Series RAS COLL5/2 - Digitisation and reproductions

Identity area

Reference code

GB 891 RAS COLL5-RAS COLL5/2

Title

Digitisation and reproductions

Date(s)

  • 1963-ongoing (Creation)

Level of description

Series

Extent and medium

1 archival folder

Context area

Name of creator

(1823-)

Administrative history

The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was founded by the eminent Sanskrit scholar Sir Henry Thomas Colebrooke on the 15th March 1823. It received its Royal Charter from King George IV on the 11th August 1824 'for the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia'. It continues as a forum for those who are interested in the languages, cultures and history of Asia to meet and exchange ideas.

Name of creator

Administrative history

Name of creator

Administrative history

Name of creator

(1983 -)

Administrative history

The King Fahd National Library was established in Riyadh to be a national library. Its collections continue to grow and it is a centre for research.

Name of creator

(1996 -)

Administrative history

The Yayasan Karyawan (Employee Foundation) was established on 30 August 1996 under the Companies Act (Malaysia). The purpose of its establishment is to study and publish major Malay works in the Malay language. The selected publications are masterpieces of traditional Malay literature and also "Malay World" written in related languages ​​such as masterpieces of Javanese, Bugis, Makassar, Aceh, Minangkabau and others.

Name of creator

(1972 -)

Administrative history

Bridgeman Art Library are specialists in licensing fine art, cultural and historical media for reproduction.

Name of creator

(1859 -)

Administrative history

The National (formerly the Scottish National Gallery) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by William Henry Playfair, and first opened to the public in 1859. The gallery houses Scotland's national collection of fine art, spanning Scottish and international art from the beginning of the Renaissance up to the start of the 20th century.

Name of creator

(1947 -)

Administrative history

The Folio Society is an employee-owned, with a tradition for crafting exquisite, illustrated editions for book lovers of all ages.

Name of creator

(1969 -)

Administrative history

Prometheus Books, founded in 1969 by the late philosopher Paul Kurtz, states it is committed to testing the boundaries of established thought and providing readers with thoughtful and authoritative books in a wide variety of categories. Publishing intelligent nonfiction for the thoughtful lay reader, Prometheus Books has focused on several core categories including popular science, critical thinking, philosophy, history, atheism, humanism, current events, psychology, and true crime.

Name of creator

Administrative history

Name of creator

(1961 -)

Administrative history

The Institute of Oriental Philosophy (IOP) is dedicated to advancing scholarly inquiry into Buddhism and other world religions to clarify their universal value, to integrate them into humanity's rich spiritual heritage in the modern age and to solve myriad problems facing humanity today.

Name of creator

(1998 -)

Administrative history

Max Communications has specialised in digitisation and archive services since 1998. Their clients include some of the world’s most prestigious galleries, museums, media organisations and blue chip companies. In 2016 they were granted the Royal Warrant for Digitisation and Archiving Services, a proud moment in our history.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Digitisation and reproduction requests are made by researchers, institutions and publishers. Most of these are not kept for archival purposes. The ones listed below are kept either as examples of reproduction that has been carried out historically or because of the more significant nature of the project.

1960s-1970s

  • Correspondence with the British Council and British Embassy concerning the microfilming of Burmese manuscripts requested by the Burmese Historical Commission. Typed and photocopied, 3 pieces, dated 29 August - 31 October 1963.
  • Correspondence with Gregg Press Limited concerning the loan of volumes from the Society's collections for facsimile reprints. Also a booklet listing the books borrowed. Typed, handwritten and printed, 16 pieces, dated 17 December 1964 - 1 January 1970.

1980s-1990s

  • Correspondence with the British Library concerning supplying photocopies of Malay manuscripts for an exhibition in Kuala Lumpur. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 6 - 25 January 1984.
  • Correspondence with the British Council and the British Library concerning the microfilming of Javanese manuscripts for the Sultan of Yogyarta, Indonesia. Typed and copies of handwritten, 12 pieces, dated 26 May 1988 - 12 February 1990.
  • Correspondence concerning the desirability for the Society to have photographic records of six Persian manuscripts on long-term loan to the British Library. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 15 January 1992.
  • Correspondence with the King Fahd National Library, Saudi Arabia, concerning the microfilming of Arabic and Persian manuscripts in the Royal Asiatic Society's collections. Typed, 11 pieces, dated 17 December 1994 - 3 October 1995.
  • Agreement between the Royal Asiatic Society and The Yayasan Karyawan, Malaysia, to publish a facsimile edition of Raffles Manuscript 67. Two copies of the agreement, 4 pieces, dated 15 September 1997.
  • Correspondence between Florence Tran, Cafe Productions Limited, and Kit Naylor, Royal Asiatic Society, concerning the reproduction of artworks from the Society's collections to be included in the TV programme, 'The Great Wall of China'. Typed, 3 pieces, dated 2 -3 November 1998.
  • Agreement between the Royal Asiatic Society and the Bridgeman Art Library, London, for production and sale of images of artworks within the Society's Collections. Typed, 4 pieces, dated 1 March 1999.

2000s-2010s

  • Correspondence and agreement with the National Galleries of Scotland concerning the digitisation of two artworks for an online exhibition in connection with their 'The Tiger and the Thistle' Festival exhibitions. Typed, 3 pieces, dated 30 December 1999 - 20 January 2000.
  • 'Microfilm of R.A.S. Oriental Manuscripts' - list of the manuscripts for which the Society has microfilms. Typed, 8 pieces, dated January 2000.
  • 'Royal Asiatic Society Titles Microfilmed by Microform Academic Publishers' - list of the Society's publications reproduced. Typed, 5 pieces, undated.
  • Memorandum of Agreement with the Folio Society for the publication of a Folio Society edition of the 'Life of Muhammad: Ibn Ishaq' translated by Edward Rehatsek. Typed, 1 piece, dated 6 March 2003.
  • Correspondence with Prometheus Books concerning the right to publish Edward Rehatsek's 'Life of Muhammad'. Typed and copies of emails, 8 pieces, dated 14 April - 1 November 2005.
  • Correspondence with the Institute of Oriental Philosophy concerning the publication of the Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript in the Society's Collections. Typed, 6 pieces, dated 3 June - 24 July 2007.
  • 'Microfilm of R.A.S. Oriental Manuscripts' - list of the manuscripts microfilmed. Typed, 18 pieces, dated 29 June 2009.
  • License Agreement with Cross Street Films for reproducing a miniature of Rana Jai Singh (Head Cat. No. 063.034) in the television documentary Sex, Death and the Gods. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 13 December 2010.
  • Correspondence with Max Communications concerning the digitisation of material in the Society's collections and the creation of a digital library. With this material is the text of a talk given by Edward Weech, Royal Asiatic Society Librarian, at the Max Communications Archives and Heritage Conference 2018. Typed, 15 pieces, dated 2018.

2020s

  • Signed digitisation agreement between the Society and the Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia, regarding the digitisation of 11 Malay manuscripts (mostly from the Maxwell collection) held by the Society. Typed, 7 pieces, undated but the signing ceremony was conducted via Zoom on 29 July 2025.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

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      Finding aids

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      Existence and location of originals

      Existence and location of copies

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      Notes area

      Alternative identifier(s)

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      Description control area

      Description identifier

      gb891-rascoll5/2

      Institution identifier

      Rules and/or conventions used

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      Dates of creation revision deletion

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          Accession area