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Robinson's volatile temperament and his impatience with administration and routine have seriously affected the survival of material. Thus little survives of his correspondence which he usually wrote in longhand and without copies, or of his public life, service on committees, advisory boards, learned societies, and in the launching of new journals. There are, however, many manuscript notes in varying lengths of sequence and a few notebooks relating to research topics. Examples are a sequence of ideas on the possible structure of strychnine, tentatively dated 1945-1947 by J.W. Cornforth, and from a later period two relatively extensive sequences of research and correspondence, on the origins of petroleum and on drug research. Lacunae in the collection are to some extent compensated for by the autobiographical material. There are the background material and corrected proofs for the first volume of his memoirs published in 1976, and substantial typescript drafts of the second volume which was unfinished at his death together with narratives, correspondence and photographs sent to him by colleagues. There are also tape-recordings of conversations with colleagues covering similar types of recollections.

Working papers and correspondence of Sir John Henry Gaddum. The scientific material in the collection centres on a run of student and laboratory notebooks for 1922-1965, together with files of notes and calculations on biological assay and other topics. Further papers concentrate on Gaddum's teaching and publications in the form of lecture scripts, typescripts of articles and related correspondence. Material on his administrative work includes correspondence on conferences and organizations, with some Royal Society papers, but also Physiological Society letters, 1936-1941. Non-paper records such as slides and personal souvenirs are also preserved.

Correspondence, mainly to Martin Folkes on a large variety of subjects, including administrative matters for the Royal Society.

Extensive papers of Howard Walter Florey, Baron Florey, relating to almost every aspect of his career in science and public life. The scientific materials include a complete run of laboratory notebooks, 1924-1968, files on the work for which Florey is best known, penicillin and antibiotics, 1940-1962, together with papers, research notes and photographs on mucus secretion, traumatic shock and electron microscopy. Florey's writings are preserved in the form of drafts and proofs of published items, together with relevant correspondence. His correspondence indicates the depth of his involvement in the affairs of particular organisations, notably the Oxford University School of Pathology and the Royal Society. The work of Ethel Florey (née Hayter) and Margaret Augusta Florey (née Fremantle) is also present.

Scientific and other papers sent to the Royal Society, presented at meetings of Fellows, or commissioned by the Society. They form a complementary series to the Early Letters, both of which were superseded by the Letters and Papers. Many of these items, referred to as the 'Guard Books', are duplicated in the Register Book of the Society. The classification is a simplified form of the 'Philosophical Transactions' abridgment by John Lowthorp. This arrangement was completed in 1741 by Thomas Birch. The majority of the papers in these volumes are manuscript, but a few printed documents occur throughout the series. Some of the papers are earlier in date than the grant on 15 July 1662 of the First Charter to the Society. The Committee of Trades seems to have been associated with the earlier meetings of those philosophers who subsequently became Fellows, and produced a number of practical papers, some of which were written in 1639 and which are mostly found in Volume 3(i). There are still earlier documents, mostly in Volume 25, which may have been included in the gift, in 1667, of the Arundel Library.

The correspondence, papers and diaries of Sir Charles Blagden. Blagden's papers are interesting on several levels, generally for his close contact with European men of learning, and his relationship with Sir Joseph Banks. Blagden's professional researches are represented by medical notes in the boxed sequence. These are grouped with papers on other subject interests, including linguistics, e.g. a draft Tahitian-English dictionary, compiled from conversations with Omai, whom Blagden inoculated after Omai's voyage to England with James Cook. Blagden's interest in antiquities and travel is documented by diary entries, as is his intercourse with fellow scientists, particularly those associated with the founding of the Royal Institution.