Papers relating to the Royal Geographical Society Council, committees and bylaws, 1830-1993, including balloting lists for the Council, 1840-1932; lists of Council and Committee members, 1879-1880; summary notes of Council minutes, 1830-1929; papers relating to revisions of bylaws; papers relating to the African Exploration Committee, 1877-1881; minutes of the Polar committee, 1933-1937; biographical data on Council members, 1869-1906; Staff Association papers, 1975-1991 and papers relating to library committees, [1969-1993].

Papers of Arthur Hinks including private scientific correspondence, proofs of articles and other papers, 1896-1930, concerning map projections and methods of survey; typed list of Hinks' contributions to the Geographical Journal and papers relating to A E Young.

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.

Papers of Bertram Sidney Thomas, 1930-1940, including lists and notes on observations made during his expedition to southern Arabia, 1930: appendices to article by Thomas, 'A Journey into Rub' Al Khali: The Southern Arabian Desert', The Geographical Journal, Vol. 77, No. 1 (Jan, 1931), pp. 1-31; and astronomical observations, Arabia, 1930-1931.

Papers of Professor Charles Alfred Fisher, 1954-1980, including lecture notes on South East Asia including the overseas Chinese, the Mekong River and his visit to Burma in 1974; Foreign Office Research Department paper entitled 'UK Interests in SE Asia', 1964; and six personal letters on academic subjects, 1954-1980.

Royal Geographical Society Correspondence Block 1830-1833 consists of correspondence with the Society in the first four years after its foundation. The letters cover 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 John Arrowsmith, Sir George Back, Friedrich Bialloblotsky, Robert Fitzroy, William Richard Hamilton, Baron Alexander von Humboldt, Alexander Maconochie, William Marsden, Paris Geographical Society, Dr John Richardson and Robert Hermann Schomburgk.

Royal Geographical Society Correspondence Block, 1931-1940, 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 Latham Valentine Stewart Blacker, British Grahamland Expedition; Francis Chichester; Vivian Fuchs; Tom H Harrison, William Harold and Doreen Constance Ingrams, Ronald Kaulbeck, Eric Shipton, Wilfred Thesiger, Brig Ralph Alger Bagnold, Dr John Ball, Louis Charles Bernacchi, Charles Kenneth Howard Bury, Commander Richard Evelyn Byrd, Douglas Carruthers, Gertrude Caton-Tompson, F Spencer Chapman, Augustine Courtauld, Sir Percy Z Cox, Frank Debenham, George Miller Dyott, Lincoln Ellsworth, Filippi de Filipo, Rosita Forbes, Douglas William Freshfield, William Joseph Harding King, Halford J Mackinder, Thomas Henry Manning, Sir Douglas Mawson, Dr Hugh Robert Mill, Mrs Wilhelmina Ness, Edward Felix Norton, Noel Ewart Odell, Harry St John Philby, Alexander Hamilton Rice, Hugh Ruttledge, Francis Sydney Smythe, Prof James Alfred Steers, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Sir Mark Aurel Stein, Sir Percy Molesworth Sykes, Prof Eva Germaine Rimington Taylor, L R Wagner, Frank Kingdon Ward, Henry 'Gino' Watkins and Sir Francis Younghusband.

Royal Geographical Society Correspondence Block, 1941-1946, 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 Prof Hans Ahlmann, William G V Balchin, Miss Lucy Evelyn Cheesman, Francis Chichester, Augustine Courtauld, Charles Frederick Arden-Close, Thomas Walter Freeman, Rupert Thomas Gould, Edward Heawood, Arthur R Hinks, Thomas Henry Manning, Einar Mikkelsen, Prof Eva Germaine Rimington Taylor, Prof James Alfred Steers, Sir Mark Aurel Stein, Frank Sydney Smythe, James Mann Wordie, the War Office, United Nations, K S Sandford, Scott Polar Research Institute, Wilfred Thesiger and the Ordnance Survey.

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, 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 Roald Amundson, Herbert Henry Austin, Louis Bernacchi, James Theodore Bent, Carsten E Borchgrevinck, William Spiers Bruce, Sir William Martin Conway, Charles Montagu Doughty, Douglas William Freshfield, Francis Galton, Sir David Gill, James Augustus Grant, Rev George Grenfell, Sven Hedin, Dr Joseph Dalton Hooker, Col Thomas Hungerford Holdich, Sir Harry Hamilton Johnston, Sir John Scott Keltie, Mary Kingsley, Sir John Kirk, Prince Peter Kropotkin, Henry Savage Landor, F.D. Lugard, Sir Halford John Mackinder, Sir Clements Markham, Fridtjof Nansen, Adolf Erik Nordenskiold, Adm Sir Eramus Ommanney, Robert Edwin Peary, Dr John Rae, Capt Cecil Godfrey Rawling, Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Dr. A Donaldson Smith, Sir Marc Aurel Stein, Otto Sverdrup, Everard im Thurn, Joseph Thomson, Gen James T Walker, Rev Horace Waller, Edward Whymper, Lt. Gen Francis Reginald Wingate, Sir Francis Edward Younghusband and Col Henry Yule.

Royal Geographical Society Correspondence Block, 1911-1920, 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 Roald Amundsen, the Anglo Swedish Antarctic Expedition, Henry Haversham Godwin Austen, Miss Gertrude Bell, William Spiers Bruce, Prof Hiram Bingham, Douglas Carruthers, Charles Frederick Arden-Close, Sir William Martin Conway, John Lachlan Cope, Lord George Nathaniel Curzon, Charles M Doughty, Douglas William Freshfield, Sven Hedrin, Sir Thomas Hungerford Holdich, Sir Harry Hamilton Johnston, Dr Alexander Mitchell Kellas, Sir John Scott Keltie, Prince Peter Kropotkin, Sir Clements Robert Markham, Kate Marsden, Dr Douglas Mawson, Dr Hugh Robert Mill, Fridtjof Nansen, Dr Hamilton Rice, William Routledge, Katherine Routledge, Capt Robert Falcon Scott, J Foster Stackhouse, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Sir Mark Aurel Stein, Sir Everard im Thurn, Frank Kingdon Ward, Lt James Mann Wordie and Sir Francis Younghusband.

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 the Regional Studies Association, 1965-2003, including annual reports; annual General Meeting papers; conference documents, including lists of participants, papers and financial records; branch papers; Study Group papers; European Urban and Regional Research Network papers; membership records; newsletters; Regional Studies (journal).

Papers relating to the Ministry of Agriculture's Departmental Committee of Inquiry into Statutory Smallholdings, 1964-1967, collected by Michael Wise, including papers relating to the appointment of the Committee; papers circulated to members of the Committee by the Secretary; papers prepared by Committee members; written and oral evidence submitted to the Committee by a variety of organisations and individuals; papers written by the Committee commenting on evidence submitted to them; papers relating to the Committee's visits to local authority and Land Settlement Association smallholdings estates around England and Wales; maps and slides relating to the Committee's investigations; copies of legislation relating to smallholdings; pamphlets and other publications relating to smallholdings; press cuttings relating to the Committee's reports. Most of the papers are either carbon or typescript copies, rather than original documents.

Subjects covered include the origins of smallholdings policy; smallholdings legislation; the financial position of smallholdings authorities; the management costs of smallholdings estates; the social and economic position of smallholders; the geographical distribution of smallholdings estates.

Papers of Martha Wooley, [1920-1990], comprising material collected by her for a biography of Sir Halford Mackinder.

Papers, 1980-1992, of the Co-ordinating Council for Area Studies Associations, including minutes (1980-1991) and related papers; correspondence, including communication with the University Grants Commission and the Social Sciences Research Council; membership lists; reports and financial reports; the material of various area studies associations and some campaign material.

Correspondence and papers, 1834-1950s, of and relating to David Livingstone, composed of three sub-collections.

Official London Missionary Society (LMS) papers of and relating to Livingstone, 1834-1872, largely comprise a series of over 100 original letters from Livingstone to his friends and to the LMS in connection with his work as an LMS missionary, mostly from southern Africa, the bulk dating from the 1840s and 1850s, and also include letters between other correspondents and miscellaneous other documents relating to Livingstone; 15 letters, 1852-1855, of Mary Livingstone (née Moffat), probably mostly directed to LMS officials, with typescript copies.

The LMS reference collection on Livingstone comprises typescript and manuscript copies of the LMS Livingstone letters; original letters relating to Livingstone, 1845, 1850; copies of other letters and documents by or relating to Livingstone, 1841-1881, held elsewhere, including a later copy of Livingstone's answers to LMS questions on becoming a missionary (1838); photocopy of Livingstone's Bechuana journal, 1853; two microfilms of materials on Robert and Mary Moffat and Livingstone; papers relating to Livingstone, 1850s-1950s, collected by the LMS, including copies of further LMS documents relating to him, typescripts, press cuttings and printed material on his life and fame and places associated with him.

The Bruce Livingstone collection comprises original letters, largely from Livingstone to Robert Moffat, 1844-1857, and photocopies of four letters, 1847-1853, from David Livingstone to Charles Livingstone.

Photocopies of journals, 1887-1889, of A J Mounteney Jephson, comprising Books One to Four, giving a detailed description of activities of H M Stanley's expedition to relieve Emin Pasha, including the journey via Zanzibar, and the hardships faced. Book Three includes copies of some of Stanley's correspondence. Book Four, covering April to [October] 1889, is less detailed than Books One to Three, and less accurately dated. With typescript transcriptions of the journals [1960s] for Dorothy Middleton's published edition.

Papers, 1963-1971 and undated, of and relating to Edward William Bovill, comprising notebooks and files and research material for the book Missions to the Niger, Vols I-IV (Hakluyt Society, 1962-1966). The papers are mainly xerox copies of correspondence in the Public Record Office relating to the explorations of Friedrich Hornemann, Mungo Park, Dixon Denham, Hugh Clapperton, Alexander Gordon Laing and Walter Oudney in Africa during the period c1800-1829. There are also several notebooks, which contain notes of the progress of Bovill's work.

Research papers [1940s] of John Fage on the development of Southern Rhodesia (presumably for his PhD), largely covering the period from the 1890s to the 1930s, comprising notes, largely manuscript but including some typescripts, of primary and secondary sources including official sources, among them British parliamentary papers, Colonial Office correspondence, records of the Executive and Legislative Councils of Southern Rhodesia and its High Court, also including a bibliography. The subjects include pre-history, geography and geology, colonial administration, the British South Africa Company, economics, indigenous affairs, labour, and land tenure.

Notebooks of William Dawes, one dated 1790, comprising grammatical forms and vocabularies of the language spoken in the neighbourhood of Sydney, New South Wales; short vocabularies of the language of natives of Van Diemen's Land, collected by the officers of the French frigates La Recherche and L'Espérance in 1793.

Papers, 1898-1948, of Frederick Migeod, comprising notebooks and other manuscript material relating to West Africa. Topics covered include natural history and botany in addition to language materials.

Papers, 1953-1986, dating predominantly from the 1960s and 1970s, on Melanesian culture, government and geography and the work of the church in the New Hebrides, collected by the Rt Rev Derek Rawcliffe.