Papers of Alexander Hamilton Rice, 1917-1928, comprising notes and observations by Rice including of the Rio Grande, Brazil, 1917 and 1919-1920; notes and correspondence about expeditions of 1924-1925 and 1926-1928; journals 1920-1921 from South American expeditions 'The Rio Negro, the Casquiare Canal and the upper Orinoco'; and journal entitled 'Some notes on the Brazilian Amazon and the Venezuela-Guyana expedition', 1925.

Papers of Amory Hooper Waite, 1960-1984, chiefly comprising biographical material including details of Waite created for the occasion of Waite becoming a Fellow of the Radio Club of America, Sep 1976; press release on Waite receiving triple honours, 1 May 1980 and material provided by Waite for his own obituary including an autobiography, 1 Dec 1983; material from the 50th anniversary of the Byrd rescue mission, 1984; papers and history relating to radio ice depth measurements; copy of a paper by Noel Stone, entitled 'The Airborne Survey of Ice Caps at Radio Frequencies', Aug 1960 and copies of articles including 'An Empirical Determination of the Relative Dielectric Constant of the Greenland Ice Cap', by D C Pearce and J W Williams, in the Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 72, 15 Nov 1967; 'Airborne Radar Sounding of the Greenland Ice Cap: Flight 1', by A H Zanella, D C Pearce and J W Williams, in the Geographical Society of America Bulletin, Vol. 79, Nov 1968 and article on Waite, Jun 1984.

Papers relating to the SS TERRA NOVA's relief mission to the DISCOVERY, 1903-1904, including seven log books with pencil sketches [possibly by Second Mate Thomas Elms], 1903-1904; diary of First Officer A P Jackson on the above voyage (very few entries) and letters from T B Jackson, brother of A P Jackson.

Papers of the Kosmos, Raleigh and Geographical Clubs, 1827-1977, including Raleigh Club minute book, 1827-1854; Geographical Club minute books, 1854-1966; Geographical Club correspondence and accounts, 1880-1952 and Kosmos Club minute books, 1927-1956; Kosmos Club correspondence and accounts, 1893-1960; printed pamphlets of the history of the clubs; lists of members; and press cuttings.

Papers of Baron A von Humboldt, 1783-1848, including letter from Paris, May 1835, to Francois Arago; facsimile of a letter from Sans Souci, 12 Aug 1848, to A K Johnston and five small geographical drawings, done at the age of 16 years.

Royal Geographical Society Correspondence Block, 1834-1840, consists of correspondence with the Society covering administrative matters as well as all aspects of geography and exploration throughout the world. These files contain incoming letters only, replies are held separately in the out-letter books. Authors include William Ainsworth, Sir George Back, Sir John Barrow, Captain F Beaufort, F W Beechey, William Bollaert, James Brooke, Sir Alexander Burnes, F R Chesney, Colonial Office, Charles Darwin, Capt Robert Fitzroy, W R Hamilton, William Hilhouse, Alexander Maconochie, Woodbine Parish, Henry Creswicke Rawlingson, Dr John Richardson, Robert H Schomburgk and Sir J Gardner Wilkinson.

Royal Geographical Society Correspondence Block, 1841-1850, consists of correspondence with the Society covering administrative matters as well as all aspects of geography and exploration throughout the world. These files contain incoming letters only, replies are held separately in the out-letter books. Authors include the Admiralty, John Arrowsmith, Sir George Back, William Ainsworth, Sir Francis Beaufort, Charles Tilstone Beke, the Bombay Geographical Society, William D Cooley, G W Earl, the Foreign Office, William John Hamilton, Sir William Hooker, A K Johaston, the Linneaen Society, Roderick Impey Murchison, John Murray, Ordnance Survey, Mansfield Parkyns, Adm William Henry Smyth, Rev George Cecil Renouard, John Washington and James Wyld.

Royal Geographical Society Correspondence Block, 1851-1860, consists of correspondence with the Society covering administrative matters as well as all aspects of geography and exploration throughout the world. These files contain incoming letters only, replies are held separately in the out-letter books. Authors include the Admiralty, Sir James Edward Alexander, Capt Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen, Dr William Balfour Baikie, Samuel W Baker, John Thomas Baines, John Bartholomew Junior, Dr Heinrick Barth, James Silk Buckingham, Richard Francis Burton, Board of Education, Earl of Ellesmere, Lt Col George Everest, Lady Jane Franklin, Francis Galton, Sir John W Herschel, Joseph Hume / India Office, London Missionary Society, Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, Erasmus Ommanney, Maj Gen Edward Sabine, Dr Norton Shaw, Charles Stuart, the War Office and Alfred Russel Wallace.

Royal Geographical Society Correspondence Block, 1861-1870, consists of correspondence with the Society covering administrative matters as well as all aspects of geography and exploration throughout the world. These files contain incoming letters only, replies are held separately in the out-letter books. Authors include Charles T Beke, William Bollaert, Richard Francis Burton, John Thomas Baines, Ney Elias, Col Sir George Everest, Francis Galton, Joseph Dalton Hooker, Dr John Kirk, Clements R Markham, John Petherick and the Zoological Society.

Royal Geographical Society Correspondence Block, 1871-1880, consists of correspondence with the Society covering administrative matters as well as all aspects of geography and exploration throughout the world. These files contain incoming letters only, replies are held separately in the out-letter books. Authors include the Admiralty, Sir Rutherford Alcock, Sir George Back, John Thomas Baines, Dr Charles Tilstone Beke, William Clowes and Sons, Colonial Office, Robert Needham Cust, Charles Montagu Doughty, Ney Elias, the Foreign Office, Douglas William Freshfield, Francis Galton, Col Charles George Gordon, Col James Augustus Grant, Dr Joseph Hooker, A Keith Johnston (jnr), Dr Sir John Kirk, Adm Sir Francis Leopold McClintock, Clements R Markham, A E Nordenskiold, the Palestine Exploration Fund, Augustus Petermann, Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen, Joseph Thomson, Alfred Russel Wallace, Rev Horace Waller, Edward Whymper and Col Henry Yule.

Royal Geographical Society Correspondence Block, 1921-1930, consists of correspondence with the Society covering administrative matters as well as all aspects of geography and exploration throughout the world. These files contain incoming letters only, replies are held separately in the out-letter books. Authors include the Alpine Club, Charles Frederick Arden-Close, John Baddeley, Brig R A Bagnold, Dr John Ball, Louis Charles Bernacchi, Brig Gen Clarence Dalrymple Bruce, Commader Richard Evelyn Byrd, Sir Douglas Carruthers, Gertrude Caton-Thompson, Maj Robert Ernest Cheesman, Augustine Courtauld, Sir Percy Cox, Frank Debenham, George Miller Dyott, Lincoln Ellsworth, Filippi de Filippo, Rosita Forbes, Sir George Fordham, Sir Douglas William Freshfield, Sir Harry Hamilton Johnston, William Joseph Harding King, Dr Tom George Longstaff, Halford J Mackinder, Sir Douglas Mawson, Dr Hugh Robert Mill, Fridtjof Nansen, Mrs Wilhelmina Ness, Edward Felix Norton, Noel Ewart Odell, Harry St John Philby, A Hamilton Rice, Hugh Ruttledge, Frank S Smythe, Michael A Spender, Prof James Alfred Steers, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Sir Mark Aurel Stein, Sir Percy M Sykes, Prof Eva G R Taylor, Bertram Thomas, Frank Kingdon Ward, James Mann Wordie, Sir Francis Younghusband and Henry Gino Watkins.

Papers of Clarence Dalrymple Bruce, 1901-1907, comprise a diary of a journey across Asia in 1907; copies of an article for the London Evening Standard, 1902-1903; account of a ride from Peking to Lake Baikal; and two volumes of a route report from Tibet to Peking.

Papers of Charles Moore Watson, 1871-1920, comprising a field notebook, lists of instruments and observations, upper Nile, 1874.

Collection of private journals, notebooks, letters articles and addresses of Sir Clement Markham relating to his life in the Royal Navy and to the period when he was closely involved with the work of the Royal Geographical Society as Honorary Secretary and later as President. The private journals cover various dates from 1844-1880 and from then form a continuous series to 1908. There are also private diaries of his father and of his wife. The notebooks include 8 volumes referring to the history of his, and his wife's, family; notes on biblical studies, South America, Portugal, Madeira, Spain, India and Ceylon. The manuscripts of articles and addresses given by Markham cover a wide range of subjects. The collection totals approximately 100 items.

Journals, notebooks, papers and letters of Maj Dixon Denham, 1815-1827, chiefly relating to the Denham / Clapperton / Oudney expedition from Tripoli to Bornu 1821-1825; also including diaries kept during the Waterloo campaign and subsequent travels around Europe; papers relating to Ensign Tootle and to the Sahara expedition of 1822-1824.

Papers of Edward Ayearst Reeves, 1909-1930, including notes on Robert E Peary's report and observations from his expedition to the North Pole, 1919, 'On terrestrial magnetism', letters, maps, and observations (of which some are copies of Peary's and others unidentified), 1909 and memoirs of Reeves' time at the Royal Geographical Society, 1930.

Papers of Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton comprising correspondence, mementoes and ephemera relating mainly to Shackleton's Antarctic expeditions including the Nimrod Expedition 1908-1909, the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (Endurance Expedition) 1914-1916 and the Quest Expedition 1921-1923; two photograph albums of Aurora; minute book of the Shackleton Memorial Committee and a photocopy of a diary of Thomas Orde Lees on Elephant Island, 1916.

Papers of Eric Marshall including diaries on Shackleton's British Antarctic Expedition 1907-1909, aboard the NIMROD, including diaries 31 Dec 1907-22 Mar 1908, and 23 Mar-19 Sep 1908 and diary of the southern journey on the NIMROD expedition, 29 Oct 1908-11 Mar 1909; diaries, 25 Dec 1909-18 Mar 1911, on the British Ornithologists' Union Expedition to New Guinea, photographs from the British Ornithologists' Union Expedition to New Guinea, and correspondence between Marshall and Dudley Everitt, 1955-1959, concerning the expedition to New Guinea and the British Antarctic Expedition.

Diaries of Edward Wilding, 1926-1929, comprising diary in four volumes, illustrated with photographs, postcards, etc, of voyage to South America and a journey to Corriented and Posada on the River Parana and its tributaries, 1926 and diary in five volumes, illustrated with photographs, postcards etc, of a voyage to South America and a journey up the River Parana and in northern and western Argentina, 1929.

Copies of diaries of Frederick James Stevenson, of his travels in North and South America, 1863-1869, comprising Vol. 1 USA and Havana, 1863-1867; Vols 2 and 3, eastern States of South America, 1867-1868; Vol. 4, Patagonia, 1868 and Vol. 5, Bolivia and Peru, 1868-1869.

Papers of Frederick William Hugh Migeod, 1902-1928, relating to his work and travels in West Africa, including notes on his itineraries in the Gold Coast, 1902-1914, while he was in charge of the transport department of the Gold Coast, and papers relating to his expeditions in West Africa after his retirement from the department in 1919; notebooks from his trans-Africa journey of 1919-1921 (Libreville to Tanganyika), a journey to Lake Chad 1921-1922, a Cameroon expedition in 1922-1923 and in 1927-1928, and a Sierra Leone expedition in 1924-1925; additional items include material prepared for, but not used in, his publications about these journeys, correspondence with officials, bills, permits and rough notes concerning his journeys, and correspondence with publishers and others about his books, 1919-1928, (150 items); route book, Gabon-Moyen-Congo, 1920; 2 route books Lualaba to Sankuru river, 1921 (No. 89).

Papers of George Wharton Marriott including diaries of a world tour, volume 1, 30 July 1885-1887; May 1886, London to Tenerife to Cape Town to New Zealand (also some notes on Fiji) and Volume 2, 8 May-18 Sept 1886 Australia-South China-Peking-Japan.

Papers of George Wood-Johnson comprising letters, newscuttings, photographs and transcript of part of a diary relating to expeditions in the Himalayas including the Sikkim expedition, 1928; the Kanghenjunga expedition, 1930 and the Everest expedition, 1933.

Papers of Capt William Shakespear, 1908-1915, including field notebooks on 'Kuwait tours' giving route and bearings, 1909-1913; observations in Kuwait, 1911; tour to Nejd and a single page with depths of desert wells, Kuwait hinterland, Mar-Apr, 1913; notes on route and bearings, Feb-May 1914; computations of aneroid observations, 1914; observations of the sun's meridian, 1911, 1913 and 1914; copies of letters and papers including the last letter from Shakespear to his brother, 14 Jan 1915.

Papers of Capt William John Gill, 1874-1884, including travel diary in Constantinople, 1879; travel diary in India (the Marri expedition at the close of the second Afghan War), Persia and Russia, 1880-1881; press cuttings chiefly relating to Indian affairs, 1874-1884; travel diary in Tripoli, Oct 1881-Jun 1882; travel diaries in China, 1876-1877 and 1877-1878, and notes on Chinese characters and place names, 1877.

Notes by William Lockhart and locally printed material concerning Peking and the surrounding region, 1844-1877.

Papers of William and Katherine Routledge from their expedition to Easter Island, 1913-1916 together with some papers concerning Jamaica, including notebooks, papers, sketches, maps, photographs, slides and correspondence; extensive notes of writings of earlier visitors to the island; log books of the expedition yacht MANA, 20 Feb 1913-31 Jul 1916; burgee of the MANA; lists of yacht's stores, expenses etc.; draft of Katherine Routledge's book, The Mystery of Easter Island; tracings of rock carvings, sketch plans, lantern slides, photographs, correspondence and notes from Easter Island; albums of press cuttings, chiefly reviews of The Mystery of Easter Island and With a Prehistoric People; index cards with a vocabulary of Mangarevanotes and correspondence concerning Jamaica and the expedition to cross the John Crow Mountains, 1920-1933.

Papers of Henry Rudolph Davies, 1887-1899, comprise five diaries covering travels in Western China, 1887-1899 and work of the Siam Boundary Commission (1892-1894); letters describing boundary commission, 1894, Journal of expedition with the Chinese Deputies 17 November 1893 to 26 January 1894; Journal of expedition along Chinese frontier and in the Kachen Hills 11 Feb 1894 to 22 March 1894; 'Journal of [...] expedition to Myitkyina... and to Chinese frontier', 7 April 1894 to 2 May 1894; papers concerning his marriage in Burma including two copies of marriage certificate, baptismal certificate of his daughter; a lawyer's letter about his marriage and a framed Chinese passport.

Observations by James Baillie Fraser, 1820-1821, including astronomical observations on a journey from Bushire to Tehran, 1821 and observations for latitude time and longitude from Lucknow to Bombay, 1820-1821.

Copy, by a later hand, of journal of Capt Sir John Hawley Glover in letter form from SS DAYSPRING (second Niger expedition of W B Baikie), 8 May 1857-27 Jan 1858.

Papers of John Matthews, 1847-1855, including journal as gunner's mate on board HMS PLOVER, 13 Sep 1850 to 18 Apr 1855, chiefly off northern Alaska coast, in support of Franklin search expeditions; photograph, presumably of Matthews, and copy of letter from Matthews to his sister, 10 Nov 1847.

Papers of James McCarthy, [1880-1901], including sketch plan of Bangkok; photograph album of Thailand; photograph of McCarthy at the court of Siam; notes and personal photographs.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to the Far East including China and Korea, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1844-1951. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to New Zealand, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1838-1946. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to Europe, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1831-1964. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to Antarctica, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1839-1952. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to the Arctic, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1835-1952. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to the Nile region, Africa, including Ethiopia and Somalia, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1827-1952. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to South America, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1830-1951. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Papers of Joseph S Kellet Smith, 1895, concerning explorations in the country west of Lake Nyasa including diary, Jun-Sep, 1895; five unpublished short stories, 'The revolution of Benjamin-wad-Wiri', 'The Lake Trader', 'The sacrificial altar of the Sandili', 'The Brimming cup' and 'The thraldom of Stephen Clinch'; loose pages, untitled, beginning, 'A man's enjoyment of golf...'; fifteen chapters of an unpublished book based on events of the 1895 expedition with 38 photographic prints prepared as illustrations including of river Shire, Hora camp, tribesmen and river steamers.

Papers of Louis Lucas, 1876, including aneroid observations for altitude of Khartoum, 1876 enclosing a report by J A Grant and a further report by R Strachan; five leatherbound notebooks containing botanical notes, topographical notes and lists of stores and instruments.

Out-letter books of the Royal Geographical Society, including manuscript copies of official letters, 1836-1893 and press copies of Secretaries' letters, 1863-1872 and 1877-1916. These files contain outgoing letters only, ingoing correspondence is held separately in the correspondence blocks.

Papers of Louis Charles Bernacchi, 1901-1925, including private diary covering the voyage of the DISCOVERY, 14 Feb-5 Nov [1901-1904], including sketch maps and photographs and folder containing a synopsis of the Antarctic expedition of 1925.

Papers of Lord Edward Shackleton, including papers and correspondence relating to the following: 'In the Footsteps of Scott Expedition', 1985-1986; Monica Christenson and 90 degrees South, 1979-1986; Geographical Club minutes and other papers, 1980s; the British Geological Survey Open Day, 1988; Irish expedition to North East Greenland, 1987; Scott-Amundsen Anniversary South Pole Flight, 1987 (Paul Lynch); correspondence with Keith Black, 1979-1984; Royal Geographical Society Council and Committee Minutes and accompanying papers, 1980's and papers relating to the Kimberley Australia Project, 1988.

Papers of Michael Terry, 1921-1950, including observations and lists of collections made during an expedition to Central West Australia, 1932-1933, used as appendices to an article by Terry, 'Explorations near the Border of Western Australia', published in The Geographical Journal, Vol. 84, No. 6 (Dec, 1934), pp. 498-510; observations from Central Australia, 1928; and geological map with notes.

Papers of R Charles Evans, 1953-1955, including observations on Everest expedition, 1953; angle book and camera record book, Everest expedition, 1953; field notebook from the New Zealand Alpine Club Himalayan expedition, 1954 and letter to Sir James Marshall-Cornwall, [1955].

Correspondence and other papers concerning the planning, personnel, equipment, expenditure, photographs, food and natural history collections of the expeditions to Mount Everest, 1921-1938, including a small notebook containing autographs of the porters of the 1924 expedition; printed leaflet: 'Joint Meeting of RGS and Alpine Club to receive reports of Mt Everest Expedition of 1924'; printed order of service for service held in memory of Mallory and Irvine; postcard sent by John Noel to Mrs Fielding, with Mt. Everest stamp, 1924; letter to the Dalai Lama to Brigadier General C.G. Bruce, 5 Nov 1922; passport issued by the Prime Minister of Tibet, with translation and seal, 1922; letter from the Dalai Lama to Major F.M. Bailey, 1 Jun 1922; Panwana issued by Prime Minister of Tibet to Dzongpens of Kampa etc. for provision of transport and supplies to Mt. Everest expedition; Prime Minister of Tibet’s order to Dzongpens and headmen of Phari etc, with translation and seal; unidentified Tibetan letter with envelope; printed booklet, 'Ascent of Everest' 1953 – the programme for the first performance of the film 'Conquest of Everest'; folder of correspondence relating to the Everest Map, 1957-1960, correspondents include Charles Evans, Norman Hardie, Erwin Schneider, J.C. Bartholomew, Gen R. Llewellyn Bowen, Professor R. Finsterwalder and H.F. Milne; notes describing the stones brought from Everest; letter from George Lowe to Lord Hunt, 29 Feb 1980 with comments on the finding of Maurice Wilson’s body by E. Shipton and Dan Bryant in 1935 and the press reports published March 1980 on a lady’s shoe and a body seen in later years; volume of newscuttings 1922-1923 on Mt. Everest; menu, signed by members of the 1933 expedition and reproduction of group photo of members; letters to Sir Christopher Summerhayes from members of the 1950s Everest expeditions, 1951-1954 and letters regarding the Times code; 9 items retrieved from the body of George Mallory by the 1999 Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition; 13 photographs; some taken by Doug Scott and others taken during official receptions for Hillary and Everest team, 1953-1954; programme for 'Conquest of Everest'; article from Punch, 29 May 1968 regarding Everest journalists' and souvenir menu card of a reception and luncheon of the King and Queen of Nepal in London, 18 Oct 1960 and related invitations and seating plans.

Papers of Sir Richard Francis Burton, 1852-1880, comprise 'Proposed Somali expedition' 1855; Field notebook, east coast to Ujiji, 1858; Observations made at Ujiji, 1858; 'The Ukara or Ukerewe Lake', 1872; Log book containing entries made at Santos, Brazil, March to October 1868 and RGS Correspondence files: 61 letters written to the Society by Burton,1852-1880.

Papers of Sir Robert Herman Schomburgk, 1832-1858, comprising letters, observations, journals of travel in South and Central America and South East Asia and papers relating to expeditions to Guyana, 1836-1838.

Schomburgk's journals including remarks to accompany a map the rivers Orinoco, Essequibo and Branco, South America, 1833; journal in Central America, notably on Anegada and Virgin Gorda, 1833; journal in Central America, 1834; journal in Central America, 1853 and journal in South East Asia, notably Siam and the voyage from Bangkok to Xieng mai and Maulmain, 1860.

Papers relating to expeditions to Guyana including reports on the first expedition into the interior of Guyana, 1836, and of an excursion to the Post at the mouth of the Cayuni with accompanying watercolour of the Post at Cayuni; report, diary and notes on the second expedition into Guyana, 1837 and account of expenses for the first and second expeditions and reports on third expedition into Guyana, 1837-1838, with accompanying watercolour.

Observation files including astronomical and meteorological observations, trigonometrical observations at Annay, notes on heights at which trees will grow and on the position of San Joachim, Guyana, 1835-1837.

Pencil sketches including of Indian ornaments found at Samana, of Haitians and ink and wash sketch of the town and harbour, St. Thomas, 1833; unpublished article 'On the originating causes and further development of hurricanes in the West Indies', 1833 and official and personal letters to Schomburgk, many written to him in his capacity as Secretary of the Society, 1892-1915, and letters from Sir John Scott Keltie.

Observation files by Robert Lawrence Reid including two angle books, time book, astronomical observations and barometric readings, Anewimi region, 1905-1909. Journal MSS: 1902, 'Some explorations in Portuguese East Africa'.