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The Royal Asiatic Society leased 74 Grosvenor Street from 1920 to 1947. These papers include those for the negotiation of taking up the lease, for possibility lease of different premises, for wartime damage insurance contributions, for the expediency of leaving the premises. There is also a photograph of 74 Grosvenor Street of unknown date.

The Royal Asiatic Society leased the premises at 56 Queen Anne Street from 1947 to 1988. The papers include official lease documents, sub-letting agreements, correspondence, plans and photographs.

The Royal Asiatic Society bought 60 Queen's Gardens in 1988 and remained there until 2005. These papers include records concerning the purchase, upkeep, rental of rooms, and sale of property, and photographs.

The Royal Asiatic Society rented rooms at 73 Collier Street from 2005-2006 while alterations were made at the newly purchased 14 Stephenson Way property. Items from this rental are:

• Plan of the rooms to be rented, dated 24 June 2005.
• Letter from Mark Winkler, Beaumont & Co., to Alison Ohta, Royal Asiatic Society, to set out the proposed head of terms for occupation of the rooms at 73 Collier Street, dated 30 June 2005.
• Licence Agreement between Manchester Square Properties Ltd. and the Royal Asiatic Society regarding the rental of the rooms for the time period 14 July 2005-13 July 2006. Signed and dated 13 July 2005.
• Letter from Alison Ohta, Curator, Royal Asiatic Society, to The Manager, Lloyds TSB Bank, Baywater Branch, to agree payment to Manchester Square Properties Ltd., dated 13 July 2005.
• "List of Furniture to take to Collier Street" - inventory of furniture, undated.
• "Notification of Change of Address from Queen's Gardens to 73 Collier Street - 2 printed cards.

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.

The Royal Asiatic Society has a strong history of publications, both of its academic Journal, and of monographs and other literature. During the course of its existence various committees have overseen this work. This collection contains the minutes for the meetings of these committees.

In 1973 the Royal Asiatic Society celebrated its Sesquicentenary (150 years). The archival material includes Planning committee administration; material connected with the various events held, exhibitions put on and publications produced in celebration of the occasion; and material concerned with fundraising for the Society.

The records of the Gold Medal cover the institution of the medal and the conferment of the Honour in subsequent years. They include examples of the medal, the original Declaration of Trust, and subsequent printed version 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 Gold Medal and its recipients.

The material within this collection comprises of correspondence and publications by and about Richard Francis Burton and his wife Isabel Burton (nee Arundell). There are also two photographs of Burton and artefacts.

Also included within this Collection are correspondence concerning the acquisition of the material by the RAS and some supplementary material regarding Oscar Eckenstein, its original collector.

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