Papers of John Bell, late 18th century- early 19th century, comprising a watercolour painting by Bell, of the Dutch Vice Admiral Rutzius, who was mortally wounded in the Battle of Camperdown in Oct 1797; a reproduction of the watercolour which was made for Gordon Gordon-Taylor in 1951, for an article in the British Journal of Surgery; and annnotated pencil drawings of the bones of the skull.

Papers of Sir George Back, 1814-1878, including c. 250 letters addressed to Sir George Back by various correspondents (listed by name), 1848-1878; personal letters from Back to his family, 1813-1878; photocopies of extracts from Back's sketchbook and slides of his sketches from 1819-1822 expedition to Arctic; passports and framed letter with sketches of polar bear, 1874.

Papers, [1967-1970], relating to the research for and writing of an [unpublished] book 'The great game: Britain and Russia in Asia and Arabia, 1865-1970' by Verrier, mainly comprising manuscript and typescript drafts of the book. The collection also includes the papers, [1890-1952], of Capt Latham Valentine Stewart Blacker, an officer in the Corps of Guides in India and Turkistan during World War One, 1914-1918, which were used by Verrier in his writing of the book, and mainly comprise army notebooks and other military material, manuscript drafts of 'Turkistan bedevilled' by Blacker, offprints of 'From India to Russia in 1914' and 'Travels in Turkistan 1918-1920' from the Geographical Journal of 1917 and 1921, and maps of Asia and Persia.

This collection is comprised of various administrative records, publications, reports, and papers of study groups of the Centre for Policy studies, and is divided into 15 sections: 1. Centre for Policy Studies Minutes; 2. Administration Papers; 3. Working Papers; 4. Research Papers; 5. Publications; 6. Speeches; 7. The Westwell Report; 8. Defence Study Group Papers; 9. Deregulation Study Group Papers; 10. Employment and Economy Study Group Papers; 11. First Eleven Group Papers; 12. Health Study Group Papers; 13. Nationalised Industry Study Group Papers; 14. Soviet Study Group Papers; 15. Trade Union Reform Study Papers.

Photographic material, 1912-1919, of George Cormack, comprising 42 glass slides, c1912-1919, principally of Manchuria and the Chinese Labour Corps, and an album of photographs, 1912-1913, relating to a visit on the Trans-Siberian Railway to Siberia and North Manchuria.

Papers, 1780s-1790s, largely of Captain Francis Light, including several hundred Malay letters, primarily letters received by Light and his business partner, Captain James Scott, from rulers and dignitaries of the Malay Sultanates.

The letters cover the history of relations, negotiations and conflicts between Light, the rulers of Kedah and the Governor General in Bengal leading up to and including the settlement of Penang in 1786 and the armed conflict of 1791. There are also letters dealing with business affairs between Light and Malay nobles such as the purchase, shipment and sale of commodities, ammunition, slaves and opium, and the maintenance of good political and economic neighbourly relations; letters from the Sultanate of Selangor; letters from royal merchants at the Malay courts; and letters concerning trade from various rulers and nobles in the Peninsula and Sumatra, especially from Aceh, Asahan and other North-Sumatran states.

In addition, the collection contains several dozen letters and documents from the same period relating to Bencoolen (Benkulen) and the West Sumatran Presidency, which are unrelated to Light.

Papers, 1881-1891, of Donald James Mackay, 11th Baron Reay, as Governor of Bombay, comprising correspondence, memoranda, petitions and other papers, 1884-1889 and undated, on A'bkari administration (a system of licences for the distillation and sale of spirits in Bombay); correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports and other papers, 1881-1891 and undated, relating to military and naval subjects; correspondence, memoranda, minutes and reports, 1885-1890 and undated, on education; correspondence and other papers, 1881-1891 and undated, on agriculture; correspondence and other papers, 1884-1889 and undated, on sanitation and water works; correspondence and papers, 1884-1891 and undated, on various other subjects including administration, hospitals, irrigation, railways and finance; addresses of welcome to Lord Reay, 1886-1890 and undated; a drawing of Bombay harbour and accompanying manuscript plan, undated; manuscript map of Karachi Harbour Board, 1887.

Papers, c1830-1925, of Major-General Sir Henry Marion Durand and Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, giving a good picture of their work, particularly Henry Mortimer Durand. These include a set of Henry Mortimer Durand's diaries (1870-1907); a large selection of correspondence (1872-1922) (correspondents include Lord Lansdowne, Grey, Curzon and Roberts); and a collection of press cuttings (1902-1908) relating to the period when he was Ambassador in America. Henry Mortimer Durand also wrote a number of literary works, some of which are present in this collection. Also of interest are a number of family photograph albums, depicting scenes of India, Europe and America.

Typescript account, undated, of the Chin Hills Battalion, Burma Regiment, British Army, over the period 1894-1947, comprising reports written by various officers [1897-1947], including accounts of operations and some lists of personnel. The section for the period 1894-1897 was not written at the time, but compiled in 1897 or 1898 from various sources.