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The material contains correspondence and bulletins the All-India Oriental Conferences from 1933-1939 (7th, 8th and 10th conferences), sent to and by the Royal Asiatic Society.

An imperfect copy of the Puthen Pana or the Misiha Charitham of Johann Ernst Hanxelden. A letter inserted into the book, dated 26 January 1934, sent from L.D. Barnett to Mrs Cardew, identifies the volume and dates it as 18th century. The Puthen Pana is a poem written by Hanxleden about the life of Jesus Christ. On the front papers there is a note to state that the manuscript was given to the Society by Sir Alexander Johnston and that it is in Malayalam.

The poem consists of 14 padams. The first padam informs readers that the poem is written at the request of Antonio Pimental, Archbishop of Cranganore. The second padam focuses on the Fall of Man, fourth - the Annunciation, fifth - the Nativity, seventh - the Sermon on the Mount, tenth - the Last Supper, eleventh - the Trial and Crucifixion, the twelfth padam portrays the lament of Virgin Mary at the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus, thirteenth - the Resurrection, and the fourteenth portrays the Ascension. The 12th padam is considered the most important in the poem. But for the 12th, which is written in the metre, Nathonatha, the rest of the couplets are written in the metre, Sarpini.

Some of the pages are fragile and a few have had historic conservation repairs.

A Maldivian Nakaiyterikaṅ (astrology) manuscript. At the commencement of the manuscript it is titled in English, "Nek-ket Were-ingay foy which means our conjuring book". This is followed by an explanation of its use, e.g. in consulting before undertaking a voyage. This copy was made in September 1817 by Nalle Tandy, a "Chitty man" who was the interpreter of the Maldivian language.

Translations of Sections 5 and 8 of the Prabhu Linga Leelai named as the 'Prabhu Linga Lila' within the volumes. The translations are contained within bound volumes, the one containing section 8 has 'Brown's P.L. Lila' embossed on the spine. The translator states at the beginning of each volume 'Began reading 22nd April 1839, Began Translation 5th June 1839'. The translation is in prose rather than the verse form of the original though the verses are numbered within the margins. The volume containing section 5 also contains 'Notes on Prabhu Lingua Lila Section 3'.

"Prabhu Linga Leelai" is a 15th-century Lingayata work, written in Kannada, by Chamarasa. The poet had a dream in which Virabhadra, the son of Siva, asked him to write a long poem on the Lingayata saints of the 12th century. Chamarasa subsequently composed the entire Prabhulinga Leelai in eleven days. The book is based on the life and spiritual experiences of Allama Prabhu, a 12th century Virasaiva saint and teacher. The poet presented his poem to the court of his king Deva Raya II. This Kannada work was translated into Tamil verse by Sivaprakasa Swamigal, a Virasaiva poet and scholar, in the seventeenth century.

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.

The 'Aja'ib al Tabaqat' (Wonders of the Universe) is a Persian text that was purchased by Sir Alexander Burnes in the Bazar of Bukhara 1832. This translation lists the author of the 'Aja'ib al Tabaqat' as 'Muhammad Tahir, son of Abul Qasim.' The 'Aja'ib al Tabaqat' is part of the 'aja'ib' genre in medieval Islamic literature, 'aja'ib' meaning 'marvelous, strange or unusual.' The 'aja'ib' genre consists of discussions on the marvels of the world and often contain cosmographical content. The 'Aja'ib al Tabaqat' includes a creation story, accounts of Islamic prophets and descriptions of various countries and cities. Sir Legrand's translation states the original text by Muhammad Tahir son of Abul Qasim, was written in 1819.

The text consists of one hardbound volume of handwritten text. It is an incomplete manuscript in that Sir Legrand Jacob has omitted various sections in his translation, indicating where he has done so. The pastedowns include text in another language.
The volume contains a pencil drawing of a temple titled 'A temple near […]' At the beginning of the text is a handwritten letter from Sir Legrand Jacob, dated 'Kutch, June 20 1853' which states that in his opinion, the text was not worth translating but he reluctantly complied to the request from the Oriental Translation Committee and translated it. This letter mentions Sir Gore Ouseley.

Programme of the Gala Performance of the film 'An Eastern Odyssey' held in the presence of H.R.H. The Prince of Wales in aid of the Royal National Life-boat Institution (RNLI) at the Plaza Theatre, London, on 13 November 1934. This is a printed programme with a message from the Prince, information concerning the Citroën Trans-Asiatic Expedition and details of the film, An Eastern Odyssey, made as a record of the expedition. The final page of the programme lists Patrons of the RNLI and the Committee of the Gala performance.

With the programme is a ticket for the Royal Circle, Seat C9, at the Plaza Theatre and a card giving notification of the dress code for the evening.

"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.

'Unto us a Child is Born' - a manuscript documenting the story of the rise and fall of a supposed miracle or holy child in a village near the Indo-Afghan border. The narrator describes himself as a junior officer serving in an administrative capacity. The story is of interest to him for its potential disruption to the area as people took sides believing or negating the child, who showed his holiness by wanting his father rather than his mother. The incident occurred a little while after Halley's comet had been visible in the night sky which some took to be a portent. The matter died down once the child started preferring its mother.

The story would seem to be related by somebody in the nineteenth century, but the document is from the mid-twentieth century. There are no identifiers as to the author or the narrator, so it is possibly a transcription of an earlier text or a work of fiction.

The fourth Anglo-American Conference of Historians was held at Senate House, the University of London, from 6-11 July 1936. These papers consist of correspondence and documentation in connection with this Conference. These are:

Letter from the Vice-Chancellor, University of London, Institute of Historical Research, to the President, Royal Asiatic Society, to inform concerning the fourth Anglo-American Conference of Historians for the discussion of the problems of historical research which are of interest to the English-speaking world. He asks for the Royal Asiatic Society to send a representative. Typed letter with printed letterhead, dated 14 December 1935. With this letter is a printed Revised Provisional Programme for the Conference stating the Organising Committee, the Sections and the Time-Table for the Conference.

Letter from Col. Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to H.L. Eason, University of London, to state that the Council had appointed Sir William Foster to be their delegate at the conference. Typed, dated 14 January 1936.

Letter from Margery Fletcher, Assistant-Secretary, Anglo-American Conference of Historians, to Col. Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to thank for the letter informing of the Society's delegate. Typed with printed letterhead, dated 15 January 1936.

Letter from Guy Parsloe, Secretary, Anglo-American Conference of Historians, to the President, Royal Asiatic Society, to inform him that the letter saying delegate should have read representatives and asking whether the Royal Asiatic Society wished to nominate further representatives. Typed, with printed letterhead, dated 13 February 1936.

Letter from Col. Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to Guy Parsloe, Secretary, Anglo-American Conference of Historians, to state that Sir Richard Burn would also represent the Society. Typed, dated 13 March 1936.

Letter from Margery Fletcher, Assistant-Secretary, Anglo-American Conference of Historians, to Col. Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to thank for the letter informing of the Society's further delegate. Typed with printed letterhead, dated 16 March 1936.