This volume contains copies of, or extracts from, letters sent to the Royal Asiatic Society between 1846 and 1852. They are written into a leather-bound volume with the title 'Extracts' on its front cover. Besides the letters which cover 93 pages, there are subsequently some rough pencil notes and a diagram in a different hand (possibly a child's) followed by blank pages and an index at the end of the manuscript.

The International Congress of Orientalists, initiated in Paris in 1873, was an international conference of Orientalists. It was later renamed as the International Congress of Human Sciences in Asia and North Africa and then as the International Congress of Asian and North African Studies. This material covers the interaction of the Royal Asiatic Society with the Congress in the time period 1889 to 1993.

The 11th International Oriental Congress was held in Paris in 1897. The papers consist of a printed pamphlet entiteld "The Eleventh International Oriental Congress" By Robert Needham Cust, LL.D.. It is a report of the congress extracted from "Linguistic and Oriental Essays" Series V, pp.993-1012, and was printed by Stephen Austin and Sons, Hertford in 1897.

The 13th International Congress of Orientalists was held in Hamburg in September 1902. The material consists of a single pamphlet, entitled "Neunter Bericht" (Ninth Report) of the programme for the 9-10 September 1902.

The 15th International Congress of Orientalists was held in Copenhagen in 1908. The material from this conference consists of two printed pamphlets: "Actes du Quinzième Congrès International des Orientalistes Session de Copenhague 1908" and "Appendice aux Actes du Quinzième Congrès International des Orientalistes Session de Copenhague 1908" detailing participants and programme for the Congress. These were published in Copenhagen in 1909.

The 16th International Congress of Orientalists was held in Athens in 1912. The material consists of the Fifth Bulletin for the Congress detailing the Organising Committee, Programme and participants. This pamphlet has uncut pages.

At the International Congress held in Athens in 1912, it was proposed that the next Congress be held in Oxford in 1915. This was then postponed to September 1916. However the hostilities of World War One led to the discussion of the appropriateness of holding an International Congress. The material within this series consists of correspondence concerning that discussion. They are:

• "Extract from a letter from Professor Sylvain Lévi to Sir George Grierson, dated February 19th 1915" in which he writes of the difficulties of organising an international congress at that time and offers some alternatives.
• "Extract from a letter from Professor Sylvain Lévi to Sir George Grierson, dated 2 February 1916" and a note concerning Grierson's reply. The letter expresses Lévi's concerns and the possibility of a Congress with only allied nations involved.
• "Extract from a letter from Professor Sylvain Lévi to Sir George Grierson, dated April 1, 1916" in which he writes concerning the possibility for involvement of some organisations including the Royal Asiatic Society, the Pali Text Society, the Institut de France, the British Academy and the Royal Society.
• Letter from [Sir George Grierson] to potential attendees of a meeting fixed by Lord Reay of those being consulted about Sylvain Lévi's letters. Dated 10 May 1916. With this letter are copies of correspondence to Grierson from Professor T.W. Rhys Davids of Pali Text Society, Dr. J.F. Fleet, Dr F.W. Thomas, and F.E. Pargiter expressing their opinions, dated 22 March - 10 May 1916.

The 21st International Congress of Orientalists was held in Paris in July 1948. Material associated with this Congress is:

• "Première Circulaire" from J. Bacot, President of the Societé Asiatique concerning the 21st Congress to be held in Paris. Printed in French, undated.
• "Deuxème Circulaire" from J. Bacot, President, and R. Grousset, Secretary-General, Organising Committee, concerning details of the 21st Congress. Printed in French, undated.
• "Bulletin d'Adhésion" for the 21st Congress. Printed in French, undated.

The 22nd International Congress of Orientalists was held in Istanbul in September 1951. The material associated with this Congress is:

• Letter from Professor A.J. Arberry, Chairman of the Executive Committee, Association of British Orientalists, to Societies and Institutions to seek their opinion on the proposal to constitute an International Federation of Orientalist Societies which is to be included in the Agenda of the forthcoming 22nd Congress. Opinions gathered will be used to affect any decision taken by the Association of British Orientalists regarding the project. Typed, dated 5 May 1951.

The 26th International Congress of Orientalists was held in New Delhi in 1963. These papers concern preparatory organisation. They are:

• Letter from the International Union of Orientalists to the Royal Asiatic Society to enclose the minutes of their meeting in Tokyo, October 1961, and the statutes of the Union. They ask for the Society's to remit their quota to enable the work towards the next Congress. Typed, dated 3 May 1962.
• Letter from the International Union of Orientalists to the Royal Asiatic Society to follow up on their letter of 3 May as they had not yet received a reply from the Society. Typed, dated 3 July 1962.