The material within this collection comprises of correspondence and publications by and about Richard Francis Burton and his wife Isabel Burton (nee Arundell). There are also two photographs of Burton and artefacts.

Also included within this Collection are correspondence concerning the acquisition of the material by the RAS and some supplementary material regarding Oscar Eckenstein, its original collector.

The Richard Burton correspondence consists of a series of letters to Alexander George Ellis at the British Museum mainly concerning bibliographical enquiries. Each of these letters has been transcribed by Mary S Lovell

There are three letters from Isabel Burton: two are to Mr Cotton regarding publications and the third is a printed letter to ask for a review notice of her Richard Burton biography.