Director's Correspondence collection, 1947 onwards, consists of correspondence with the Society since 1947. The material consists of communication with the Director's Office, both incoming and out-going letters, covering a wide range of administrative matters and geographical subjects. Files may contain a variety of printed items such as journal off prints, lecture bills and photographs.

Fellowship certificates of Fellows, Honorary Corresponding Members and Life Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society, 1840-1988. The certificates contain the following information: names of proposers, dates candidates were proposed and elected and details about the candidate including place of residence, description and on occasion their qualifications for becoming a Fellow.

A collection of articles and letters sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals. This material covers all aspects of geography and exploration across the globe. This includes material from some of the most celebrated 19th and early 20th Century explorations, throughout the World. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to Central, South and East Africa, including Madagascar, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1830-1952. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to the Nile region, Africa, including Ethiopia and Somalia, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1827-1952. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to North and West Africa, particularly Libya, Chad, Central African Republic and states west, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, [1830]-1952. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to North America, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1830-1952. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to South America, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1830-1951. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to Central America, including the Caribbean, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1833-1944. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to Antarctica, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1839-1952. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to the Arctic, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1835-1952. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to Central Asia, including Asiatic Russia, Mongolia and Sinkiang, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1836-1947. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to South East Asia including Burma, Indonesia, Philipines and Vietnam, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1834-1947. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to Southern Asia, including India, Afghanistan and Tibet, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1830-1952. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to Australlia, including Papua New Guinea, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1830-1952. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to Europe, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1831-1964. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to the Far East including China and Korea, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1844-1951. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to Japan, including small off-shore islands, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1839-1951. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to the islands of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, including West New Guinea, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1830-1952. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Letters and articles by various authors relating to maps and map making, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1830-1952. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors on miscellaneous subjects, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1830-1952. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to the Near and Middle East including Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan and Turkey, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1830-1958. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to New Zealand, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1838-1946. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Articles and letters by various authors relating to physical geography, sent to the Royal Geographical Society for publication in its Journals, 1833-1952. The articles were often sent to referees and their reports are often to be found with the article, in some cases the referee report has been retained even though the article has been returned to the author.

Out-letter books of the Royal Geographical Society, including manuscript copies of official letters, 1836-1893 and press copies of Secretaries' letters, 1863-1872 and 1877-1916. These files contain outgoing letters only, ingoing correspondence is held separately in the correspondence blocks.

Notebooks and papers of Benjamin Robins, consisting of a miscellaneous notebook primarily on gunnery and fortification (MS 39), a commonplace book (MS 46), a box of miscellaneous papers (MS 130) and a letter to Martin Folkes enclosing a written message from the Chevalier Ossorio, Envoy from the King of Sardinia, on the proper charge of cannon (MS 139).

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.

Rogers' holograph manuscript. Volume 1 is entitled 'Obituaries of eminent persons'. Volume 2 (dated on the title 1847) is entitled 'Obituary of eminent persons and private friends', and is illustrated by 32 tinted photographs. Among the photographs are those of: Sir Charles Hastings (1774-1866); Sir William Jackson Hooker (1785-1865); and Sir Joseph Paxton (1804-1865). The volumes contain numerous biographies of doctors and scientists who died during the period of the record. The obituaries include various figures of Australasian interest such as Sir Stamford Raffles (1781-1826); Rev. Daniel Tyerman, missionary; George Bennet, missionary (fl.1812-1841); Rev. Thomas Slatyer, missionary, Samoa; and Colonel Robert Torrens (fl.1837).Each volume contains a stipple engraved portrait of the compiler, and his armorial book-plate.

The collection consists of approximately 100 items on alchemy and early chemistry, the most notable item being De Secretis Mulierum. The collection also includes manuscripts of lectures given by Sir Henry Roscoe; his notes on solar chemistry work; letters written to him by a number of his peers and his notebook from 1849. The many volumes of letters in the collection includes correspondence with contemporaries such as Robert Bunsen, Michael Faraday, Dmitri Mendeleeff and Louis Pasteur as well as with a number of Presidents of the Chemical Society and the Royal Institute of Chemistry.

Papers, 1931-1947, relating to the literary work of Ethel Maud Rowell, including offprints of published essays in journals such as the Hibbert Journal, The aryan path and Philosophy, as well as a published copy of her book Time and Time again: essays on various subjects (Allen and Unwin, London, 1941); newspaper cuttings comprising reviews of Rowell's published works, notably Time and Time again; typescripts and manuscripts of essays, stories and poems by Rowell. Correspondence, 1908-1954, relating to publication of Rowell's work, both before and after her death in 1951, including correspondence, 1951-1954, between Professor Elizabeth Marianne Blackwell, Head of the Botany Department at Royal Holloway College, and various publishing firms, concerning the possibility of the posthumous publication of 'Of memory and some other matters', a second collection of essays by Rowell. Miscellaneous documents relating to Rowell, notably a copy of a letter from the Rev Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll), 1895 and photographs of Rowell and other staff at Royal Holloway College, [1907-1939].

Records of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, 1849-2002, comprising minutes of the Commission, 1850-1993; minutes of the Board of Management, 1872-2002; minutes of Science Scholarships Committee, 1890-2002; reports of the Commissioners to Parliament, 1850s-1960; annual reports of the Board of Management and committees, 1880s-2002;

correspondence, 1850-1855, relating to the Exhibition, including transport and reception of exhibits, site for the building, organisation of activities and visits for overseas visitors, medal design, music for the opening ceremony, appointment of jurors, negotiations with the contractors Fox & Henderson, award of gratuities, removal of the Crystal Palace to Sydenham, use and disposal of the surplus funds, purchase of the South Kensington Estate;

correspondence concerning the South Kensington estate, 1851-2002, including the establishment, building and subsequent development of institutions such as the Royal Albert Hall, Royal College of Music, Royal College of Art, Science Museum, Natural History Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Royal College of Organists, Imperial Institute (later Commonwealth Institute), Queen Alexandra's House, Royal Horticultural Society and Imperial College; correspondence concerning private properties on the estate, such as Queen's Gate; correspondence with the Royal Geographical Society, 1913-2001;

files relating to science research scholars, research fellows, overseas scholars, industrial fellows, industrial bursars, industrial design students and naval architecture scholars, including some research papers, 1891-2002;

maps, plans, drawings, photographs, including ground plans of the Exhibition, 1851; architectural drawings of the proposed estate, 1850s;

Windsor Archive concerning the 1851 exhibition, 1849-1886.

Collection of autograph letters, 1756-1849, brought together by Lord Odo Russell. The correspondents are mainly European scientists, including Nikolaus Joseph and his son Joseph Franz Freiherr von Jacquin, both Professor of Chemistry and Botany at Vienna University; the zoologist Leopold Joseph Franz Johann Fitzinger; and the botanist István Laszló Endlicher. The letters concern the natural sciences, the medical sciences, the physical sciences, the arts, theology, dealers, diplomats and statesmen, and others. There is also a note from Beethoven (post 1824) and a letter from Goethe (1807).

Correspondence of Sir Edward Sabine, together with two volumes of correspondence on Terrestrial Magnetism by Sir Edward Sabine, Reverend Humphrey Lloyd and others.

Papers collected by the antiquary George Scott. As well as catalogues of Scott's library (and many printed books) the collection includes George Scott's financial accounts; extracts from forest laws; abstracts of Treasury accounts; register of Queen Elizabeth I's out-letters; orders relating to the Cinque Ports; and a book of prescriptions. Also a diary of scientist Robert Hooke, 1671-1683. Please note this diary is available only with advance notice and at the discretion of the Assistant Director (Heritage).

Papers of Adam Sedgwick, 1816 and 1843-1854, comprising:

Two notebooks from Sedgwick's tour through the continent of Europe, June-September 1816; manuscripts of Sedgwick's papers, mostly on the geology of Wales, which were read and later published by the Society, 1843-1854.

Letters, diaries, drafts of published works, papers and photographs, 1917-1980, of William Gawan Sewell, relating largely to his time in China. Material on the West China Union University includes histories, brochures, detailed descriptions, plans and photographs.

The collection consists of letters, most of which are addressed to William Sharpey as Secretary of the Royal Society. The main correspondents are Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie (President of the Royal Society, 1858-1861); Sir Edward Sabine (President of the Royal Society, 1861-1871); George Gabriel Stokes (one of the Secretaries, 1854-1884). The numerous other correspondents include many people active in the scientific world.

Sharpey-Schafer's correspondence is extensive. In addition to his own correspondence it includes papers of William Sharpey, saved by Sharpey-Schafer after his death, 1836-70 and n.d. There are significant numbers of letters from William Sharpey himself, Sir Michael Foster, Sir John Burdon-Sanderson, Sir William Osler, George John Romanes, Sir Victor Horsley, Sir James Paget, Lord Lister, Sir Charles Sherrington, Sir William Gowers, Thomas Henry Huxley, John Newport Langley, Sir Edwin Ray Lankester, Ernest Henry Starling, Allen Thomson, Sanger Monroe Brown, Sutherland Simpson, Francis Gano Benedict, Harvey Cushing, Albrecht Kossel, Karl Hugo Kronecker, Carl Ludwig, Charles Robert Richet, and Masaharu Kohima.

Material relating to Sharpey-Schafer's career at UCL includes correspondence on his controversy in the Neurological Society with Sir David Ferrier, 1887-88, and papers relating to the rebuilding of University College Hospital in 1895.

Material relating to Sharpey-Schafer's career at Edinburgh University includes correspondence on the forced resignation of William Cramer from the department of Physiology on grounds of German nationality, 1914, and papers on the opening of the department of Animal Genetics in 1930.

Other papers reflect various aspects of Sharpey-Schafer's scientific interests, including the history of the Physiological Society (with several letters from Archibald Vivian Hill), artificial respiration and bird migration. There are also numerous letters in response to his controversial address to the British Association in Dundee in 1912, and correspondence on the position of scientists in post-Revolutionary Russia, 1918-21.

There is a substantial correspondence on the various textbooks Sharpey-Schafer wrote or to which he contributed, 1910-34.

Sharpey-Schafer's personal papers include correspondence with his wives and children, 1876-1935, scrapbooks of press cuttings, c. 1899-1930, and a large collection of photographs, mainly portraits.

Pocket book entitled "Tables and Memoranda for Engineers", published by M T Shaw and Company Ltd, containing useful information for engineers such as mathematical formulae, calculations, the strengths of various materials, the width of types of pipe, the hardness of different soils, the areas of circles and so on.

Working papers and correspondence of Sir Francis (Franz) Eugene Simon. Scientific notebooks in the collection date from 1919-1934, largely the period of Simon's researches on low temperature physics at the Physikalisch-Chemisches Institut of Berlin University, and subsequently at Breslau. Other notes and manuscripts for lectures and articles are post 1930, while a large group of correspondence files are from the years 1922-1956, providing a full account of Simon's dealings with many fellow scientists and scientific organisations. Individual letter files concern V.M. Goldsmidt, Max Born, Gwyn Owain Jones and Nevill Mott among many other notable figures. Details of Simon's involvement in atomic energy development are to be found in papers on uranium isotope separation (MAUD Committee notes) and UK Atomic Energy Authority correspondence. Simon's professional appointments as head of the Clarendon Laboratory and as science correspondent to the Financial Times are represented by substantial groups of letters. There are twelve notebooks with some associated papers; the series also includes files of lectures, articles, cuttings and souvenirs, including photographs, with files of correspondence. Two later additions to the collection consist of correspondence and files highlighting Simon's contacts with industrial firms, universities and international organisations.

Articles of partnership in the company of Simpson and Thompson, engine makers, 1825.

The working drawings of John Smeaton, civil engineer. They illustrate his researches on waterwheels and applied mechanics, and the relative efficiency of overshot as opposed to undershot wheels. With supplementary engravings and manuscript notes.

Records of Smith Kendon Limited, 1826-1987. The collection mainly comprises the papers of Donald Smith and his capacity as Managing Director and Chairman of Smith Kendon Limited, including papers relating to the formation of the business such as articles of partnership and certificates of registration; deeds and other legal documents relating to property owned by the company; insurance policies; inventories; correspondence; minutes of meetings; Donald Smith's business diaries; sales figures; financial accounts; papers relating to stock and stock control; papers relating to sales; papers relating to products including recipe books; advertising; reports; staff records and papers relating to the Second World War.

Letters to Arthur Smith Woodward and related papers.

Papers relating to Smith's academic career, [1929-1970], including manuscript and typescripts lecture notes on various scientific topics, mainly chemical experiments, equations and theory, personal notebooks containing details of scientific papers by others, notes on famous scientists, and a copy of Smith's DSc thesis on 'Studies in intensive drying and related phenomena; manuscript and typescript drafts and fair copies of scientific papers by Smith for publication; index cards of chemicals; correspondence with academics and industrialists.

'Lectures on Botany by James Edward Smith, MD FRS, President of the Linnaean Society, delivered in the theatre, Guy's Hospital, 1796'- manuscript volume of 18 lectures, titles include: A general view of the three kingdoms of nature; vegetable anatomy; parts of a plant; the various effects of light upon plants; the seed vessels; the sexual system of plants; the Linnaean system; illustrations of the Linnaean classes and orders. Also contains botanical illustrations 73 folios.

Circular relating to the election of a new President of the Royal Society, 1820; letters and notices of the Society of Antiquaries, 1837-1862.

Minute books of the Society of Apothecaries, 1629-1675.

Records of the Southwark and Vauxhall Water Company relating to water supply and distribution, including Engineers' report books; Supervisors' report books; service pipe agreements; meter agreements; trade supplies report books; constant supply orders; building supplies registers; meter supplies records; fire report books; engine and coal accounts; calculations and statistics; works diaries; mains supply map books and registers of complaints.

Correspondence of the Sowerby family, chiefly letters to James Sowerby. Correspondents include: George Arnott Walker Arnott; Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward; Etheldred Bennett; William Bingley; James Clealand; Richard Cotton; Francis Crow; James Dalton; George Don; Richard Duppa; William Henry Fitton; Leonard Horne; John Harris; Adrian Hardy Haworth; Henry Heuland; George Hibbert; John Coakley Lettsom; John Lewis; Gideon Mantell; Thomas John Newbold; George Henry Noehden; Charles Panse; Thomas Joseph Pettigrew; Joseph Ellison Portlock; Thomas Purton; Philip Rashleigh; Joseph Sabine; Henry Sheppard; William Travis; Patrick Walker; Henry Warburton; William Wedderburn and Thomas Stamford Raffles.