Signals Collection comprising two East India Company signal books. The first is a printed signal book of 1783 entitle 'A Collection of Signals for the use of the ships in the Service of the United East India Company'; a sheet of coloured flags has been loosely inserted, but the book was not issued. There is also a manuscript volume of signals issued by Captain Alexander Montgomerie to the fleet under his command, St Helena to England, 1794.

153 volumes of sailing and fighting instructions include the majority of those listed in Sir Julian Corbett, Signals and instructions (Navy Records Society, 1908). In addition, there are many examples of those issued to smaller squadrons rather than fleets. The earliest is a printed copy of 1673 issued to James Duke of York (1633-1701). There is a copy of 1691 by Admiral Russel (1653-1727), issued in 1702. Subsequent sets show the development which took place up to the Seven Years War. From 1756 onwards additional and supplementary instructions became more numerous. The collection also contains several versions of instructions for ships in convoy, 1708 to 1815. In addition to these single items, there are sets in the personal collections. The most extensive, of thirty-four volumes, is that of Admiral Duncan (q.v.), 1760 to 1799, including signals and instructions issued during the American War, convoy instructions for 1782 and a number of sets from the 1790s. Other sets of significance include those of Vice-Admiral Duff, 1748 to 1762, including convoy instructions, 1756 and 1758, and printed instructions for disembarking and re-embarking troops, which were issued by Admiral Rodney (1719-1792) for the landings at marinique, 1762; of Rear-Admiral Clements, 1758 to 1770; and of Captain Lord Longford, 1779 to 1780.

120 printed and manuscript signal books and signal logs. 1711 to 1816. The earliest signal book is a manuscript volume compiled between 1710 and 1711. This contains additional signals made by Sir John Norris (c 1670-1749) in the RANELAGH. The format of this volume is very similar to the printed signal book of 1714 by Jonathan Greenwood. There are some manuscript examples produced privately by individual officers usually with a thumb index for quick reference, dating from the mid-eighteenth century. There are also printed signal books for 1790, 1793, 1795, 1798 and The General Signal Book of 1799, 1808 and 1816. During the 1790s the printing of signal books became general practice. There are various examples (which include day and fog signals), night signals, instructions and additional instructions, which were usually issued in sets. For example, the collection has a set issued in 1793 by Admiral Lord Hood to the Mediterranean fleet. There is a similar set issued by Sir John Jervis in 1794 while in the West Indies. Most of the printed books which were issued have additional signals inserted in manuscript. The manuscript signal books are copies kept by officers who were not issued with a printed signal book, and preferred their own copy for easy reference; they are therefore usually pocket size. This practice was forbidden because of the danger of the code falling into enemy hands. However, there are a number of these in the collection and they often contain additional information, such as orders of battle and sailing, keys to both the British and French systems of coastal signals, pendant lists, etc. Many are finely executed and some are illustrated. There is a manuscript signal book used at the battle of the Nile, based on the 1795 edition entitled 'Day and Night Signal Book, Horarry, Fog etc.' by Midshipman (later Commander) Charles Claridge (fl 1798-1823) in the DEFENCE. This has a short diary at the back of the volume describing the battle and an order of battle and an order of battle and sailing. A manuscript copy of Lord Howe's (q.v.) code of 1793 is also included; this contains a list of signals for identifying coasts and headlands, caricatures, a sea song and drawings of naval vessels. The collection contains a group of signal books issued for use in a particular area; they include volumes for Barbados, 1820, Plymouth, 1797 and St Helena, 1817. There are also three signal logs, one of which was kept in the VICTORY, 1804.

Over half the signal books in this category are French; the other nations represented are Spain, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Sweden and Turkey. There are eighteen volumes, 1754 to 1885, the majority of which are printed with manuscript annotations. Of the French volumes, the earliest is a signal book kept in 1754 by the pilot of LA ROSE, in the squadron of Le Comte de Gallissoniere (1693-1756). The volume has a thumb index of coloured flags and is illustrated with watercolours of fleet manoeuvres. There is also an English translation of the signal book issued by the Comte D'Ache (1700-1775) to his fleet while in the East Indies in the ZODIAQUE, 1757 to 1759; a signal book issued by the Comte D'Orvilliers (1708-1792) in 1779; and a printed signal book of 1787 issued by the Marquis de Nieul, in which the names of the vessels in the squadron have been scratched out, but the twenty flags and ten pendants have been coloured. The Revolutionary War period is represented by three signal books issued for the navy of the Republic in 1799 and 1801. Only one has actually been issued and gives a key to the flags. In addition, there is a handbook for a coastal semaphore between Bayonne and Flushing; published in 1807, the system was invented by an artillery officer named Depillon and built ca.1803. The category also includes two signal books for the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies; one was issued in c 1784 by John (later Sir John) Acton (1736-1811), the other in 1816; a Spanish book of signals and instructions printed in Cadiz in 1765 and issued by the Marques de la Victoria; another Spanish volume for 1781 for the fleet of Don Luis de Cordova; and two Swedish volumes, 1795 and 1796. The Turkish signal book is naval, 1885, and the format is similar to a French or an English volume. There is also a Dutch volume of flags rather than signals which was compiled c 1687; it is described on the title page as 'The Flagbook of Captain Paulus van der Dussen' (1658-1707).

Seven volumes concerned with naval signalling, telegraphic and merchant shipping codes, 1787 to 1822. The earliest volume is by Captain (later Admiral) Phillip Patton (1739-1815); in 1787 he published 'A system of signals combining the method commonly used in theBritish Navy...with a numerary method'. As far as is known this was never used, since preference was given to the code invented by Lord Howe. Patton employed two methods: one was the old idea of the meaning of the flag being governed by the position of the hoist and the other gave each flag a fixed numerical value. A new arrangement of Howe's day and night signals and instructions was made in 1792 by John McArthur (1755-1840), while secretary to Lord Hood, and printed in 1793. McArthur also published a comprehensive plan in c 1804, entitled 'Thoughts on several plans combining a system of Universal Signals by day and night', of which there is also a copy. There is a lithographed copy, made in 1822, of 'Practical Rules for making Telegraphic Signals with a description of the two-armed telegraph invented in 1804' by Lieutenant-Colonel Pasley (1780-1861); he put forward a system of sending messages by land using a pole with two moveable arms. A similar manuscript of ca.1820 is by Lieutenant (later Commander) Poynter Crane (1782-1879).

The papers are very extensive though there are some lacunae, probably attributable to Chain's many changes of workplace. The early biographical period is sparsely documented, there are sporadic gaps in the correspondence files, and there is no original documentation of the penicillin research at Oxford (although there are many historical accounts and much correspondence about the history of penicillin). The surviving biographical material provides documentation of the arrangements for Chain to live and work in Britain, later honours and awards and his musical interests, and family correspondence, photographs and press-cuttings. There are very substantial records of his later career at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità and Imperial College, London, including his continuing contributions to biochemical problems such as carbohydrate metabolism, ergot alkaloids, edible proteins and aeration studies. The Imperial College material also contains records of the creation, administration, finance and architectural design of the Biochemistry Department, and developments in the Department after Chain's statutory retirement in 1973. Additional information about Chain's research is available in the documentation of his very extensive consultancy agreements and collaborative work with industrial firms such as Astra, Beechams and Rank Hovis McDougall, and records relating to government, grant-giving and charitable bodies such as the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research Campaign and Medical Research Council which contributed to the funding of his research. There is much material on Chain's lectures, addresses and broadcasts, and on his extensive travel on visits and conferences, which includes a substantial number of unpublished talks.

An exceptional feature of the Chain papers is the documentation of the large number of Israel and Jewish organisations with which he was associated, especially the Weizmann Institute of Science, where he was a governor for many years and had at one time considered taking up an appointment.

The papers cover some aspects of Head's life in detail, but there are few records of his major achievements in medicine. The records of his work (Section B) are mainly the texts of lectures and papers, but there are some case notes: B2/1 is a volume of reports on the examination of pilgrims to Lourdes which Head undertook in 1895 with the help of George Bull, an English Roman Catholic doctor from Paris; and B3 is a volume of post mortem reports on cases of shingles, which affects the same areas as visceral disease, representing, as Head discovered, the distribution of either a single nerve root or of a single segment of the spinal cord, now known as 'Head's areas'.

The photographs of Head's arm (B9) probably date from his 1905 work on the effects of severing the nerves in his own arm, and several of the papers and cuttings in Sections A4 and B18 comment upon the experiment.

In Section A is the text of an autobiography which Head dictated at some time during his last years, but apparently never completed. It covers only his childhood, schooldays at Charterhouse, his residence in Halle in 1880, his undergraduate days at Trinity College, Cambridge, and his work on the physiology of respiration with Ewald Hering at the German University in Prague from 1884 to 1886. Head's letters to his mother [Hester] (D2) give many more details of the same period, the letters from Halle including diary entries.

Head's and his wife's shared interest in art, architecture, music, literature and drama is recorded in their diaries and scrap books (Section E), and much of their correspondence (D4). Lady Head wrote novels and it is probable that the prose works in Section F are hers.

The restricted life which he and Lady Head lived after his retirement is vividly illustrated in the correspondence between Lady Head and Hester Marsden-Smedley (D6).

Translations from Russian literature by S W Pring including translations of short stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov; translation of the composer Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov's memoirs; correspondence relating to the possible publication in book form of Pring's translation of correspondence between Rimsky-Korsakov and Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev.

Papers of Iris Murdoch, 1962, comprising a letter to Pam Stringer thanking her for remembering to send her the words of a song 'it fills an important blank in my novel...it is supposed to bring tears to the eyes when sung' and expressing pleasure at having seen Stringer recently in Cheltenham.

Records relating to the School of Music at Kingston University dating 1998-2010. Includes posters, programmes and leaflets for Kingston University Music Concerts; school of music staff and student handbooks from early 2000s; programmes for graduation ceremonies; and other general documents relating to the history of Kingston University.

Papers of Lina Prokofiev, [1920-1987], including personal material such as copies of letters written by Serge Prokofiev; copies of correspondence between Lina's family and Prokofiev, [1931-1938]; copies of financial material, 1929-1935; correspondence and official papers relating to Lina's attempts to leave the Soviet Union and later to remain in Europe, [1973-1978]; personal correspondence of Lina, 1974-1989, with correspondents including her children and grandchildren, authors writing books on Prokofiev and Lina, and musical societies and orchestras requesting permission to perform Prokofiev's works; business correspondence, [1977-1985], regarding the setting up of the Serge Prokofiev Foundation and the collection of archival material, as well as legal matters relating to the Prokofiev estate and Lina's autobiography; papers relating to Lina's visit to the USA in 1976-1977, including schedules, correspondence, press cuttings and programmes; material relating to Lina's performance as the narrator in Peter and the Wolf at the Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts, 1984-1985; family photographs. The collection also includes transcripts from taped interviews with Lina covering topics such as her family background, the early life and musical training of Serge Prokofiev, Prokofiev's composing methods, health, politics and relationship with his children, the public reception of Prokofiev's music, Lina and Prokofiev's courtship and marriage, and life in Soviet Russia; texts of articles and broadcasts by Lina, [1982-1984], on topics including Prokofiev's relationship with Stravinsky, and the writing of Romeo and Juliet and the Third Piano Concerto; articles by various authors relating to Prokofiev, [1976-1977, 1980-1982]; pamphlets, press cuttings and articles relating to Prokofiev's life and work, and to performances of his music, [1975-1987]; copies of the Moscow News, 1934-1935; and pamphlets, published works and cassettes concerning Christian Science.

The archive consists of a manuscript memoir headed 'Manchester, 19 Jun 1909: Women's Social & Political Union (WSPU) Drum and Fife'. Details journey from London to Manchester and back for the meeting to welcome Miss Patricia Woodlock, provides an account of the meeting, the actions of the police and anti-suffragists, and gives Florence's opinions on the suffrage issue; also contains an account of learning to play the fife with the WSPU Drum & Fife Band and a list of the members of the Band.

Letters (10) and papers of or relating to Giacomo Meyerbeer, including to Giovanni Ricordi, 29 Jun 1824; to Leopold Ganz, 17 May 1847; to Jean-Antoine-Just Géraldy, c1850; to Annette Le Brun, ?before 1854; to James Steuart Bowes, ?1854; to C L Gruneisen, [14 Apr 1860]. With two testimonials for Leopold Ganz, 1845.

Papers of Edward George Dannreuther, 1900-1904, including manuscript of 'Bach's chamber music', undated; typescript and manuscript notes of 'The Romantic movement from Weber to Wagner', published as 'The Romantic period', volume 6 of the Oxford History of Music (1905); manuscripts by Dannreuther of various works by Franz Liszt and part of 'L'enfance du Christ' by Hector Berlioz; manuscript music by James Friskin (1886-1967), student of Dannreuther; notebook of Edward Dannreuther, recording names of his pupils and pieces of music each was studying, 1900-1904 (MS 1083).

Papers of Herbert Howells, 1899-1978, including notes, manuscript drafts and typescripts of BBC talks and broadcasts (box B), including 'Music and the ordinary listener' (1937), 'Music and everyday life' (1938), 'The Three Choirs Festival in Elgar's time' (1960), tributes to Malcom Sargent (1965) and Sir William Harris (1973); manuscript notes for Royal College of Music (RCM) and University of London lectures (boxes C and D), 1940s-1950s, including talks on his work Sine Nomine (1922), Ivor Gurney (c1939), Hubert Parry (1968), Ralph Vaughan Williams (1972); notes and transcripts for his speeches to various organisations including the Incorporated Society of Musicians (1953), Worshipful Company of Musicians (1957), Royal College of Organists (1959); book of poetry copied on first anniversary of the death of his son Michael Howells, 1936; cuttings of articles by Howells in newspapers and journals, and by others on Howells' music and performances (boxes E and H); papers relating to the Sir James Caird Travelling Scholarships, and notebooks containing Howell's adjudications with draft reports (box F); appointment diaries, 1955,1956 and 1973, address books of Herbert and Dorothy Howells, and printed concert programmes with notes written by Howells (box G), RCM student essays on Howells' music; letters received by Howells from over 260 correspondents, 1915-1978, with particular accumulations from Charles Bathurst Viscount Bledisloe, Sir Arthur and Trudy Bliss, Sir Adrian Boult, Robert Thurston Dart, Sybil Eaton, Gerald and Joy Finzi, Harry Plunket Greene, Walter de la Mare, Sir Hubert Parry, William Rothenstein, Marion Scott, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and others including Sir John Barbirolli, Arnold Bax, Nadia Boulanger, Benjamin Britten, Neville Cardus, Aaron Copland, Sir Henry Walford Davies, Thomas Frederick Dunhill, Keith Falkner, Guido Gatti, Edward Health, Gustav Holst, Joseph Horovitz, Zoltán Kodály, Cecil Day-Lewis, Yehudi Menuhin, Peter Pears, Edmund Rubbra, Harold Watkins Shaw, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, Sybil Thorndike and Michael Tippett; correspondence relating to his medical condition (1917), with Oxford colleges, with publishers and commissioning bodies, on his Cambridge Doctorate; photocopies of letters from Howells to 30 correspondents, including those already mentioned and to the Carnegie UK Trust; family correspondence (box A).

(1) Lease and (2) Release, 19-20 Mar 1770, between Mary Lewis and Jacob Kirkman, concerning land in Walton-upon-Thames.
(3) Presentment, 1771, by Jacob Kirkman against Robert Falkener, for counterfeiting Kirkman's name on harpsichords sold by Falkener.

Papers of or relating to Giovanni Battista Viotti, 1798-1905, comprising a manuscript autobiography 'since his entry into the world until 6 Mar 1798'; manuscript by Viotti on the origin of the 'Rans des vaches', the Swiss mountain melody sung or played to summon cows, recording his own experience of hearing it in Switzerland, undated; holograph will of Viotti, 13 Dec 1822; 5 manuscript letters from Viotti to Caroline Chinnery, Baron de la Ferté, Monsieur Cailheux, Madame Simon, and Monsieur Choron, 1798-1822; 9 letters from Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge (1774-1850), on musical matters, c1813-1817; letter from George Canning to Mrs Chinnery, on the death of George Chinnery, 31 Oct 1825; letter from Samuel Rogers, poet, [to the Chinnery family], undated; portraits, sketches and prints of Viotti and the Chinnery family; article by E van der Straeten on Viotti, from the journal Die Music, 1902; various letters, 1885-1901 to Edward Heron-Allen on the provenance and content of his collection of Viotti material.

Papers of Charles Herbert Kitson, comprising notebook containing manuscript notes on lecture on instrumentation, including orchestration and harmony, and lecture on extensions of principles of chord formation and chord progression, undated; scrapbook of cuttings, postcards and manuscript reminiscences by Kitson on the Sinn Fein rising in Dublin, Ireland, Easter, 1916, as viewed from his home at 9 Mount Street Crescent, Dublin, mainly comprising daily entries of events by Kitson, 24 Apr-2 May 1916, and cuttings from The Irish Times.

Notebook containing various writings on chants and chanting compiled by Rev Arthur du Boulay Hill, comprising manuscript paper by Hill on chanting, 6pp; printed article 'Congregational singing in church' by Dr A Madely Richardson, read at Beckenham, 14 Jul 1906; manuscript notes by Hill on `Observations on chanting' by the composer Robert Lucas Pearsall (1795-1856), probably taken from the transcription by William Barclay Squire, musicologist (1855-1927) published in Sammelbände der Internationalen Musik-Geselleschaft, 8, 1906-1907; brief biographical details on Hill.

Correspondence and papers of Margaret Macintyre, 1889-1902, comprising 30 letters from various admirers and acquaintances including Fitzroy Gardner, H Rider Haggard, Sims Reeves, Giulio Ricordi, Arthur Shadwell, Sir Arthur Sullivan, Ellen Terry, (Francesco) Paolo Tosti, Charles H Wade, Cosima Wagner, Siegfried Wagner; correspondence with Adolf von Gross, Bayreuth Festival, regarding her appearance as Sieglinde, 1895; contracts for appearances at Covent Garden, 1889, 1892, 1897; passes for Royal Opera Company performance at Windsor Castle, 24 May 1895; undated cutting from Il Trovatore on Macintyre's performance as Elisabeth in Tannhauser.

Papers of Frederic Cliffe, comprising cuttings and correspondence, Feb 1908, regarding Cliffe's letter to The Daily Telegraph, advocating the performance of opera in the English language, and the establishment of a national opera house, 11 Feb 1908; Cliffe's reports as examiner on compositions of students at the Royal College of Music, 1907-1908; agreement with Novello & Co for publication of his 'Ode to the North East Wind', 1905; marriage certificate, 1897; Freemason's certificates, 1895 (MS 6870). Letters (c25) to Cliffe, 1889-1929, including from Sir George Grove and August Manns on performance of Cliffe's symphony for Crystal Palace, 1889; from C V Stanford, regarding submission of Cliffe's work for the Leeds Festival, 1901; from Hubert H Parry recommending Cliffe for appointment as Principal of the Guildhall School of Music, 1910; from Sir Hugh Allen, on Cliffe's retirement from the RCM, 1929 (MS 6871).

Papers of Graham Carritt, comprising letters to Carritt, 1935-1962, mainly relating to his recitals, including letters from Gerald Finzi, Finn Hoffding, Yrjö Kilpinen, Jan Masaryk, Robin Milford, Edmund Rubbra; programmes and cuttings of Carritt's lecture-recitals, 1934-1937.

Papers of Sir Adrian Boult, comprising letters (9), 1920-1954, including from Sir Hugh Allen, thanking for Boult's conducting of rehearsals; from Sir Edward Elgar, in regard to his arrival at Boult's rehearsal; from Ethel Smyth on the possible performance of her works; from Adam Carse, sending score of his latest composition. Typescript programme and repertoire lists, mainly 1920s-1930s.

Papers of Katharine Goodson, including letters to Goodson, 1918-1929, mainly expressing thanks for her performances in aid of war charities; undated typed transcripts of letters from Goodson to friends and relatives [1890s]; ephemeral papers, including articles by Goodson, programme notes and biographical notes on Goodson, c1914-1947; editions of the The News Bulletin of the Leschetizky Association of America, 1952-1955. Ephemera of Arthur Hinton, including obituary [RAM magazine, 1941]; programmes and reviews of his compositions, 1911-1920; undated letter to Goodson signed by professors of the RAM, expressing thanks on the furnishing of a professors' room there.

Letters (16) from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor to Edith Carr, (one dated 1897, remainder undated) mainly relating to his musical activities, publication of his recent works, repertoire for violin and orchestral parts for Carr's performance, the Handel Society; photocopy of photograph of Coleridge-Taylor, with dedication to Carr, 1902; printed letter (signed by Coleridge-Taylor) to a Mrs Prince inviting subscriptions for the Coleridge-Taylor Orchestral Concerts, Croydon, 1903-1904, with receipt for same, and photocopy of handbill for Central Croydon Choral Society concert featuring Coleridge-Taylor's cantata Meg Blane, 28 Mar 1903.

Collection of letters of Sir George Grove, comprising two letters from Gaspare Spontini, relating to his possible coming to London to produce Alcidor and Nurmahal, 1826; five letters from Felix Mendelssohn, 1834-1847, including a testimonial for Edmund Chipp, organist, and a letter to John Hullah in regard to an English text of Mendelssohn's Lauda Sion; letter from Gilbert Duprez with thanks for music parts, 1842; two letters to John Hullah from William Ball and Karl Klingemann in regard to works by Beethoven and Mendelssohn, 1858-1859; letter to Grove from George Eliot with thanks for his appreciative letter about her book Daniel Deronda, 1876; letter to Grove from William Gladstone in regard to Homeric studies, 1878; letter [to Grove] from William Morris in regard to a tribute [to Dante Gabriel Rossetti], 1882.

Papers of Harold Watkins Shaw, 1950s-1991, including manuscript notes, notebooks, typescripts and associated research material relating to Shaw's articles, particularly in regard to the music and life of George Frideric Handel and Handel's Messiah; offprints of Shaw's articles from various journals; printed orchestral parts of Shaw's edition of Handel's Messiah (1965) with minor manuscript corrections; Shaw's manuscript edition of Handel's Theodora (1984); research papers for a series of articles by Shaw on John Blow, with offprints; manuscript editions by Shaw of works by John Blow, including Awake, awake my lyre!, the orchestral Te Deum and Jubilate in D, Ode on St Cecilia's Day 1691, Evening service, other odes and Latin pieces; research papers for his The Succession of Organists of the Chapel Royal and the Cathedrals of England and Wales from c.1538 (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1991), mostly comprising autobiographical details (name, birthdates and appointments as organist) of organists then living, together with a few biographical memoirs compiled by relatives of organists recently deceased; correspondence with the deans, provosts and chapter clerks of Anglican cathedrals of modern foundation (formerly parish churches) in connection with lists of their organists; files of correspondence and research papers on organists of ancient cathedrals, and related correspondence with Oxford University Press, librarians and cathedral and college authorities for permission to publish.

Papers of or relating to the Wessex Philharmonic Orchestra and its conductor Reginald Goodall, mainly comprising correspondence with composers, singers, musicians, orchestral managers, agents and artists, relating to the foundation of the orchestra, performances of the orchestra during World War Two, the hiring and dismissal of musicians, the arranging of concerts, discussion of programmes (including music by Britten, Elgar, Poulenc, Rubbra, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams, Walton and many others), payments and disbursements made, arrangements for accommodating visiting soloists and conductors etc, mainly addressed to Maisie Aldrich, with a large number of letters from Goodall, and others including Adrian Boult, Harriet Cohen, H C Colles, George Dyson, Anatol Fistoulari (about Anna Mahler), Beatrice Harrison, Arnold Haskell, Julius Isserlis, Gordon Jacob, Eileen Joyce, Kathleen Long, Reginald Morley, Albert Sammons, Malcolm Sargent, Kendall Taylor, Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Archives of the Royal Opera House (ROH), comprising:
some business records of the ROH and associated companies including Board minutes and papers of various opera companies using the ROH, 1919-1939; box office returns and payment slips for artists and theatre staff, 1919-1939; individual artist files, containing biographical information, prints and photographs 18thc to present]; production files 1946-present; minutes of the Board of the Royal Opera House Ltd, sub-committees, and management groups, 1946-present; files of the General Administrator/Chief Executive Office, and Assistants to the General Administrator, 1946-present; files of the Chairman of the Board 1946-1997; files of the Company Secretary's office, 1948-1996; files of the Personnel Office -2002 (closed); Contract files 1946-1980s (closed);
Opera Company files 1970s - 1999; Ballet Company files 1947-1996; Birmingham Royal Ballet files 1970s-1991; some early performing company files are found with the General Administrator's files; Finance Department records, 1946-present;

19th century correspondence, including letters of Frederick Gye (1809-1878), opera manager; Giovanni Matteo Mario (1810-1883) Italian tenor; Giulia Grisi (1811-1869), and Michael Costa (1810-1884) conductor;

Press, Publication, Community Relations, Marketing and Box Office departmental files, 1980-2000; House Management files, 1948-1999; Orchestra Office files, 1948-present; Friends of Covent Garden files, 1964-1999;

Ballet for All - education initiative files, 1964-1970s; London Opera Centre records, 1963-1970s; Production Office files, 1946-1980; Fly Department files, 1947-1977; Technical Department files, 1952-present;

audiovisual collection comprising:
audio recordings of oral history interviews relating to the Royal Opera House Development Project, 1997-2000; Verdi Centenary, 2001-2002; recordings of interviews and events at the Royal Opera House, 1964-2003;

photographic collection comprising:
photographs by Donald Southern, including black and white negatives and colour transparencies of performances, events and personnel at the ROH, 1959-1991; photographs by John Graham, including negatives of ballet and opera performances at the ROH, 1940s-1950s; photographs by Felix Fonteyn, including negatives of ballet productions from 1950s; photographs by Richard Holttum, including black and white negatives and colour transparencies of the ROH interior and exterior prior to development 1988-1991; photographs by Rob Moore including contact prints and colour transparencies of the ROH development, 1997-2001; Schal time-lapse photography of the development of the ROH, 1996-1999; Historic Monuments Commission photographic survey of the ROH interior and exterior prior to site development 1990-1996; two albums of photographs compiled by Edwin Sachs of the redevelopment of the ROH stage, 1899-1900, and the workshops; glass plate negatives used to create ballet post cards, 1950s-1960s;

collection of music and choreographic scores comprising:
printed songs, 18th -early 19th century; operas scores (vocal and orchestral) and stage managers scores, 1840s-1939; annotated opera stage managers scores 1946- present; annotated ballet stage managers scores, 1946-present; Staff Director's annotated scores for opera productions, 1946-present; Ninette de Valois' printed and manuscript music for ballet, 1920s -1930s; printed and manuscript ballet music, 1840s-1950s;
choreographic scores for ballets performed by The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet;

design and costume and collections comprising:
Yolanda Sonnabend design collection including notebooks, reference files, and related material, 1973-1995;
Ian Spurling collection of designs, photographs and press cuttings, 1975-1994; Toby Ward collection of drawings of the ROH prior to and during development 1996-1999;
Glynne Boyd Hart collection of watercolours of the ROH development, 1998-1999;
Ruth Hurle collection of drawings of back state, craft workrooms, opera and ballet rehearsals, 1930s-1940s;

costumes and accessories, such as headdresses, jewellery, shoes and wigs, worn by artist appearing at he ROH, 1920s-2003;
Comelli costume design collection including artwork by Attilio Comelli and others for costumes of operas performed at the ROH 1880s-1920s;
Costume design artwork, 1946-present; design artwork for sets and props, 1946-present; models of sets for productions, 1946-present; Model Room files relating to ground plans, and technical drawing or set and prop construction 1946 to present; stage and ground plans, 1939; Production Wardrobe files relating to costume and accessories design 1946-present;

miscellaneous large prints and drawings of performers and performances 19th and 20th century;

collection of advertising posters, 19th century-present;

programme collection including programmes for Gala and Special performances, and decorative programmes 1750s-present;

press cuttings of announcements, reviews, interviews, 18th century, 1847-1939; Harold Rosenthal collection of press puttings, relating mainly to the ROH performances, 1847-1950s; press cuttings of reviews and articles about performers and performances, 1946-present;
miscellaneous albums and scrap books relating to Anna Pavlova, and Nellie Melba, amongst others 1920s;

library collection comprising books, periodicals and specialist publication relating to ballet, dance, opera, music and theatre; libretti, 1840-present; playtexts 1776-[1850]; reports commissioned by the ROH and general arts reports 1946-present; ROH publications and souvenir year books 1956-2002;

special collections comprising:
Royal Ballet Benevolent Fund collection of material relating to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Royal Ballet (RB), including papers, photographs, press cuttings, programmes concerning the RB and its predecessors - Vic Wells and Sadler's Wells Ballet companies 1931- 1950s;

Spellman Song Sheet Covers containing illustrations of operas, and ballets late 19th-early 20th century;

albums of Lady de Grey albums containing photographs of singers, composers, conductors, mostly autographed, dedicated to (Constance) Gladys De Grey, (1859-1917) Marchioness of Ripon, and opera patron, 1870-1920;

collection of Dame Margot Fonteyn De Arias (1918-1991) ballet dancer, including costumes, accessories, photographs, correspondence and books, 1920s-1980s;

collection of Dame Ninette de Valois (1898-2001) founder of The Royal Ballet, including awards, honours and correspondence, 1947-1993;

collection of Leslie Edwards (1916-2001), principal dancer The Royal Ballet, including photographs 1920s-1980s;

collection of Eva Turner (1892-1990) English soprano, relating to her singing career, including costumes, accessories, photographs, press cuttings, music and books 1920s-1940s;

diaries of Frederick Gye (1809-1878), Royal Italian Opera General manager, 1847-1878, his daughter Clara Gye, and son Ernest Gye, ROH Manager, 1847-1877;

collection of Olive Grime, dancer with the Beecham Opera Company, including press cuttings, contracts, correspondence, photographs, books and costumes, 1920s-1930s;

collection of Reginald Goodall (1901-1990) English conductor, including correspondence and personal papers, 1900-1958.

Papers, 1788-1949 and undated, of Vendla Thane, comprising personal papers, 1890, 1910-1949 and undated, such as references, 1910-1911, 1933-1934, passport, 1923, curriculum vitae, 1923, degree certificates, 1927, a few miscellaneous items of correspondence, medical material, photographs, 1888, 1910s-1940s and undated, covering the years of her youth with her parents, her school career, and various Thane relatives, and miscellaneous printed material; genealogical notes on the Klingbergs of Stockholm (descended from the Vasas, the old Swedish royal family), 1788-1902 and undated, possibly written by Jenny, Lady Thane, and including documents about C G Thrström, 1788-1809, papers relating to the engagement and marriage of George Thane and Jenny Klingberg, 1883-1884, and memorabilia relating to Jenny Lind and her family, possibly collected by Lady Thane, and including a manuscript of 'Jenny Lind' by Lady Thane. The papers and photographs date largely from the 1900s and 1910s, and there is little material relating to Vendla's life after the 1930s, or to Sir George Dancer Thane.

Signatures of the committee and members of The Madrigal Society, 1831.

Papers of Reichsverband der Juedischen Kulturbuende in Deutschland, 1936, comprise a concert flyer advertising a performance in Berlin put on by the Reichsverband der Juedischen Kulturbuende in Deutschland.

Musical scores in manuscript of two versions of A Lyke-Wake: Border Ballad 1934.

Manuscript volume containing a verse play, a prose history, and several songs concerning the Escalade of Geneva undertaken by Duke Charles Emmanuel of Savoy on the 12 Dec 1602.
The play is entitled 'L'Escalade de Genève, Tragi Comèdie Representée pour la prémière fois' 12 Dec 1603. The history is called 'Histoire De la Miraculeuse Délivrance envoyée de Dieu à la Ville de Genève' 12 Dec 1602. The songs, or 'Chansons de L'Escalade', are in French (Savoyard dialect - 4 songs) and English (1 song entitled 'On the Twelfth of December with wicked intent'. The airs of the songs are often given, e.g. 'Sur l'air de la Vendange'. The index to the first lines of the songs is dated 22 Oct 1765.
The front cover of the leather binding is stamped in gold 'Gedeon Macaire Fils MDCCLXIV'.

Fragment of a folio containing four staves of musical notation; on the recto, part of the music is headed '1. H.S. Jeige or hornpip / the mock to the Comitee. Jo. Houlartson', and on the verso there is an apparently unrelated bass part, possibly in a different hand. The manuscript was written in the 16th century.

Records of the Union of Graduates in Music, 1893-1972, including: minute books; copies of the annual report; correspondence relating to Edward Elgar's presidency of the Union, the honorary membership of Princess Elizabeth and various institutions; miscellaneous papers, including a printed copy of the Constitution of the Union and a printed history of the Union written in 1972.

Letters from Sir Robert Moray to his friend Alexander Bruce, Earl of Kincardine, 1657-1673. Also known as 'The Kincardine Papers'. Bruce was sick of the ague in Bremen for part of this time, and the letters were written to alleviate the tedium of his illness, hence ranging over topics which might not otherwise have been the subjects of correspondence. They include accounts of chemical experiments in his laboratory, his interest in magnetism, medicine in all its aspects, horticulture, fuel, whale fishing, its risks and profits, coal mining, water wheels and tide mills, stone quarrying and the various qualities of different stones, the pumping works needed for undersea coal mines at Bruce's home at Culross in Fifeshire, even to the trees whose wood was best for pipelines, and the diameter of the bore best suited to the purpose. Familiarity is shown with mathematical and surveying instruments, with music, and all sorts of mechanical devices and especially clocks and watches, more particularly the taking out of a patent in respect of a clock for use at sea for finding longitude. Bruce is advised on the choice of books over a wide range of subjects. Moray includes anecdotes to amuse his ailing correspondent; he describes his quiet life and is enthusiastic about many of his chemical experiments. Notable at the end of the letters Moray added what he described as his Masonic signature - a pentagram which also occurs in his crest.

The collection contains Lindsay Cooper’s personal papers, works and associated materials. This includes autobiographical writing, including diaries (1950s - 1994) which detail her daily life, living with multiple sclerosis and her relationships with women. Alongside this are material relating to her early life and family history. It also includes musical scores, notebooks, photographs, correspondence, ephemera directly and indirectly related to her music career and life within the jazz and progressive rock scene. The collection also contains a diverse variety of audio visual material, both commercial studio and live recordings, both written by Cooper or featuring her, which have been digitised.