Papers of Thomas Bowrey, sea captain and merchant, including ledger; correspondence; diaries; drawings; charts; and maps; relating to travel and trade in India, Africa, Holland, France, Batavia (Jakarta) and Persia (Iran); the "Coffree" language of Delagoa and the Telenga language; shipping insurance and Lloyd's coffee house; whaling; and piracy.

The collection contains correspondence related to the theme 'Scholars and Learned Ladies', including letter from Anna Gurney to Sir William Hooker, c. 1850. Correspondence dealing with the election of Miss Mary A Blagg as a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. Extract from Professor Turner's introduction to Miss Blagg's 'Collated List of Lunar Formations'. Letters from Professor Turner. Letter from Frank Dyson. A short account of the life and work of Mary Blagg produced by her nieces, 1968. Correspondence in 1962 about the late Miss Pernel Strachey's typescript edition of the Emmanuel College manuscript. Admission of women Fellows to the Royal Society. Correspondence between Royal Society, Society for Women's Service, Mrs Hutton and Miss P Strachey, 1954. Correspondence between Lucy Norton, John Carter and Joan Bennett about some George Eliot letters and an article on them by Joan Bennett, 1968. Copy of a letter from Mrs Baines (Bedford College) to Miss Pernel Strachey about a tapestry for Newnham College, 1945. Letter from Myra Curtis (Newnham) to Pernel Strachey, 1945. Letter from Hertha Ayrton to Dr Gorthon, 1911. Autograph signatures of Margaret McNair Stokes, Mrs Agnata Frances Butle, Jane Ellen Harrison.

Working papers, largely undated, of Whitley Stokes on philology, mainly comprising manuscript notes and drafts, in the form of notebooks and loose notes, for his work and publications on language and phonetics.

Joseph Phelan: lists of names of medicines in Indian languages, late 18th century.

Papers, 1921-1959, of Roy Clive Abraham, comprising personal manuscript notebooks of grammar and vocabulary notes on the various African, Middle Eastern and European languages studied by him.

Papers, 1950s-1980s, of Professor David W Arnott on West African languages, comprising papers, including notes and questionnaires, from his study leave (1955-1956) spent travelling from Nigeria through Niger, Dahomey (Benin), Upper Volta (Burkina Faso), French Sudan (Mali), Senegal and Gambia to Guinea and Sierra Leone; copies (photocopied and photographic) of manuscripts; translations and transcriptions; transcriptions of language recordings; seminar and conference papers; teaching material; offprints of articles by Arnott; typescripts or corrected proofs of articles; and reviews of books by other authors. The papers relate largely to Nigeria but also to Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Senegal, relating mainly to Fulfulde, Fula and Fulani (language of the Fulani people of West Africa), and also to Tiv and to Hausa poetry and songs. The subjects include literature, including poetry (religious and non-religious), oral literature and folklore, proverbial lore, Islamic influences on African literary cultures, grammar, including morphology, verbal and nominal systems, nouns, vocabulary, and the distribution of dialects.

Papers of Russell Scott, including correspondence and publications reflecting the wide range of Scott's interests in linguistic unification, Esperanto, Basic English, alphabet reform and simplified spelling, in particular the Kunowski phonetic alphabet 'Sprechspur' or 'Speech-Tracing' and its use in German schools. The papers include newsletters of the Phonetic Alphabet Association, 1955-1961, and associated correspondence; and material relating to George Bernard Shaw's interest in the reformed alphabet movement, including carbons of letters to Shaw, correspondence about his will, press cuttings and publications.

Papers of Helga Hacker created while writing a biography of her father, Karl Pearson, [1920-1974]. Chiefly comprising transcripts of material in the Pearson papers held by University College London (UCL), notably on the 'Men and Women's Club' but also comprising original material including: press cuttings; notes from the Galton papers and on Galton's anthropometrical data; notes on Olive Schreiner transcripts; notes on 'Heritage' and 'Fanny and William'; notes on Karl Pearson's activities, 1881-1890; notes on Kasmiri language; notes on snails; manuscripts of essays of R J Parker; correspondence between Hacker and UCL Library; letters to Hacker on Olive Screiner; description of Dr Kahn's anatomical museum and photograph of a graph of 'Curve of fertility in man'.

Papers, 1878-1988, of Eugenie Henderson, comprising collected language, phonetics and linguistics material; conference papers and lecture notes from major linguistic conferences that she attended; socio-linguistic material; and papers from the societies and organisations to which she belonged.

Records, c1725, 1799-1986, of the United Society for Christian Literature (USCL) and its predecessors, including the Religious Tract Society, comprise:

Executive Committee minutes for the RTS, 1799-1935 (some gaps) (Ref: USCL 1-113), continued under the USCL, 1935-1953 (Ref: USCL 113-122), and other minutes, including copyright, finance, and local associations, for the RTS, 1806-1935, and USCL, 1935-1972 (Ref: USCL 123-149, USCL Add 6, 15, 19-22);

copies of outgoing RTS letters, 1824-1889 (Ref: USCL 150-195); miscellaneous correspondence of the RTS, 1824-1847 (Ref: USCL Add 23-26);

annual reports for the RTS, 1820-1935 (many gaps) (Ref: USCL 311-336, USCL Add 34), USCL, 1935-1962 (Ref: USCL 337-357, USCL/S 69-72, 99-103, USCL Add 38), and RTS (China), continued under the USCL, 1884-1947 (Ref: USCL 366-376);

ledgers and accounts, 1836-1952 (Ref: USCL 196-231);

papers of the RTS, succeeded by the USCL, relating to copyright, 1825-1835 (Ref: USCL Add 1-2); reports of sub-committees on anti-popery, 1839, and new warehouses, 1844 (Ref: USCL Add 3-4); salaries books, 1851-1938 (Ref: USCL Add 5); letters, report and pamphlet relating to the Assam mission, India, 1857-1859 (Ref: USCL Add 7); legacies book, 1911-1986 (Ref: USCL Add 11); USCL register of members, 1946-1963, also including declarations of employee names, 1948-1972 (Ref: USCL Add 16); USCL papers concerning premises in Lusaka, Rhodesia, 1949-1955 (Ref: USCL Add 17); reports on USCL officials' visits to India and Ceylon, Northern Rhodesia, and Zambia, 1950-1969 (Ref: USCL Add 18); papers documenting USCL history, 1927-1976 and undated, including notes, chronology, printed material, and photographs, including the fire damage of 1941 (Ref: USCL Add 64-71);

RTS and USCL printed tracts, c1920-c1950 (Ref: USCL 400-401); annotated listings of RTS publications, 1842-1859 (Ref: USCL Add 39); RTS publications, 1822-1934 and undated (Ref: USCL Add 41-57); USCL publications, 1935-1962 and undated (Ref: USCL Add 57-62); miscellaneous publications, c1725, 1816-1960, including some on the work of the RTS but also including other publications, some by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (Ref: USCL 377-399, USCL Add 40, 63).

There are also records, 1858-1950, of the Christian Literature Society (CLS) for India (and Africa) and its predecessor; and records, 1885-1977, of the UCSL (Scotland) and its predecessors.

Records of the Basic English Foundation, including annual reports, minutes, policy, subject and correspondence files, 1948-1965; correspondence with Charles Kay Ogden and the Orthological Institute, 1947-1953; files of Joseph Lauwerys (1902-1981), who was a Trustee of the Foundation from 1951.

Papers of John Abernethy, 1823, comprising an autograph letter from John Abernethy of Bedford Row, to Mr Mortimer of Mr W H Partridge's, 13 New Hall Street, Birmingham, 2 Jan 1823. Advising Mr Mortimer on the best way to study anatomy and diseases, and also suggesting the study of languages.

Records, 1920-1963, of the Christian Literature Bureau for Africa and its succession by the ICCLA (International Committee on Christian Literature for Africa, part of the International Missionary Council), comprising early papers, 1920-1929, including correspondence; minutes, 1929-1958; records of the American Section, 1924-1959; accounts and related papers, 1928-1958; finance papers, 1948-1959; policy papers, 1929-1959, including its winding-up; papers relating to personnel, 1947-1956; papers relating to Secretarial travel by Margaret Wrong and C de Mestral in Africa, Europe and north America, 1933-1959; photographs of West Africa, 1933, and Southern Africa [1936]; papers of Margaret Wrong (Secretary), 1935-1947, including notes for addresses, reviews, articles on subjects including colonial development, personal photographs, letters, and papers, 1949-1965, relating to her death (c1949) and memorial fund; reports, surveys, etc, 1923-1957; papers relating to Books for Africa series and to Listen, 1931-1963; papers relating to the publication Daystar, 1948-1957; lists of books received, especially vernacular, 1930-1957; African language publications, 1930-1951; papers relating to Christian literature for Muslims, 1932-1959; papers relating to school service book, 1938-1953; manuscripts received, 1933-1957; papers relating to hymns publication, 1957-1963; papers relating to literacy [1935]-1959; papers on territorial series, 1927-1959; complete set of Books for Africa series, 1931-1963; complete set of Listen, 1932-1957; series (some incomplete) of published works: Little Books for Africa, African Home Library (comprising texts on the Bible and Christian faith, biography, allegories and stories, family, health and land, government and industry, countries and customs, science and education), and the French edition Bibliotheque de la Famille Africaine, and African Features; specimen periodicals published in Africa, 1950s; card index to titles for Books for Africa books reviewed and card index to titles and authors in the ICCLA library.

Papers, c1946, of George Percival Bargery, comprising Hausa grammar and vocabulary notes.

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, 1935-1972, of Wilfred Howell Whiteley, comprising his personal correspondence (1956-1972); language material on over 30 Bantu languages collected by Whiteley during his lifetime; and socio-linguistic material. Also included is a major section on Swahili (including papers on the socio-political issues raised over the adoption of Swahili as a national language).

Records, 1858-1950, of the Christian Vernacular Education Society (CVES) for India, from 1891 the Christian Literature Society (CLS) for India (and Africa from 1923), comprising minutes, 1864-1935 (Ref: USCL 232-250); copies of outgoing letters, 1859-1931 (Ref: USCL 251-306); correspondence of the CVES, 1858-1862 (Ref: USCL Add 27-31), and CLSI, 1892-1900 (Ref: USCL Add 32-3); press cuttings on its work, 1858-1871 (Ref: USCL 308-10); annual reports, 1859-1928 (many gaps) (Ref: USCL 358-365, USCL Add 35); Baptist Missionary Society minutes, 1859, relating to a CVES letter concerning scholarships for theological students (Ref: USCL Add 8); minutes of the Society for Promoting Female Education in the East, 1859 (Ref: USCL Add 9); papers on the CVES/CLSI Madras depot, 1873-1910 (Ref: USCL Add 10); document on CLSI mergers in Madras and Calcutta, 1922-1924 (Ref: USCL Add 12-13); Calcutta Christian Tract and Book Society annual report, 1922-1923 (Ref: USCL Add 36); draft deeds and correspondence concerning CLSI premises in Madras, 1930 (Ref: USCL Add 14); miscellaneous papers of the Madras branch, c1900-1950 (Ref: USCL 307).

Notes by John Dixon on medical matters and on things of personal interest to him such as astrology and photography spanning his entire career, 1848-1903. MS.5191 comprises more formal material, namely certificates and indentures.

Records of the Royal Association for Deaf People. The collection contains a wealth of information relating to the development of work with Deaf people over the 19th and 20th centuries in London and south-east England, including relief of the necessitous poor in the 19th century, the establishment of Deaf church communities from the 1880s and the early promotion of Sign Language as a recognised form of communication in the 1850s by Reverend Samuel Smith.

The records include:

Corporate records (LMA/4172/A) in relation to the Association's Trustee Committee, Standing Subcommittee, Executive Committee, Building Committee, Spiritual Subcommittee, Personnel Committee, Property and Personnel Sub-Committee, Finance and Fund Raising Committee, Public Relations Subcommittee, secretary's correspondence, annual reports, agreements, permanent year end papers, annual general meetings, Board of Trustees papers, and Essex Deaf Council.

Financial and Staff records (LMA/4172/B) consisting of accounts, legacies, salaries and expenses, and Staff meetings Minutes, and administration.

Records of Saint Faith's Home (LMA/4172/C) consisting of minutes of the Management Committee, accounts, and registration.

Branch and Mission Church records (LMA/4172/D) in relation to Croydon Branch, Saint Barnabus Church in Lerwisham, Saint Matthews Mission and Saint Paul's Hall in Walworth, Woolwich Deaf and Dumb Mission in Beresford Square, Saint Bedes in Lambeth, All Saints in Croydon, Saint Saviours Chapel on Oxford Street, Saint John of Beverely on Green Lane, All Saints in West Ham, and Saint Cedd in Romford.

Printed Material and photographs (LMA/4172/E) consisting of press cuttings, magazines and newsletters, events material and talks, photographs, posters/leaflets and advertising material, staff resources, and historical notes.

Audio-visual records (LMA/4172/F) consisting of videos and audio cassettes.

Electronic records (LMA/4172/G) consisting of documents saved on a CD.

Property records (LMA/4172/H) in relation to 120 Selhurst Road in Croydon, 26 Harold Road in Essex, and 4 The Drive in Middlesex.

Programmes, press cuttings, articles and transcripts relating to the composer Anthony Milner, used by James Siddons in his Anthony Milner: a Bio-Bibliography (Westport, CT, 1989), comprising scrap books of reviews of Milner's music and articles by or on Milner, 1951-1960; press cuttings relating to Milner's liturgical compositions in regard to the introduction of English in the Roman Catholic liturgy, and Milner's views of the translation of the order of mass into English, 1964-1970; music programmes (with some reviews) of concerts featuring Milner's works, 1958-1985; reviews and press cuttings of Milner's work and performances, c1958-1979; brief biographical notes on Milner, and schedules and itineraries of his lecture tours of Canada and USA, 1964-1985; transcript of 'Anthony Milner on his 50th birthday', a talk on 'Music weekly', BBC Radio 3, by Hugh Wood, 11 May 1975; 'Anthony Milner - a comment on his work' typescript article by Stephen Dodgson (MS 5866). Three published articles by Milner, with covering to Sir Keith Falkner, on the problem of the vernacular in the Roman Catholic liturgy, 'Music in a vernacular Catholic liturgy' paper read to the Royal Musical Association, 4 Jan 1965; 'The instruction on sacred music', Worship vol 41 no 6 Jun-Jul 1967; 'Music and liturgy', The Month, 1965-1966 (MS 6995)

Mandingo vocabulary comprising handwritten list of words and phrases from Mandingo and other languages used in Timbuktu, West Africa, collected by Réné Caillié (1799-1838), a French explorer, and the first to return alive from Timbuktu; also mentions African explorers Mungo Park (1771-1806), Captain [George Francis] Lyon (1795-1832) and Major [Dixon] Denham (1786-1828), [Thomas Edward] Bowditch (1790-1824), and others.

Letter from Matthew Arnold of Cobham, Surrey to John Churton Collins, 24 Oct 1886. Relating to the teaching of modern literature and modern languages at the universities. Autograph, with signature.

Joint archive, largely dating from 1910-1945, of the International Missionary Council and Conference of British Missionary Societies, relating to co-operative missionary endeavours in Africa (chiefly British Africa, but also including areas under Belgian, Portuguese and French control).

General files on Africa include records on missionary work and related issues including land rights, colonial administration, diet, co-operative organizations, customs including polygamy, initiation, and witchcraft, medical work, and alcohol traffic; the IMC and its relation to African mission councils; International Institute of African Languages and Cultures; population and health in Africa; Africa Education Group, relating to educational policy, provision and finance, including women's education, training of educational missionaries, African marriage customs and their relation to Christian practice, adult education, and missionary work in rural areas; High Leigh (Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire) Conference (1924) on educational missionary work in Africa; Le Zoute Conference (1926) on missionary work in Africa; educational policy; Advisory Committee on Education in the Colonies, relating to Colonial Office policy (including British colonies outside Africa), the topics including women's education, use of the vernacular and bilingualism, teacher training, language teaching, social and economic development, finance, indigenous art, biology, superannuation, English examinations, and higher education teaching materials, with sections relating to particular African colonies.

Files on East Africa include general records on British colonial policy and administration, agriculture, and Swahili; and education in East Africa. Files on Kenya include records on the Kenya Missionary Council and Christian Council of Kenya; the political situation and land question; indigenous labour and slavery; Indian population; and educational policy, practice, finance, the conscience clause in religious education, women's education, and educational advisor; and correspondence on missionary work and related issues. Files on Tanganyika include records on the Tanganyika Missionary Council, relations between different missionary societies, indigenous life, colonial administration, German and other missions; Tanganyika Mission Property Trust; and education in Tanganyika. Files on Uganda include records on land tenure, education, including women's education, and Swahili; and missionary societies in Ruanda-Urundi. Files on Abyssinia comprise records on missionary work and religious freedom, including the Italian occupation.

Files on West Africa include general records on education, including the Phelps Stokes Commission. Files on the Gold Coast include records on education, colonial administration, the Basel Mission, the Bremen Mission and other missionary societies, the Christian Council of the Gold Coast, medical and educational missionary work. Files on Sierra Leone include records on education. Files on Nigeria include records on the Christian Council of Nigeria and other Christian and missionary organisations and on education. Files on the Cameroons include records on various missionary societies. Files on French Africa include records on education.

Files on French West & Equatorial Africa include records on missionary activity and education. Files on the Congo include records on the Congo Protestant Council, missionary activity and conferences, religious freedom and interdenominational relations including Roman Catholicism; Belgian government policy regarding missions and the Brussels Bureau representing Belgian missions; education; and missionary work of various nations.

Files on Portuguese Africa include records on missionary work, including medical work, and interdenominational relations; religious liberty, Portuguese government policy, and the Lisbon Centre for liaison. Files on Portuguese West Africa include records on the Angola Evangelical Alliance, Portuguese colonial administration, and various missionary societies. Files on Portuguese East Africa include records on the Portuguese East Africa Evangelical Missionary Association, work of various missionary societies, religious liberty and Portuguese government policy.

Files on Central Africa and Nyasaland include records on colonial administration, work of missionary societies, land tenure, indigenous labour and slavery, and on colonial educational policy in Nyasaland. Files on Northern Rhodesia include records on the General Missionary Conference of Northern Rhodesia, colonial administration, mining, and education; and on the United Missions in the Copperbelt, including its foundation, policy, annual reports, finance, miners' unrest, property, education policy, women's work, social welfare, literature and literacy, British Committee, correspondence with other societies, reorganisation, Team/Field Committee, and personnel. Files on Southern Rhodesia include records on the South Rhodesia Missionary Conference, indigenous affairs including land tenure, education, indigenous preachers, and colonial administration. Files on South Africa include records on the General Missionary Conference of South Africa and the Christian Council of South Africa, missionary work, indigenous affairs including land tenure, interethnic relations, and education. Files on South and South West Africa includes records on German missions and indigenous affairs. Files on the protectorates of Swaziland, Basutoland and Bechuanaland include records on education and the transfer of the protectorates to South Africa.

There are also files on the Egypt Mission Property Trust.

Typescript papers, 1958, of David P Gamble of the Colonial Office on the Fula language, comprising Firdu Fula Grammar, Gambia Fula Verb List, and Fula-English Vocabulary (Gambian dialects).

Papers, 1902-1998, of the Parsons family, comprising three volumes of typescript copies of letters (1902-1926) written by the Rev and Mrs Parsons from Yunnan, China, the subjects including family matters and mission activities, descriptions of local people and culture, and references to the Miao language; unpublished Hua Miao-English dictionary and phrase book written by P Kenneth and R Keith Parsons, 1998; publications using 'Reformed' Pollard script, 1951-1994, including text books and school primer (some photocopies), collected by them.

Papers, 1937-1987, of and relating to Margaret Mackeson Green, comprising personal correspondence (1946-1973); Igbo material, including her original field notes and work on the Igbo language, preparatory drafts of the Igbo Language Course, notes on Igbo texts, vocabulary lists intended for inclusion in an Igbo/English dictionary, and a few miscellaneous items of anthropological significance; material relating to the Division of Inter-Church Aid Refugee World Service (DICARWS) (1968-1969); and miscellaneous material on other African languages.