Showing 279 results

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S Kellet Smith, 1895, concerning explorations in the country west of Lake Nyasa including diary, Jun-Sep, 1895; five unpublished short stories, 'The revolution of Benjamin-wad-Wiri', 'The Lake Trader', 'The sacrificial altar of the Sandili', 'The Brimming cup' and 'The thraldom of Stephen Clinch'; loose pages, untitled, beginning, 'A man's enjoyment of golf...'; fifteen chapters of an unpublished book based on events of the 1895 expedition with 38 photographic prints prepared as illustrations including of river Shire, Hora camp, tribesmen and river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

Photocopies of papers relating to Francis Skead, 1858-1861, including notes by Skead on the Zambesi delta, May-June, 1858; positions on the Zambesi river observed by Young and [Skead] and an edited version of the journal of Lieut. R W Brigstock, Jan-Feb 1861, referring to his meeting with the Livingstone party.

Papers of Eric Shipton, 1921-1972, including correspondence, 1952-1967; exercise book containing notes on the Vulim Wolf party describing a visit to a volcanic crater, Galapagos Islands; drafts of publications by Shipton including That Untravelled World, Mountain Conquest and Land of Tempest; drafts of articles by Shipton and typescripts of talks for the BBC; photographic prints, negatives, postcards and press cuttings of Shipton and Shipton in group photographs and VHS cassette of an interview with Shipton, broadcast on Australian television, 1972.

Papers of William Sherriff relating principally to historical and survey work on plans for a Burma-China railway through the Shan States of Northern Burma, [1885-1900], including a survey by Sherriff on the feasibility of a Burma to China railway for Rangoon Chamber of Commerce, [1886-1899]; article by Sherriff in the Manchester Guardian, 'Railway communication with China - The Burmah-China Railway', 09 Mar 1900; correspondence, 1888-1890; blueprints for the Burma Railways Mandalay Kunlon railway, 1899; note by [A] R Colquhoun entitled 'Amongst the Shans', 1885; report by Capt A Bowers, 'Bhamo Expedition Report in the Practicability of reopening the trade route between Burma and Western China', 1869; memorandum on a possible railway route on to the Shan Plateau, 1889; reports on the Shan States, 1887-1889 and notes by Sherriff relating to Burma.

Papers of Robert Shedden made during his voyage on the NANCY DAWSON from London to the Bering Strait via Goa and Singapore, 1848-1849, including observations, chronometer ratings and calculations for positions.

Observation files of Sir Alfred Sharpe, including positions, Lake Mweru, 1892 and positions on and near Lake Nyasa including letters and calculations, 1894-1895.

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 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 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.

Sketch of a dodo by Sir Peter Scott, made at RGS, 1958.

Papers of Capt Robert Falcon Scott including carbon copy of diary as leader of British Antarctic Expedition, Jan-Oct 1911; letters from Scott to Major L Darwin, 16 Sep 1909, Mr Moro, 28 Sep 1909, and Sir Edgar Speyer, 10 Dec 1910; collection of news cuttings, Feb 1913; 56 letters from Scott to the Royal Geographical Society, 1886-1910, chiefly relating to the National Antarctic and British Antarctic Expeditions; letters from wife and family, some written after Scott's death; notebook kept by J W Lovibond recording hair, eye and skin colour of members of the National Antarctic Expedition 1901-1904; letter from Norman Meikle telling of meeting many of the officers and crew of both Antarctic expeditions and an account of sending the cable to announce Scott's death, 23 Feb 1970; printed speech of Pubic Orator, Cambridge, 1905; slip of paper bearing Scott's signature; photostats of letters from Scott to Kathleen O'Reilly, 1899-1907; Order of Service for Altar Presentation from a church in Lyttelton New Zealand (at which Scott and other Antarctic parties worshipped) to the Scott Base, Antarctica, 6 May 1980; photo of the menu card of the Savage Club Dinner to Capt Scott, 5 Nov 1904 and plans of a polar camp, 1912.

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.

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 Sir James Clark Ross, 1819-1875, including log as sub-lieutenant on HMS HECLA, on W E Parry's first expedition on search of the North-West Passage, 1819-1920; letter, letter-draft and memorandum, 1838, containing proposals for an expedition in search of the North-West Passage; letter from Ross on the HMS EREBUS to the Royal Geographical Society reporting on his Antarctic voyage, 1842; and copy, made by Allen Young in 1875, of a message left by Ross at Cape Coulman, 7 Jun 1849.

Collection of news cuttings from American and English newspapers on African subjects, especially the Emin Pasha Expedition, made by Mrs Rose-Troup, 1889-1896.

Bound typescript of 'Hyderabad state in history and art' [1925], with appendices, illustrations, map and bibliography.

Papers of Francis Rodd, including typescript copies of journals and astronomical and hypsometric records on expeditions to Air and the southern Sahara, 1922 and 1927. Seven folders of notes and correspondence relating to the same expeditions: notes on the Sahara from authorities of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; journal of route in 1927, with geographical and meteorological notes; drawings, unused chapters of Rodd's book People of the veil; copies of rock drawings, drafts for book lectures; diary, 1927; correspondence concerning the planning and conclusion of the expedition; papers on special subjects arising out of the 1927 expedition including botanical, anthropological and archaeological; survey notes; notes on instruments and chronometer ratings and letters from Francis and Peter Rodd to their parents, May-Jun 1927.

Workbooks containing hydrographic survey observations and calculations of George S Richie comprising Vol. 1: HMSS HERALD, JASON and FRANKLIN,1937-1939, China Sea; Vol. 2: HMSS FRANKLIN and ENDEAVOUR, 1939, 1942-1943, Labrador, North Africa; and Vol. 3: HMSS SCOTT, SHARPSHOOTER, OWEN, CHALLENGER, HMZS LACHLAN and HMS DALRYMPLE, 1943-1959, North Africa, Scotland, Malaya and the River Thames.

Collection of notes on the history of Tibet and Sikkim, possibly for a book as notes are numbered in sections with index, and letter from Sarat Chandra Das to Capt Cecil Godfrey Rawling answering a query about the origins of Tibetans, 1908.

Papers of James Richardson including printed reports on the commerce of North Africa, 1845-1846; letter dated 28 Oct 1848 concerning James Macqueen's 'Itinerary of a Moorish merchant, Hamed Essagheen'; note on the route from Tripoli to Kouka; note on 'routes to the interior' of Africa, (Timbuktu, Sudan, Bornou, Fez and the route of the annual pilgrim caravan); 'Aheer'; 'Tour of nine months through the heart of the desert of Sahara', bound with 'The Touricks', n.d. and 'M Caillie's account of Timbuctoo compared with the information procured by Mr James Richardson during his late tour through the great desert', 1847.

Papers of Richard Routley Adams Richards including diary on board HMS CHALLENGER, 1872-1876, Atlantic, Antarctic and Pacific oceans: seven volumes, illustrated with sketches; photographs including photographs taken during the voyage of the HMS CHALLENGER, notably Marion Island, Kerguelen Islands and Antarctic sea; four diaries, 1892-1894, Riviera and Carlsbad; and cartoons by Sub Lt Channer.

Papers of Herbert Arthur Richards including copy of a letter to a friend, 1929, describing hie travels and experiences in Mesopotamia, 1889-1906; photographs of people and places in Persia with notes on Persia, 1889-1896 including typed report on the road Ahwaz to Ispahan, Apr 1896, map of journeys and notes on Ispahan to the Caspian Sea; photographs on a journey from Tehran to Bushire, 1904 and family and personal photographs.

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.

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.

Library Manuscripts comprise manuscript items donated to the Royal Geographical Society. They are chiefly single files or a small number of items which are not large enough to warrant forming a special collection. The papers include, astronomical and meteorological observations, diaries, correspondence, notes, conference papers, reports, articles, photographs, sketches and maps covering all aspects of geography and exploration across the globe and date from 1691 to 1994. Highlights include:

Memorandum on a map of South America, by John Arrowsmith.

Papers of Maj R A Bagnold, 1929-1933, comprising positions, routes and heights in Egypt and letters from Bagnold.

Letters from Sir John Barrow to Lord Melville, 1935-1945 and letters to Barrow from Murzuq, 1822 and J D Dundas, 1818.

Papers of Dr Heinrich Barth, 1846-1952, letters and copy of a sketch map of Timbuktu.

Notes on heights of mountains in America by Capt F W Beechey, 1826.

Letters from the King of Siam to Sir John Bowring, 1855.

Letters relating to the British Arctic Air Route Expedition, 1928-1932.

Correspondence and reports of the British Ornithologists' Union Expedition to New Guinea, 1908-1911.

Papers of G Wyman Bury, 1913-1918.

Papers of Capt R F M Crozier, 1836-1906.

Account of a journey to Lhasa and central Tibet by Sarat Chandra Das, 1902.

Papers of Lt James Barker Emery, chiefly relating to Mombassa, 1822-1835.

Plan and elevation of the Screw Yacht FRAM as reconstructed in 1898.

'Narrative of a small party of HMS LEVEN under command of Lt C W Browns sent to explore the Zambesi by one of the survivors, a native of Angola', by Antonio Jozi, 1823.

Journal of Joseph Kaye's voyage from London to Genoa.

Papers and maps relating to William Kennish's exploration in South America for a canal route.

Papers relating to the Kufara expedition led by H W C J Penderel and P A Clayton to Gilf Kebir, 1933.

Papers relating to the Livingstone Award, 1875-1970.

H B Molesworth's diary of a journey to Mokalla (Mukalla), 1893.

Letters from Sir John Morrison to Henry Dundas and others concerning Persia and trade with Persia, 1783-1792.

Narrative of a shipwreck on the southern shores of Arabia by B A R Nicholson, 1836.
Correspondence of Walter Oudney, 1821-1823.

Papers of Adm Sir W E Parry, relating to the Arctic, 1819-1823.

Papers relating to the Pitcairn Islands, 1831-1885.

Annotated 'Code of Naval Signals' belonging to Adm Sir Home Popham, 1799.

Letter from Sultan Husain Sufrari, 1708.

Account of explorations on the coast of Patagonia by B Villarino, 1782.

Travel journals of J Washington, chiefly in South America, 1822-1829.

Letters to A F R Wollaston, 1896-1926.

A collection of articles and letters sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals. This material covers all aspects of geography and exploration across the globe. This includes material from some of the most celebrated 19th and early 20th Century explorations, throughout the World. 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.

Fellowship certificates of Fellows, Honorary Corresponding Members and Life Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society, 1840-1988. The certificates contain the following information: names of proposers, dates candidates were proposed and elected and details about the candidate including place of residence, description and on occasion their qualifications for becoming a Fellow.

Director's Correspondence collection, 1947 onwards, consists of correspondence with the Society since 1947. The material consists of communication with the Director's Office, both incoming and out-going letters, covering a wide range of administrative matters and geographical subjects. Files may contain a variety of printed items such as journal off prints, lecture bills and photographs.

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, 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, 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.

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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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 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.

The Royal Geographical Society Additional Papers relate to all aspects of the RGS's history, 1830-1945, including Council minutes; committee minutes; Prospectus of 1830; reports on the state of the RGS, 1833 and 1837; correspondence concerning special meetings; financial statements and reports; notes on the Map Room and the Library; papers relating to the RGS's awards; regulations and byelaws; lists of Council and committee members; papers of the African Exploration Committee, 1877-1881; the fire-watcher's log books, 1940-1944; papers relating to the election of women as Fellows; papers on scientific enquiries, instruments and instruction; papers relating to the Kosmos, Raleigh and Geographical Clubs; formal addresses and diplomas; papers relating to anniversaries and other events; evening meeting minute books and papers relating to the leasing and furnishing of premises for the RGS, 1837-1930, in particular the purchase of Lowther Lodge.

Papers of James Rennell including brief memorandum of the heights of St. Helena, [1777], copy of a letter from Rennell to Sir Joseph Banks, 19 Oct 1817, on Atlantic currents and manuscript index map to charts 'Investigation of currents of the Atlantic Ocean' published in 1832.

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'.

Three survey notebooks, Belgian Congo, 1910-1913.

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 Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, 1831-1860, including private journals in India and Persia, 1831, 1834, 1836, 1839, 1860; political diaries in Kandahar (first Afghan War) and Baghdad 1841-1843; road report on a journey from Baghdad into Persia with sketches and copies of inscriptions; miscellaneous notebooks and some sketches, Mesopotamia 1843-1850; notebooks containing extracts and notes on the antiquities of Indo-Persia, Central Asia and the Oxus and Babylonia; miscellaneous drafts and notes of official letters and official and personal letters to Rawlinson (Sir Alexander Burnes, General Nott, Sir Willoughby Cotton, Sir William Hay Macnaughten) 1837-1844, chiefly concerned with the first Afghan War; and Parliamentary papers and confidential India Office papers 1869-1893 concerning relations with Russia on the Persian and Afghan frontiers. (300 items).

Notebooks and travel diaries, describing fishing and hunting trips with some notes on birds observed in the following regions: Sweden and Norway, 1892-1899; Russian Lapland, Ireland and Denmark, 1901-1902; Russian Lapland, Norway and Denmark, 1902; Guadiana valley, Spain, 1905; Norway and Sweden, 1905; Spain: a travel diary including notes on cae dwellings and prehistoric remains, 1908; Romania, 1911; Algeria and Iceland, 1913; England and Scotland, 1915-1918; Scotland, 1919-1920; Scotland and Iceland, 1921; England and Iceland, 1922; Iceland, 1922; England, 1923-1924; Sweden and New Zealand, 1924-1925; England and Sweden, 1926; Iceland, 1927-1929; Iceland and England, 1929; Iceland, 1930; England and Ireland, 1931-1932 and England, 1932.

Papers of Dr John Rae, 1852-1883, including drafts of eleven letters, 1852-1856, addressed to the Admiralty and others on Arctic exploration; letter to H W Feilden, 19 Apri 1878; six short essays on Arctic subjects including 'On certain phenomena observed on the Arctic coast', and on treatment of frostbite; nine letters to Rae from various correspondents, 1855-1883 and diary on board the screw yacht FOX on a north Atlantic voyage, Jul-Nov 1860.

Typescript drafts of works of George Robert Farrar Prowse on the charting of the coast from Baffin Land to Maine, including copy of Cartological Material vol I: Maps, 1936, and Cartological Material vol III: Names, 1942, and extract from Prowse's Cartological Material vol IV: Voyages 'John Cabot sails for Hudson Strait known before 1073', 1944.

Papers of Morgan Philips Price, 1910-1954, including letters and transcripts of letters (where the original has been destroyed), corrected typescript for an unpublished book on Russian Central Asia and the typescript of two unpublished chapters of an autobiography, (subsequently published as My Three Revolutions, 1969) and photostats and press cutting of obituaries. The papers chiefly refer to an expedition to Russian Central Asia and Chinese Turkestan undertaken with Douglas Carruthers and J.H. Millar, 1910-1911, and his return journey home from Kuldja after separating from Carruthers and Millar.

Papers of Geoffrey Pratt, 1921-1970, including scientific report by Pratt entitled 'Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1955-1958: Seismic Soundings Across Antarctica', 1960; lecture by Pratt entitled 'Physical Science on the Trans-Antarctic Expedition' delivered, 21 Jan 1959 and personal papers of Miss Pauline May Pratt.