Two handwritten manuscripts by Maurice Patrick O'Connor Tandy, two allied letters, and some provenance information.
Tandy Maurice Patrick O'Connor 1912-1986 Consul ServiceThese papers consist of two items of correspondence and two articles.
Rowlatt Mary b 1908There is a single item in these Papers. This is the "Abstracts of Meteorological Diary for the Years 1816, 1817, 1818, 1819. Taken Eight Miles North-East of Fort William Calcutta". This a handwritten journal of daily weather conditions divided into monthly pages giving a general monthly summary, variations of the winds, thermometer, barometer and hygrometer readings, prevailing wind directions and remarks concerning the days' weather patterns. The manuscript is on foolscap sheets bound into a hardcover journal. The book is in fragile conditions, its boards have become separated and some of the pages are only loosely attached into the whole. Within the book is a loose sheet of paper on which wind calculations have been written.
Thomas HardwickeA set of handwritten notes concerning inscriptions. They are titled:
- The Naqbu-i-Hajar Inscription with commentary
- The Hisn Ghurāb Inscription
- Nouvelles Études sur L'Epigraphie du Yemen par MM Joseph et Hartwig Derenbourg
- Minoean B.M. 92 Glaser 284
- Comparative Alphabet
This material contains a letter from major Cunningham describing the "Haram of Ali Raza" at Mashhad and a copy of the "Ziarat Nameh" said at the shrine. There is also further Royal Asiatic Society correspondence concerning what to do with this donated material.
J. R. CunninghamPersonal Papers of Major General Sir Frederic John Goldsmid
Sir Frederic John GoldsmidThe Papers of Lucian Scherman consist of a printed copy of an original birthday message that was sent as a bound copy, with 213 signatures, to Munich, for presentation to Professor Scherman on the occasion of his 70th birthday. It is entitled "Lucian Scherman zum 70th Geburtstage". This version is unbound and unsigned.
Lucian SchermanThe Papers consist of copies of letter sent by Stoddart, a newspaper cutting about his death, and the original containing envelope. These are:
- Copy of a letter from Stoddart to Crawford to inform that he had been appointed Commander of the Escort, a position gained for him by Mr Ellis, which is not onerous and has increased his yearly salary. He also writes that he will stay in Persia unless a more attractive opportunity opens for him. He asks for news from England. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 17 April 1837.
- Copy of a letter from Stoddart to Crauford (different spelling to letter above) from 'Bokhauran' (Bukhara) in which he writes that his appointment to Bokhauran should have made him his own master and therefore at liberty to write more freely. However four days after his arrival he was imprisoned and from 21 December 1838 until February 1841 was unable to write at all. Now however, he is at liberty. He gives news of Heraut (Herat) and Kabool (Kabul) and the military manoeuvres of the Persian and English armies. He writes that he is now well-treated and bears no ill-will. He asks for news to be sent via the Foreign Office. Typed, 3 pieces, dated 1 May 1841.
- 'The Murder of Lieut. Col. Stoddart and Capt. Conolly, in Bokhara' - a newspaper cutting from an unknown newspaper giving the details of the execution of Stoddart and Conolly on 17 June 1842.
- The original containing envelope with the title, 'Murder of Lt. Col. Stoddart by the Amir of Bokhara on 17.6.1842 - & of Captain Conolly'.
The papers of Lieutenant Chalmers consist of two hardbound volumes of handwritten text, being the 'Akbar Nameh of Abul Fazl Allami' translated by him. The Akbar Nameh ('History of Akbar' or 'Book of Akbar') was the official history of Akbar's reign, commissioned by Akbar and written by his court historian and biographer Abul Fazl in Persian. Chalmers's translation is an abridged version of the original text.
Volume I has the following additional items pasted into it:
- a letter from Henry Beveridge to Miss Latimer, Assistant Librarian at the Royal Asiatic Society, returning Chalmers's translations which the Library has lent to him and saying it is a pity that his translation is little known, dated 21 February 1923
- two sheets of notes signed G. O. [Gore Ouseley], commenting on the translation
- two slips recording borrowing of the volumes by two readers in 1877, 1880 and 1885
Volume II has the following additional items pasted or inserted into it:
- a note stating that this book has been entered in the Society’s catalogue in September 1877
- a small slip of paper containing an extract from the volume and further notes by an unidentified author. This was found in the Society's Institutional records in 2024 and was therefore inserted into the volume
- a letter from J. C. Morris, Secretary to the Madras Literary Society, to the Secretary of the Oriental Translation Committee, requesting to submit Chalmers’s two volumes of translation. The letter goes on to state although the translation is not accompanied by the original as required by the rules of the committee, Mr Lushington (English Tory Politician and Governor of Madras from 1827-1832) will on application provide the loan of the original work in his possession from which Chalmers's translation was prepared. Dated 30 May 1833.
- a pressed fern on page 157
"On the Discovery of the Buddha's Birthplace by L.A. Waddell". A notebook with black cover into which Waddell has pasted several articles concerning his attempts to find the birthplace of Buddha. These are entitled and annotated by him by hand. The articles included are:
- "The Discovery of the Birthplace of the Buddha" from the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1897, pp.644-651
- "Where is the Birthplace of Buddha?" from the Englishman, 1 June 1896
- "A Tibetan Guide-book to the lost Sites of the Buddha's Birth and Death" from the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1896, pp. 275-279
- Editorial Note from the Englishman, 1 June 1896
- "Who found Buddha's Birthplace?" from The Pioneer Mail, 29 October 1897
- "Who Found Buddha's Birthplace?" - a reply to Dr Führer's letter, from the Englishman, 30 November 1897
- "Christian Tombs in the North-Western Provinces and Oudh" from The Pioneer, 22 September 1897
- "The Birthplace of the Buddha" by Sir George Birdwood, from The Times, 9 September 1897
It appears from the title page of the book that Waddell prepared this volume especially for the Royal Asiatic Society in February 1898.