The collection consists of minutes, membership records, annual reports of the Club from 1885 onwards. There is also a collection of match lists which detail all fixtures in a season, fron 1898-1938. Additionally there is a collection of miscellaneous ephemera which includes Rules of the Club, advertisements, programmes, invitations, a history of the club, and other material.

Cavalier Playing Cards collection, 1886, comprises a bound volume containing a pack of cavalier playing cards, designed in the era of Charles II, forming a complete satire of the Commonwealth, published by the Clarendon Historical Society, with accompanying typescript explanation on each card by Edmund Goldschmid (1885-1886).

Papers of the City of London College, comprising:

Publications, including Journal of the Evening Classes for Young Men, 1859; College Calendars, 1882-1948; prospectuses, 1920, 1941-1970; circulars, leaflets and handbills, 1938-1966; reports, 1948-1970; Director's reports to Governing Body, 1963-1966; HMI reports, 1935, 1958.

Administrative papers (very limited) include a few files and reports of the Director on foreign tours and academic organisation, enrolment statistics, syllabuses and book lists, papers on course development, and papers of the Banking and Commerce Department, 1950s-1960s; catalogue of books in the library, 1907; library guides and reading lists, 1920s-1960s.

College Societies papers including papers, minutes and correspondence of the Students' Union, 1927-1936, 1954, 1964-1968; Debating Society, 1869-1893; Chess Club, 1894-1898.

College Journals including Staff Bulletin, 1947-1968; The Londinian, 1913-1920, 1947-1953; City of London College Magazine, 1927-1938; The Hub, 1930-1962;

Papers relating to college history, mainly comprising correspondence of the College Director and Secretary on aspects of college history, orders of service, tickets and programmes, 1940s-1960s; photographic prints and slides (including albums relating to World War Two); press cuttings volume, c1860-1973, volume 1949-1958, and monthly files Jun-Dec 1969; text, proofs and correspondence relating to the City of London College History, 1964.

Papers relating to ceremonials, including various certificates, 1862-1901; Director's reports on distributions of prizes, 1909-1970; sports programmes, 1931-1959; a few papers relating to studentships and awards, 1950s-1960s.

Biographical material is not extensive. An overall sense of Davies's life and work is provided by the contents of his 'Personal' folder of biographical notes, curricula vitae, lists of publications, examples of projects undertaken, etc. There is a little material recording Davies's schooling and university education and some documentation of his career. An unusual insight into the companies for which Davies acted and individuals with whom he came into contact later in his career is given by a collection of his business cards, some annotated. Also documented in this section is Davies's interest in various types of puzzles. There is a little posthumous material, including obituaries. As a number of biographical papers have been retained in family hands, some of the material is photocopy only.

Research material forms the largest part of the collection. These materials were found in Davies's labelled 'transfer cases' or box files which form the basic unit of organisation. There is a sequence of 'Notes of Miscellaneous Scientific Work', covering an extended period, 1952-1996. The contents of many of the containers relate to Davies's security interests with material from 1970s onwards, for example 'Data Security MS Notes', 1978-1984 and 'Public Key Ciphers' (two containers), 1970-1997. Papers relating to packet switching are to be found in Section F Historical Topics.

Papers relating to lectures and publications, presents sequences of papers designated by Davies as either lectures of publications. The lectures sequence covers a relatively short period, 1990-1995, and relates to computer history and security questions. The publications material covers a much more extended period, 1956-2000, and includes off prints, photocopied papers and copies of the journals in which publications by Davies appeared. There may be additional material relating to Davies's lectures and publications in other sections of the catalogue, especially Research and Historical topics and Correspondence.

Societies and organisations, is not an extensive section, comprising just four bodies, covering the period 1987-2000: British Computer Society, International Council for Computer Communication (ICCC), Royal Society and Worshipful Company of Information Technologists.

Papers relating to consultancies, provides documentation, 1986-1998, relating to a small number of consultancies which Davies held after his retirement from the National Physics Laboratory.

Papers relating to historical topics, presents important documentation of some of Davies's most important research, such as packet switching, as well as interest he pursued in his spare time such as Second World War cipher machines. These materials were found in Davies's labelled 'transfer cases' or box files which form the basic unit of organisation. There are interesting records relating to early computers organised in relation to a meeting held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Pilot Model ACE (Automated Computing Engine) in the year 2000. Packet switching is represented by a sequence 'Historical Notes / Early Packet Switching etc' 1949-2000, which includes copies of original documentation and historical reflections by Davies and others. There is an extensive record of Davies's interest in the history of cryptography including correspondence with others who shared his interests, typescript drafts of articles by Davies, photographs and photocopies of original documentation. Also represented in the section are Davies's interests in the history of the National Physics Laboratory itself and the Turing Machine.

Correspondence, is not extensive and is presented in four sequences. The first is the contents of Davies's folder of 'Misc. Correspondence', 1970-2000. Although the great bulk comes from the last fifteen years of Davies's life, the sequence also includes three letters from Sara Turing, mother of Alan Turing, 1970-1971, relating principally to their mutual interest in Second World War German cipher machines; of publications correspondence, 1988-1999; and of correspondence relating to a patent case 1994-2001. There is also an index of correspondence.

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.

Papers of Dorothy Ellen Marion Gardner including annual reports of the Child Development Department at the Institute of Education, University of London, 1933-1958, and notes on its establishment and functioning; newsletters of the Child Development Society, 1950-1992; pamphlets relating to child development issues, 1945-1960; correspondence and papers relating to reading skills, [1962-1963]; correspondence and papers relating to Dorothy Gardner's memorial meeting and fund, 1972-1976.

Records of the London Chess Club, including volume of minutes; lists of members and financial accounts.

Fixture lists for the Cosmopolitan Banks Chess Club; London Commercial Chess League; Lud Eagle Chess Club and Ministry of Health Chess Club.

Letter from Mr Nash of Bath, [Somerset] to Miss Way, Jul 1761. Written in the third person on the back of a playing card (the Queen of Hearts).

Autograph, unsigned.

The Special Collections fonds comprises four important collections of graphic material: prints and maps from the Guildhall Library; Ordnance Survey maps; the photograph library and a collection of prints.

The Guildhall Library Prints and Maps collection is a diverse collection of graphic material relating to the City of London and surrounding areas, 1553-2008; including prints, sketches, drawings, engravings, etchings, panoramas, photographs and lantern slides of various subjects including streets and buildings, Second World War bomb damage, churches, people, City of London Corporation personnel and events including the Lord Mayor, statues and memorials, the Thames, and markets. Also maps, plans and surveys of London and surrounding counties, London streets, parish boundaries, railways, tramways, and sewers. With a collection of ephemeral items including posters, bills, cuttings, printed menus, invitations, exhibition ephemera, playing cards, trade cards, booksellers' labels, satires, and theatre playbills and programmes.

Ordnance Survey maps of Kent, 1894-1939; London, 1848-1940; and Middlesex, 1863-1914.

The prints collection is arranged by area of London, including views of streets and buildings in Bermondsey, Bethnal Green, Battersea, Chelsea, Camberwell, City of London, Deptford, Finsbury, Fulham, Greenwich, Holborn, Hackney, Hammersmith, Hampstead, Islington, Kensington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Paddington, Poplar, Shoreditch, Saint Marylebone, Stoke Newington, Saint Pancras, Stepney, Southwark, Wandsworth, Tower of London, Westminster, and Woolwich; 1508-1988.

The photograph library, 1890-1986, includes photographs of streets organised by borough, including Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, Hammersmith and Fulham, City of London, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth and Westminster. Also photographs of subjects including London County Council and Greater London Council personnel, buildings and services; parks; statues; events and visits; important buildings; schools and educational services; rivers; fountains; industrial sites; healthcare services; museums; almshouses; lodging houses; youth clubs; social problems; docks; transport; churches and chapels; emergency services; libraries; restaurants and public houses.

Records of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards. The records include registers of freedom admissions from 1694 and of apprentice bindings from 1775; charters and ordinances; Court minute books; financial accounts; and quarterage books. PLEASE NOTE: MS 5963 IS SUBJECT TO A 30 YEAR CLOSURE PERIOD.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING ACCESS: These records are stored at the Guildhall Library site rather than the LMA Clerkenwell site. Researchers wishing to access these records should do so at the Guildhall Library Rare Books table. The Library is open Monday to Saturday, 9:30 to 16:45. Researchers will need to have an Archives History Card or a Library Readers Card. An archivist will be available at Guildhall Library on Thursday mornings to answer any queries.