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A handwritten volume written in Russian. A note in English, at the beginning of this volumes states that it contains: Copy of the Georgian Code of King Vakhtang Armenian Laws Laws of the Kings of Georgia This is an extensive volume of approximately 470 pages. It is in a fragile condition with the leather bound boards loose from the contents.

"A Key to Scripture; being an Enquiry into the Order of Chapters of the Qur'ān" - a handwritten manuscript documenting the author's investigation into the chronological order of the chapters of the Qur'ān. He presents an introduction to his thesis, followed by a Synopsis of the Classes, Sections and Chapters; with further sections on the Distinctive Characters of the chapters, the Distribution and Arrangement of the Makka chapters; and On the Determination of the Madina Years and their chapters. These chapters are handwritten on foolscap sheets covering 132 pages of the volume.

Notebook containing Chinese characters, their romanised spellings and their English translations. In some cases these seem to be arranged to work out translations of official documents between Chinese and British authorities. A black soft-cover notebook with lined pages, written in ink and pencil, but with no identifiers.

"Introduction on the Elements of the Afghan language" which explains about the two divisions of Afghans and their languages, the different tribes in various locations. It consider the alphabet, vocabulary and grammar of the language. This manuscript is 13 pages on loose folded sheets.

The papers consist of A Grammar of the Maratah Language by Soob Row Maratah, Bramney of Tanjore. The purpose of his writing was to explain the Marathi language giving clear rules of grammar. The book is handwritten in Marathi and English and bound in a leather volume. Unfortunately the boards have come loose from the spine. The spine bears the title 'Maratah M.S. Grammar'.

Two articles and accompanying material sent by Thomas Hervey Baber to the Royal Asiatic Society. These are:

• 'Facsimiles of three Muhammedan Gold Coins, found on the Coast of Malabar' with associated material.
• 'Copy of a Translation in the Malayalam Arayam Character with an English translation.'

Correspondence and Papers written by Captain Thomas John Newbold between 1842 and 1849. The majority of the correspondence is from Newbold to Richard Clarke, the Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society. The Papers were mainly sent by Newbold to be read at the Society or published in its Journal.

A handwritten manuscript of Yādgār-i Cishtī by Noor Ahmad Chishti with an English colophon which states: 'Yādgār-i Chishti by Nur Ahmad Chishti Lahori. Autograph presented by the author in 1858 to Robert Eyles Egerton, then Deputy Commissioner of Lahore. A description of trades and castes in the Punjab.' The manuscript is written in Urdu with annotations. It has a leather binding decorated with flower patterns. However these are much faded and the general condition of the volume is poor.

A single loose leaf is found within the volume. This bears an inscription in Urdu, entitled, in English, 'Inscription on one of the guns in the Castle' and a further sentence identifying the date to 16 February 1754.

A handwritten copy of the Mémoire sur l'histoire ancienne du Japon : d'après le Ouen Hien Tong Kao de Ma-Touan-Lin written by the Marquis d'Hervey de Saint Denys, President of the Society of Ethnographie, originally published in 1872. This version was copied for Ernest Mason Satow by the 'Ph. [Society] Japaniste' in 1876.

It is a small bound volume with red cover and bearing the bookplate for Ernest Mason Satow, Yedo, on the inside cover.

The O.W. Samson Award was set up in memory of Dr Otto William Samson, ethnographer and curator of the Horniman Museum. His wife, Elizabeth Samson, donated £10,000 to the Royal Asiatic Society with the wish that the annual income from the invested money be used to either enable a scholar to pursue their research in the fields of anthropology or archaeology relating to Asia; or to enable the Society to mount a study group or seminar on some aspect of these fields. In its initial years the award helped to fund a publication following the Islamic Fundamentalist Conference and 'The legacy of the House of Timur' Seminar. In 1992 it was awarded to Richard Rudgley, St Cross College, Oxford, to visit the rural areas of Xinjiang to document surviving traditional technology, and in 1993 to Lilla Russell-Smith to research Chinese Buddhist painting at Dunhuang.

The material related to this award includes initial correspondence, administrative documents, advertising leaflet, and later correspondence including the news of Elizabeth Samson's death.