Papers of Professor Silvanus Phillips Thompson, 1828-1951, comprising correspondence, 1828-1919, notably with William Edward Ayrton, 1883-1899; Sir William Fletcher Barrett, [1878-1896]; Antoine Henri Becquerel, 1902-1908; Alexander Graham Bell, 1879-1880, concerning his experiments with the telephone; Sir Wiliam Crookes, 1876-1916; Michael Faraday, 1830-1835 [written to Richard Phillips]; Sir William Huggins, 1879-1907; David Edward Hughes, 1884-[1912], concerning magnetism; Sir Joseph Larmor, 1902-1916; Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge, 1897-1919; Sir James Augustus Henry Murray, 1904-1913; Augusto Righi, [1902]-1916; William Thomson, 1882-1907; notes and printed material, [1907]-1951; photographs and prints, 1870-1910, notably photographs of friends and family.

This series comprises the records of private telephone companies which were taken over by the Post Office in 1912. It consists of items relating to individual companies, National Telephone Company rules and instructions, staff related records, agreements, judicial proceedings, valuation of assets and a collection of early telephone directories.

The collection contains material dating from 1689 to 1936, although the bulk of it is eighteenth century. There are fifty-eight printed and manuscript volumes and four documents; the majority are English, but some are French and Dutch. They consist of signal books, fighting instructions, convoy instructions, books on the theory of signalling and sheets of private signals. There are also three mid-nineteenth-century merchant shipping volumes. There are a number of French, English and Dutch sailing and fighting instructions, 1689 to 1693; the majority of these are French and were issued by the Comte de Tourville (1642-1701). Also in French are sheets of additional signals, orders of battle, some printed and some manuscript, for this period. The eighteenth-century volumes include sailing and fighting instructions and signal books for the Seven Years War; among them are printed instructions issued in 1760 by Admiral Charles Saunders (1713?-1775), and signals issued in 1759 by the Marquis de Conflans. Examples from the American Revolutionary War include signals issued by Lord Howe, 1776, 1782; by Rear-Admiral Richard Kempenfelt (1718-1782), 1782; a signal book by Lieutenant (later Admiral) Sir Charles Henry Knowles (1754-1831), printed in 1778; and a manuscript signal book used by the fleet under the command of Le Comte de Guichen (1712-1790) in 1781; this uses a tabular system with thirteen flags to each side of the table.

Records of the Globe Telegraph and Trust Company Limited, including papers regarding the formation of the company; memorandum and articles of association; board minutes and presented papers; annual reports; ledgers; journals; cash books; investment ledgers; deeds; sales and purchases journals; and staff magazines.

Records of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists relating to communications, public relations and external affairs, detailing the following activities:

• Public relations: promoting the RCOG to the media and public.
  • Press and media relations: liasing with the media, issuing press releases, position statements, organising press conferences, maintaining a register of RCOG spokespersons.
  • Parliamentary and government affairs: lobbying MPs and civil servants, organising ministerial briefings and events.
• Issues management: researching the news agenda, forecasting issues that will affect RCOG, managing the socio-political consequences.
• Promoting recruitment into Obstetrics and Gynaecology to medical students and young doctors. The records include: promotional material produced by the College (1980-2008); press cuttings; annual reports from 1932 to the present day (excluding 1934-1938, 1945-1947 and 1949); College position statements and press notices (1987-1993).