Letter from Robert Gordon Latham to Brian Houghton Hodgson in which he acknowledges the receipt of Hodgson's letters and works, and discusses ethnological and linguistic points relating to Aryans, Europeans and various Himalayan tribes including Chepangs, Magars, Gurungs, Kusundas, Hayus, Lhopa. Handwritten, 3 sides, dated 10 August 1852.

Hodgson used much of his time in both Nepal and Darjeeling in research, wanting to discover and understand about the architecture, languages, ethnography, religion, zoology and botany. He collected specimens and manuscripts, and had many drawings made, which he donated to many collections throughout Europe. He was also politically involved during his Residency in Nepal, and also later in England, when he continued to show an active interest in the Indian subcontinent, particularly regarding trade and vernacular education. These Personal Papers reflect these interests and are a record of much of his activity - Hodgson and his wives seemed to have a need to record all his successes. He was also a keen annotator of material, so that most of the printed material also bears his handwritten comments.

"Autograph Book belonging to Susan Hodgson, Alderley Grange, Wotton under Edge" A leather bound autograph book belonging to Hodgson's wife, Susan, in which are placed certificates, diplomas, academic and personal correspondence, newspaper cuttings and extracts related to Brian Houghton Hodgson's life. Leather binding with metal clasp. The book's binding is broken and some pages are loose. Care must be taken when using this item.

The Papers of Edward William West reflect his interest in Pahlavi language and Zoroastrianism. The majority are handwritten notebooks and other manuscripts in which he did his work. These often have many inserts. There are also loose handwritten notes, some correspondence and some printed material.

Description: Green-black patterned hardbound notebook with ruled blue pages, handwritten in ink. Single insert.

Contents:

• Multiple glossaries with some combination of English, Pahlavi, and Persian (pp.1-8)
• Notes and Summaries from different Das Land und sein Bewohner Erster Theil, Lepizig, 1865. (pp. 8 - 17)
• "Notes on Persia, from the Popular Encyclopedia on Conversations Lexicon" (pp. 18 - 42)
• "Vocabulary of the Dialects of Mazanderan and Ghilan (M & G) with the local pronunciation" by G. Melgounof in 1860, ZDMG xxii (pp. 43 - 66)
• "Content of Shahnamah, from Jas Atkinson's Translation, India, 1832" (pp. 67 - 72)
  *"Names in Shahnamah, besides the principle ones in the Contents" (pp. 73 - 79)
• "Transliteration of Oriental Alphabets adopted for the Translations of the Sacred Books of the East" (pp. 81 - 3)
• "Transliteration adopted for Avesta and Pahlavi Alphabets" (p. 84)
• Summary of "Mujuru-dh-dhahhabi va Ma'adinu-l-jauhari" by Abu-l-Hasan Ali (pp.87 - 98)
• Summary of article from ZDMG by A. Houtum-Schindler regarding Parsi population (pp. 99)
• Words used by Persian Parsis, which differ from common Persian" (pp. 99 - 119)

Inserts:

• scrap of paper with scientific names and common names of different plants and animals
• tracing paper stuck into notebook. Engraving on antique cup copied down. Cup "found on the western frontier of Persia"

Description: Green-brown patterned hardbound notebook with unruled blue pages, handwritten in ink. Single insert.
Contents: Numerals and days of the week in English, Hindustani, Marathi, and Gujurati with a short explanation on the same in English. Unfinished list of word meanings in Hindustani, Marathi, Gujurati, and English.

Description: Loose folios, handwritten mainly in ink, some drawing on tracing papers.
Contents: A mixed collection of papers concerning glossaries, inscriptions, etc. including:

• "Pahlavi Kanheri Cave Inscriptions"
• Notes on the Iranian Pahlavi Rivāyat"
• Index folio 420a 5 to 427a 2
• "Alternative theory (to account for the Semitic words being all the commonest)"
• "Date of Marriage Contract in DJ and DP"
• "Ancient modification of the Sanskrit Alphabet"
• glossary
• "Names on Sasanian coins"
• "Bundahash index Nos. of words beginning with each letter and compound"
• "Glossary of Ancient Persian from Spiegel's Alt. Pers. Keillinschiften"
• "unusual words from Destur Roshangji's glossary to Shikand grammar"
• "Comparison of Zand alphabet "
• "In the Academy of September 7 (p.244) Mr Rogers announced the discovery of a number of papyri fragments..."
• Calculations concerning the observation of an eclipse
• "Transliteration of the original Persian text"
• "Javanisch" and "Pehlewi" alphabets - printed material
• "The Caslon Orientals" - printed scripts from H.W. Caslon and Co., London
• Other notes and tracings