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The Royal Society's Tercentenary celebrations in 1960 prompted learned societies and centres of academic excellence worldwide to send gifts and messages of congratulations. Presentation books, medals and other memorabilia were presented also. Many of the messages were highly ornate, and this series illustrates a wide range of calligraphic techniques and styles of binding.

Letters and papers of the Royal Society Sylvester Medal Fund including correspondence regarding the setting-up of a Sylvester Memorial by international committee.

The collection is particularly noteworthy for its full documentation of all aspects of Pirie's research, development and promotion of leaf protein for human comsumption. It is divided into the following sections:

Section A, Biographical. It includes obituaries, a copy of the Royal Society Biographical Memoir, a little documentation of undergraduate work, and historical material assembled by Pirie relating to J Brachel, J B S Haldane, F G Hopklins, and H H Mann. Miscellaneous material includes Pirie's philosophical notes on the nature of life the scientific method and other topics.

Section B, Research notebooks. These complete the sequence of numbered notebooks listed in the 'Catalogue of the Papers of Sir Frederick Charles Bawden including the papers of Alfred Alexander, Peter Kleczkowski and Norman Wingate Pirie' and also deposited in the Archives of the Royal Society. The sequence presented here runs from 1929-1996, with the missing notebooks to be found in the Bawden collection. The work documented includes Pirie's earliest research with A A Miles on 'Brucella abortus' and 'Brucella mellitensis', his research with F C Bawden on viruses, and the many facets of his work on leaf protein to the end of his life. There are also two numbered notebooks not included in the sequence which date from the 1940s.

Section C, Leaf Protein work. This is the largest section in the collection and documents the work for which Pirie became widely known. The material comers Pirie's own research work on leaf protein, his interest in leaf protein work worldwide, the promotion of leaf protein and the development of equipment, especially suitable for use in less developed countries, which could be used to extract it. There is documentation of Pirie's struggles within the Agricultural Research Council to find support for his work, his reports on progress and later fund raising for his reasearch. There is material relating to design and construction of leaf protein apparatus of various types. Pirie believed strongly that leaf protein could make a positive contribution to nutrition in poorer countries and trials were undertaken in India, Jamaica and other countries. Latterly he found backing for his work from the 'Find Your Feet' charity and this relationship is documented. Also of interest is Pirie's interest in promoting leaf protein, including sample recipes using the foodstuff.

Section D, Other Research interests. This focuses on Pirie's earlier research, including the work for which he was elected to the Royal Society and was awarded the Copley Medal. It is not extensive and should be consulted alongside the notebooks in Section B. It is presented by topic and includes research on tobacco mosaic and tomato bushy stunt viruses by Pirie and F C Bawden in the 1930's, work on 'Brucella abortus' in the 1930's and 1940's and bracken extraction in the 1950's. There is also material relating to various alternative sources of protein, including seafood, which relates to this interest in nutrition. Miscellaneous material includes documentation of Pirie's lobbying on behalf of 'biochemical engineering' research in the 1950's.

Section E, Drafts and Publications. This presents drafts and related material including publication on food resources and his 1987 book 'Leaf Protein and its by-products in human and animal nutrition', a small number of book reviews and a little editorial correspondence. The bulk of the section, however, comprises a sequence of Pirie's volumes of bound offprints, from 1929 to 1991 (with material for 1992-1996 unbound). This sequence is more than just a full record of Pirie's published work output, as intercalated or pasted to pages of the volumes are typescripts of unpublished work or work not published in full, reports on research, visits abroad etc, correspondence, and letters to the press on a wide variety of topics including nuclear weapons, the Communist Party, space exploration, scientific writing and world nutrition. The offprints themselves may bear later manuscript annotations and typescript notes by Pirtie, giving improved methods, corrections and later bibliographical references.

Section F, Visits and Conferences. These document a few of Pirie's visits 1946-1989. There is material relating to extended visits to the USA in 1946, to Czechoslovakia, the USSR and China in 1952, and later visits in connection with leaf protein work. The lack of coverage is partially compensated for by the quality of some of the documentation of the visits, including Pirie's manuscript and typescript notes and his official reports.

Section G, Correspondence. This is again partial in its coverage. The bulk relates to Pirie's work on leaf protein. There are also individual letters from significant correspondents, from the 1930's on, including A Szent-George, J B S Haldane, G C de Hervey, Sir Peter Medawar, T Svendberg, R L M Synge etc, which Piries appears to have kept for historical reasons. The correspondence is presented in alphabetical order by correspondent.

Files of papers and correspondence relating to the Royal Society's administration of its internal affairs. Currently, the bulk of this material falls within the period 1925-50, although the period covered varies considerably according to subject. At present, the collection forms an important source on the Society's activities during the Second World War, and includes files of the Central Register (Section for Scientific Reseearch) for 1939-1940. Section A of the series contains correspondence of a number of important Fellows; WH Bragg 1935-41; HH Dale 1926-45; ACG Egerton 1939-49; AV Hill 1949-45; FW Lanchester 1942-44; HG Lyons 1939-42; TR Merton 1941-56; R Robinson 1946-50; AC Seward 1932-41; FE Smith 1928-33; HT Tizard 1940

A collection of medals and tokens, largely scientific awards, but with some miscellaneous items in base and precious metals. The core of the series consists of specimens of the Royal Society's own 15 medals and awards, from the earliest (the Copley Medal 1731) to the most recent (the Gabor Medal 1989). This includes some given to named Fellows and returned to the Society as gifts or bequests. Other items include prizes of foreign scientific academies, and pieces commemorating individual Fellows and Foreign Members.

Some correspondence, papers, and publications of Otto Loewi. The manuscript material is of a personal rather than a scientific nature and provides an important biographical source about Loewi's escape from Nazi Austria and his resettlement in the United States of America.

Correspondence, diaries and other papers of Sir Alfred Charles Glyn Egerton, including some personal papers but largely relating to The Royal Society and particularly to wartime activities and post-war research needs in Britain. The diaries form an almost complete record of Egerton's career during the period 1943-1959. Earlier diaries date back to 1917 and the period 1929-1930, but for the most part they relate to the period 1938-1941.

The papers are extensive, relating to almost every aspect of Blackett's career in science and public life. There is biographical and personal material including large numbers of letters of congratulation received on the occasion of the various scientific and public awards and honours with which Blackett's achievements were recognised. There are records of his work on particle disintegration, cosmic rays, astrophysics and magnetism in the form of laboratory notebooks, working papers, correspondence, lectures, publications and broadcasts. There is documentation of his activities on various defence projects and as a member of government committees before, during and after the Second World War. Blackett's political interests are represented by material relating to the Association of Scientific Workers, Labour Party discussion groups on science and technology policy and the Ministry of Technology instituted after the Party's 1964 electoral victory. There are records of a wide range of science-related interests such as the history of science and technology, science, education and government, and nuclear weapons and disarmament, and of his overseas activities including material relating specifically to India and that concerned with matters more generally affecting developing countries.

A few lacunae in the surviving material have been identified. There are no documents relative to Blackett's service with the National Research and Development Corporation or the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and, of his correspondence during the Second World War, only that for 1942 survives.