese, Parsis; Muslims and Hindus; more than 4000 in number. All the signatures, along with the petition, are on the document which is made of 25 skins of parchment. It is written in English, Gujarati and Marathi and is dated Bombay, 25 January 1831. It asks for a reform in the judicial regulations of the government at Bombay; for more impartial administration of the laws, that native people may freely be admitted to civil and judicial offices; and for the diffusion of the English language among the inhabitants to be encouraged by the British government. The original was sent to England by Sir Charles Forbes, M.P. and Joseph Hume, M.P. and was presented to the House of Commons on 1 September 1831.
Forbes Sir Charles 1773-1849The Asiatic Society of Mumbai, for some part of its history, was affiliated to the Royal Asiatic Society. This material dates from that time and is:
- "Four Important Reprints on South East Asia" from Kraus Reprint, Liechtenstein. An advertising pamphlet for reprints of Asian material including for the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Bombay Branch, for 1841-1923. Printed, dated 1969.
- Letter from the Librarian, Asiatic Society of Bombay, to the Royal Asiatic Society to thank them for the gift of the publication, "The Royal Asiatic Society - Its History and Treasures". Typed, dated 20 November 1980.
Three notebooks into which have been copied extracts from the letter books for 1630-1673 and 1675-1676 from the Surat factory.
UntitledThis collection consists of seven leather bound portfolios containing topographical drawings, maps, floor plans, notes and papers that the West brothers had created when working in the Maharashtra region of India in the mid to late 1800's. The main focus of the collection is the Kanheri Caves; a group of over 109 rock cut temples located in what is today the Sanjay Gandhi National Park on the western outskirts of Mumbai. The brothers studied these caves over the course of several decades, returning to the site many times to check and amend measurements, locations, and expand open their interpretation of the site. The remainder of the collection covers several other sites such as: Ajanta, Ellora and Daulatabad.
West Edward William 1824-1905 Orientalist, engineerThese 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.
Purefoy James d 1846 Captain, merchant sailorThe papers of David Price consist of a letter to him from a colleague in Tannah, dated 24 May 1800; and a draft translation of an Extract from a Preface to the Shahnamah of Firdausi.
Price David 1762-1835The Papers consist of manuscripts of translations made by Rehatsek often with notes, prefaces etc by Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot, to whom Rehatsek had sent the translations.
Rehatsek Edward 1819-1891 LinguistThe Papers of Edward William West reflect his interest in Pahlavi language and Zoroastrianism. The majority are handwritten notebooks and other manuscripts in which he did his work. These often have many inserts. There are also loose handwritten notes, some correspondence and some printed material.
West Edward William 1824-1905 Translator of Pahlavi Texts, Engineer