Papers, 1877-1985, of Sir Arthur Wynne Morgan Bryant and his family. Family papers include correspondence, private and official, and diaries of his parents, (Sir) Francis Morgan and Lady Bryant, 1877-1938, and other papers, 1899-1979, including Bryant's correspondence with his parents and brother Philip. Bryant's own papers include his extensive correspondence, 1919-1985, with over 170 correspondents, among them politicians including the Rt Hon Leo Amery, Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, Sir John Buchan, R A Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, Frederick James Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton, and Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven; literary figures including Sir John Betjeman; other public figures including William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook of Beaverbrook, New Brunswick and Cherkley, Surrey, and John Charles Walsham Reith, 1st Baron Reith; historians including Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs of Lewes, Godfrey Elton, 1st Baron Elton of Headington, Sir Lewis Bernstein Namier, Sir John Neale, A L Rowse, G M Trevelyan and Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton. The correspondence reflects the diversity of Bryant's interests and touches upon the development of Conservative thought and British right wing politics in the mid twentieth century, attitudes towards the Spanish Civil War in Britain, the appeasement movement of the 1930s, and, in the 1960s, the merits of Britain's entry to the Common Market and her role in the postwar world. Other papers relate to literary, political and teaching matters, including Bonar Law College, Ashridge, 1929-1946; Bryant's literary output, including fan mail, 1931-1984; diaries, notebooks, account books and letters to the press, 1916-1982; notes; proofs, pamphlets, reviews and articles by Bryant, 1929-1984; book manuscripts, 1929-1984; reviews of Bryant's works, mid 1920s-1970s; pageants, invitations and honours, 1924-1984; clubs, societies and committees, 1939-1984; film scripts, certificates, and miscellanea, 1930-1954; other papers relating to personal business and financial affairs, 1920-1985.

Correspondence about posts, grants and awards, with related papers concerning Brown's work and palaeography, [1950-1985]; conference papers, mainly about palaeography, manuscripts and medieval history, often held at the London Medieval Society, the Medieval Institute and SCONUL (Standing Conference of National and University Libraries), 1968-1986; public lectures given by Brown, about scripts, palaeography including Latin palaeography, Anglo-Saxon and medieval history, and the Lindisfarne Gospels, 1958-1985; published work including proofs and drafts, and reviews of others' work, 1954-1988; unpublished notes, 1950-1986; papers, 1902-1989, including New Palaeographic Society reports, photographs, newspaper cuttings and student papers.

Papers relating to early career, including material on early aviation, 1911-1913, and texts of lectures given at the RAF Staff College, Andover, 1922-1926. Material relating to post as Air Officer Commanding, British Forces in Iraq, 1928-1935, including correspondence, memoranda and telegrams relating to operations in Iraq and Kuwait, 1928-1930, and negotiations for the Anglo-Iraq Treaty, 1930; news cuttings and notes relating to political and military affairs in Iraq, and the situation of the Assyrians and Kurds, 1930-1935. Papers created as Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Air Defence of Great Britain, 1933-1935, mainly relating to a Royal Review of the RAF at Mildenhall, Suffolk, and Duxford, Cambridgeshire. Papers relating to post as Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Middle East, notably memoranda, cypher signals, letters and notes, 1931-1936, relating to RAF operations, mainly planning and preparation for the possibility of war between the League of Nations and Italy following the Italian invasion and annexation of Abyssinia; correspondence with ACM Sir Edward Leonard Ellington, Chief of Air Staff, 1935-1936; memoranda, telegrams, correspondence and newscuttings on operational matters relating to the Arab Rebellion against the British Mandate in Palestine, 1936; material collated by Brooke-Popham for lectures on the Middle East, 1930, 1936; correspondence, memoranda and minutes relating to the formation and working of an Executive Committee on Assyrian Settlement, 1943-1947. Papers relating to the creation and implementation of the Empire Air Training Scheme in Canada and South Africa, 1939-1945, including personal correspondence with Arthur William Street, Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Air, 1940. Papers relating to post as Commander in Chief, Far East, notably telegrams and memoranda relating to the requirements of the RAF and Army in the Far East, 1940-1949; personal correspondence with Maj Gen Sir Hastings Lionel Ismay, Secretary to the Committee of Imperial Defence, 1940-1941; semi-official correspondence with Street, 1940-1941; material relating to the replacement of Brooke-Popham as Commander in Chief, Far East, Nov 1941; telegrams relating to reconnaissance sightings of Japanese convoys, the decision not to launch Operation MATADOR, the outbreak of war with Japan, and the sinking of RN battleships HMS PRINCE OF WALES and HMS REPULSE, Dec 1941; papers, correspondence and proofs relating to the publication of various despatches and reports concerning operations in Malaya, 1941-1947. Papers created whilst Inspector General of the Air Training Corps, 1942-1947, 1950-1952, mainly comprising inspection reports and material relating to the post-war organisation of the Air Training Corps. Booklets, memoranda, and reports collated by Brooke-Popham relating to RAF training, policy and operations, [1914]-1946. Material relating to research for and writing of articles, lectures and pamphlets, mainly relating to history, aviation or training, 1923-1952. Printed material, 1890-1953, mainly relating to aviation. Maps and photographs, 1917-[1945], including aerial photographs of the Western Front during World War One, 1917-1918.

Papers of the British Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon (Elgin) Marbles, (BCRPM), 1820-2004 including press releases, copies of newspaper cuttings and correspondence chiefly between Eleni Cubitt and Anthi Poulos Jones, Chairman and General Counsel for the Committee on the Parthenon. Reports, newsletters and correspondence to government officials seeking support, the latter mainly from David Hill, Director of International Affairs for the Australian Committee for the Restoration of the Parthenon Marbles. Photocopy of Report from the Select Committee on 'The Earl of Elgin's collection of Sculptured Marbles', Mar 1816. Correspondence and reports from Hansard relating to early day motions concerning the Marbles and brief lists of debates on the Marbles in Commons and Lords, 1816-1999. Correspondence and data relating to surveys of MPs on their support for the return of the Marbles, 1984 and 2001. Press releases, correspondence, reports and proceedings relating to the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on 'Cultural Property: Return and Illicit Trade.' Correspondence, press releases and press cuttings relating to 'Parthenon 2004', campaigning for the British Government to agree for the temporary return and display of the Marbles to Greece in time for the 2004 Olympics. Correspondence, exhibition texts, list of photographs, etc, relating to the touring exhibition 'Stones of No Value, Monuments of the Gods', 1998-1999. Papers and reports relating to meetings of the UNESCO 'Intergovernmental Committee for promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation', 1980-2003. Papers, correspondence and newspaper articles relating to publication of book by William St Clair, Lord Elgin and the Marbles, particularly on the controversy surrounding the restoration of the Marbles by the British Museum which removed their original surface finish, 1998-2001. Publications and press cuttings on the Parthenon marbles, 1998-2003. Photographs, chiefly of BCRPM exhibitions. British Museum study on cleaning the Marbles, 1932. Papers relating to exhibitions and other BCRPM publicity and financial papers including accounts, 1993-2001.

Papers, c1900-1992, collected by Jean Boyd, relating to northern Nigeria from the late 18th century to the 1990s.

Papers on Nana Asma'u include copies of her manuscript poems (1820-1865) and later papers relating to her work, including translations, 1976-1984. Papers on works by Shehu dan Fodio include copies of his poems on male-female relationships (1789 and undated) and later papers relating to his work, 1975-1981. Papers on works by Asma'u's female relatives and descendants include copies of poems and writings by various authors (c1860-1934 and undated) and later papers relating to the subject, c1950-1990. Other material comprises field notes on the remnants of Asma'u's disciples, the Yan Taru, 1973-1990; papers on the milieu in which Asma'u lived in Gobir, c1900-1984, including Gobir chiefs; papers, including press cuttings, on the situation of women in northern Nigeria in the 1980s, the subjects including Muslims, prostitution, women's organizations, medical matters, and women's education.

Papers, 1903-1992, including articles, reports and press cuttings, on Sokoto relate to geological history, prehistory, palaeontology, archaeology, pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial history, the subjects including the social and economic history of the city of Sokoto, colonial administration, British fears over Mahdism, and local government and economic issues in Sokoto state in modern Nigeria.

Three volumes contain over 500 postcards, many in colour, relating to Nigeria, including images of people, cultural events, various places, and other aspects of Nigerian life [late 20th century].

Papers of William St Chad Boscawen, 1910-1912, including notes for a lecture and articles relating to archaeology and the history of medicine in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and India.

Papers of HS Blunt, 1938-, comprise lecture notes on Prehistoric and Roman Britain, and a collection of postcards and letters.

Manuscript transcript of an address entitled 'Blumenbach on Egyptian mummies: Original MS' and subtitled 'XIV observations on some Egyptian mummies opened in London, by John Frederick Blumenbach, MD FRS, addressed to Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. PRS, read April 10 1792'. Three hand drawn illustrations are pasted to p 25.

Papers of Jean-Baptiste Biot, c 1800-1937, including correspondence and a translation of Biot's Memoir on the Circular Zodiac of Denderah.

Notes on biblical and classical subjects.

Diaries and notebooks of James Theodore and Mabel Virginia Anna Bent, 1883-1898, comprising:
Mabel Bent's diaries of visits to the Greek Islands, 1883-1884; Greece and Egypt, 1885; Constantinople [Istanbul] and the Greek Islands, 1886; Greece, 1887; Turkey and Russia, 1888; India and Persia [Iran], 1889 (3 volumes); Cilicia, Turkey, 1890; Central Africa (Mashonaland), 1891 (2 volumes); Hadramout, 1893-1895 (3 volumes); Suez, Kourbat and Athens, 1895-1896; Socotra, Yemen, 1896-1897; Greece and Egypt, 1898;
Theodore Bent's diary of visits to Hadramout, Yemen, 1893-94; Muscat, Dec 1894; Socotra, Yemen, Dec 1896-Mar 1897; notebook, containing Greek inscriptions, 1888; notebook on language in Socotra [1896-1897].

The collection contains correspondence; lecture notes on history; newspaper cuttings; papers of other members of the family, including an undated letter of Danton which belonged to A H Beesly; printed reports; pamphlets containing articles by or about Beesly; other pamphlets and reviews; other printed works; and an autographed photograph of Karl Marx. The correspondence is rather slight and only isolated letters from individual correspondents are preserved. There are sets of Beesly's own letters to Henry Crompton and to Frederic Harrison which were probably returned to the family after his death. There are also a few letters to Beesly's brother A H Beesly and to Alfred Beesly, E S Beesly's son.

Papers of Alfons Barb, c 1924-1979, including working papers, collection of casts of gemstones, correspondence and offprints. Topics covered include: Magic, Folklore and Amulets; Medieval Magic; Gnosis; Gemstones; Mystery, Myth and Magic; Greco-Roman Numismatics and Archaeology and 'History of Popular Belief and Superstition from Ancient Times to the Present Day'.

Armorials: B. 18-23, B. 28-29. Particularly significant medieval rolls of arms are in B. 29, B. 22 and B. 23.

B. 29 contains three medieval painted rolls of arms: Povey's Roll (time of Edward II); the Heralds' Roll (c 1270-1280), the surviving portion (195 shields) of a larger original (a 15th copy in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, contains 697 shields); Talbot banners (c 1442). Both Povey's Roll and the Heralds' Roll were painted on vellum but the shields have been cut out and mounted on paper.

B. 22 contains three mid to late medieval rolls of arms: Bowyer's Book (c 1440); Collingborne's Book (late 15th century), and Basynge's Book (c 1395).

B. 23 is an early 15th-century German roll of arms.

B. 19 includes the Mandeville Roll, c 1460.

B. 20 consists of 16th century copies of originals including an enlarged version of the c 1312 Parliamentary Roll and the 1308 first Dunstable Roll.
For descriptions of the rolls in B. 22 and B. 29, see Wagner, A Catalogue of English Medieval Rolls of Arms (1950).

Original records of the Court of the Exchequer: B. 13, B. 25-26, B. 32-33.
B. 33, B. 25 and B. 26 are accounts relating to payments out of the Exchequer of pensions and fees, B. 33 in the time of King Philip and Queen Mary II and B. 25-26 in 1603. B. 13 and B. 32 are lists of crown leases for the years 1558 to 1570. Some extraneous material has been bound into B. 32 after it left official custody.

Extracts from records: B. 1-12, B. 14-17, B. 24, B.30-31, B. 34 (late 15th century to early 17th century). Extracts from medieval records including Parliament rolls, patent rolls, charter rolls, close rolls, summonses to Parliament, lists of escheats, lists of grantees of lands by the Crown and tenants-in-chief, foreign rolls, and the red book of the Exchequer.

Original documents: B. 27, grant of subsidy for the archdiocese of York (1601); B. 35, location index of monastic muniments, St Augustine's Canterbury (15th century); and B. 36, the Roger Cartulary (15th-16th century)

B. 20bis, an early 16th century historical and heraldic commonplace book mostly in the hand of Sir Richard St George (died 1635 as Clarenceux King of Arms), does not form part of Povey's donation and in 1700 was in the possession of Sir Henry St George (Clarenceux King of Arms, later Garter King of Arms).

Manuscript volume of notes, 1850, containing notes made by Sir Edwin Arnold whilst studying at King's College London including comprising a summary and analysis compiled from notes of Drakenborch, Gronovius, Lipsius, Hermannus and some others of Titus Livy's History of Rome from its foundation, Books XXII and XXIII; word list of the derivation and meaning of words in Homer's Iliad, , books XII, XII and XIV and word list of the derivation and meaning of words in Aeschylus' Eumenides.

Papers, 1887-1947, largely dating from after c1919, of Anthony John Arkell, comprising reports, articles and notes, and chiefly concerning the archaeology, history and ethnology of the Sudan, together with some administrative papers.

Aristotle, Italy papers, 15th century, comprise fragments of a single leaf containing part of Leonardo Bruni's translation into Latin of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, printed in Decem Librorum Moralium Aristotelis Tres Conversationes(Paris, 1535-1537).

Notebook containing a record of a trip to Petra in 1944, typescript and handwritten accounts of trips in Syria, Mesopotamia and Amman and a poster for an exhibition of Anthony Kersting's photographs.

Miscellaneous manuscript notes on ancient history and classical literature.