The Papers include publications written orcollected by the academic Gerald Tibbetts connected to his research interests in early Arab navigation in the Indian Ocean. Related to this are draft copies of a lecture given by Tibbetts at the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the origins of navigation in the Indian Ocean.

There is also material collected by Tibbetts relating to his work on the Sindbad Voyage project (1980-1981) and his invitation to participate in the Heritage of Oman Festival.

The collection spans Henry Miers Elliot's career working for the Indian Civil Service from 1827 to 1853, and includes:

• Manuscripts mainly concerned with administration. These are in English and local Indian languages.
• Correspondence to Henry Miers Elliot
• Printed Material
• Visual Material, including copper-plate rubbings, agricultural drawings and a map of Baiswara.

Some of the material had previously been identified by Professor Simon Digby, Honorary Librarian to the Royal Asiatic Society (1970-1984). The information provided by him has been kept with the Henry Miers Elliot Papers.