Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- [1902 - 1908] (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 archival folder typed with handwritten annotations
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Theobald arrived in Calcutta on the ship Hindostan in March 1847 and worked as a volunteer in the coal exploration of the upper Damodar and Son valleys under David Williams. During this time Joseph Hooker visited him and they spent time together. Later Theobald became an assistant to John McClelland who took over the exploration from David Williams. He went to Burma in 1855 as a staff of the Geological Survey of India and took over the Pegu survey. He returned to Bengal on completion of the survey in 1873 to be appointed Deputy Superintendent of Bengal in 1876. From 1868 to 1876 he described a dozen new species of reptiles. Theobald is known chiefly as a malacologist and naturalist but also seems to have an interest in the coinage of Hindustan, perhaps after his retirement from service in 1881.
Repository
Archival history
These papers were the property of William Theobald. He may have submitted them as a potential article for the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
It is unknown how these Papers came to be part of the Royal Asiatic Society Collections.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
These papers consist of "The Symbolism of the Puranas (Part I)", subtitled, "An enumeration of the symbols on the 'Purana' coinage of Hindustan (with four plates) by W. Theobald, formerly Deputy Superintendent of the Geological Survey of India". (The plates are not with these papers). This is a draft manuscript, typed with handwritten corrections, of an article by Theobald subsequent to his two previous articles on the subject published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1890, Part 1, No. 3, p.181f and Vol. LIX, 1901, Part 1 No. 2, p.38f. The article builds on this work and the earlier work of Walter Elliot and Edward Thomas. It is a systematic review of all the symbols used. It is unknown whether this article was ever published.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open. Please contact the archivist using the email address given here. The archive is open on Tuesdays and Fridays 10-5, and Thursdays 2-5. Access is to any researcher without appointment but it will help if an appointment is made via phone or email. Please bring photo ID.
Conditions governing reproduction
Digital photography (without flash) for research purposes may be permitted upon completion of a copyright declaration form, and with respect to current UK copyright law.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
The Library Collections contain copies of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in which Theobald's articles were published.
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Theobald William 1829-1908 (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
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Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
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Archivist's note
This material was catalogued by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in 2019.