Janus: Asia miscellanea

RCS contains:
<-- See earlier
RCMS 59	Europe miscellanea
RCMS 6	Album of coastal profiles
RCMS 60	The post-war economic development of Gibraltar
RCMS 61	Accounts of the siege of Minorca
RCMS 62	Maltese memorials
RCMS 63	Asia miscellanea
RCMS 66	Reports on Aden routes
RCMS 67	Journeys in Arabia
RCMS 68	Papers of Sir Cyril Pickard
RCMS 69	Astronomical calculations in Asia
RCMS 7	Papers on trees and woods
See later -->

More information

Please feel free to contact the repository.

Asia miscellanea

Title	Asia miscellanea
Reference	GBR/0115/RCMS 63
Creator	Various
Covering Dates	1790–1977
Extent and Medium	2 boxes; art work/card/paper/photograph/watercolour; Mixed
Repository	Cambridge University Library: Royal Commonwealth Society Library

Content and context

A wide range of papers and artwork concerning different parts of Asia. Much of the material relates to India.

The collections were received by the R.C.S. from a number of different sources, details of which are given with the relevant collection.

Access and Use

In English, May, Manipuri, Sinhala

Please cite as Cambridge University Library: Royal Commonwealth Society Library, Asia miscellanea, RCMS 63

Further information

Donald H. Simpson, ed., 'The manuscript catalogue of the library of the Royal Commonwealth Society' (London, 1975); MSS Addenda. Indexed

This collection level description was created by RAS.

Index Terms

Asia

RCS/RCMS 63 contains:

Diary of military operations in Iraq. The diary begins with Crocker's battalion camped on the River Diyala, defending the perimeter of Windiyeh, to the northwest of Baghdad. There is a sketch map indicating this position on page 1a. The entries record Crocker's daily activities as commanding officer, inspecting company positions, overseeing the preparation of new defensive lines and training his men. There are brief references to contact with local sheikhs and an account of Crocker's trip to Baghdad on leave in early October to recover from a fever. Crocker makes reference to the trying climatic conditions and the continual difficulties in securing supplies, and describes the battalion's work digging trenches and building earthworks against possible Turkish attacks. The diary moves on to describe the action against the Turkish forces in front of the high ground at the Jebel Hemrin, which began in mid October 1917. There is a detailed sketch map to accompany these entries on p. 48. Thereafter, the battalion was encamped on Beacon Nullah, halfway between Seraijiq on the Khalis canal and Qalat al Mufti on the Diyala River, where it practised field exercises in the winter in preparation for the coming campaign in northern Iraq.
Creator: Crocker, Herbert Edmund, 1877-1962, Lieutenant-Colonel.
1 volume (80 pages); paper; Manuscript.

18 Aug. 1917–23 Feb. 1918

Watercolour of Aden. An undated watercolour, 7¾" x 4½", depicting a view from the sea. There are buildings and a flagstaff to the left and a tented camp to the right, with mountains in the background. 'Aden. [J]R' is written in the corner.
Creator: Unknown.
1 watercolour; watercolour.

Ootacamund watercolours.
Creator: Cardew, - , fl 1917-1918.
2 watercolours; watercolour.

1917–1918

Letters to Archibald Colquhoun from Indian colleagues.
Creator: Colquhoun, Archibald, 1804-1890.
1 folder; paper; Manuscript.

1882–1884

Sketches of buildings in Lahore.
Creator: Cooper, John H, Colonel, fl 1919-1928.
1 plastic sleeve; paper.

circa 1919-circa 1928

Letter from Sir Montagu Butler to Sir Frank Brown. A letter from Delhi written after Butler had returned from a visit to Calcutta. The letter discusses Butler's meeting with Archbishop Foss Westcott, the future of army chaplains, politics, the arrival of Lord Inchcape of the Indian Retrenchment Committee, Butler's resentment at the appointment of Sir Basil Blackett as Finance Member of the Executive Council, and the appointment of Butler's brother, Sir Harcourt Butler, as Governor of Burma.
Creator: Butler, Sir, Montagu Sherard Dawes, 1873-1952, Knight, administrator and educationalist.
12 pages; paper; Manuscript.

5 Nov. 1922

Indian invitations and menus.
Creator: Fowler, G H A, fl 1934.
1 folder; card/paper; Mixed scripts.

1934

Cancelled cheque of Warren Hastings. A cheque for £35.0.0 drawn on Gosling's Bank by Warren Hastings.
Creator: Hastings, Warren, 1732-1818, Governor General of India.
1 page; paper; Mixed scripts.

5 Dec. 1790

Journal of a voyage to India. 'Journal of a voyage from Britain to India on board the "Surat castle" Captn. David Isbitster bound for Bombay', 32 pages. The journal begins on 4 November 1797, and describes Mactier's journey via Madeira and the Cape to Bombay, where he arrived on 30 May 1798. The last entry is for 7 July 1798. Some sections of the text are in French, parts of which have been translated into English. The journal is accompanied by a one-page note about Mactier.
Creator: Mactier, Anthony, fl 1797-1798.
1 folder (33 pages); paper; Typewritten.

1964

Indian letters of William Millar.
Creator: Millar, William Robert, 1851-1924.
1 folder; paper; Mixed scripts.

1874–1971

Photographs of Indian portraits.
Creator: Tonelli, Anna Nistri, c 1763-1846.
1 folder; photograph.

1927

East India Company indenture to William Cox. A counterpart licence from the East India Company to William Cox, mariner, to trade in the Eastern Seas, notwithstanding the monopoly of the Company. The licence is indented with the impression of the Company's seal.
Creator: East India Company.
1 page; paper; Typewritten.

14 Mar. 1812

Pocket register of a Ceylon servant. The volume begins with a copy, in both English and Sinhala, of Ordinance no. 28 (1871), enacted by the Governor of Ceylon to provide for the registration of domestic servants. This is followed by Madasamy's personal details and his employment record, including the names and testimonials of his former employers and the reasons for his discharge.
Creator: Madasamy, fl 1911-1922, rickshaw cooly.
1 volume; paper; Printed.

1911–1922

Coal in Upper Assam. A report on the discovery of coal deposits in Upper Assam dated 14 October 1872, 4 pages, with an unsigned comment on a separate sheet. The report is accompanied by a lithographed map, 1869, which has coal deposits marked in ink.
Creator: Jenkins, H L, fl 1868-1872.
1 folder; paper; Mixed scripts.

1869–1872

Abstract of the story of Khamba and Thoibi. Sheets of paper folded into octavo size with eight pages of writing. The work is in Manipuri and is undated.
Creator: Unknown.
1 folder; paper; Manuscript.

Notes on Samuel Tolfrey. Articles, letters and other papers concerning Samuel Tolfrey, including information on other members of his family, notably William Tolfrey. There is also material concerning Balthazar De Saram and Johannes Henricus De Saram who were sent from their native Ceylon to be educated in England, where they were given to the care of Samuel Tolfrey. This material includes a photocopy of 'Notes on some Sinhalese families, part V, the De Sarams in England, 1811-1821' by P.E. Pieris, which includes extracts from contemporary documents.
Creator: Various.
1 folder; paper; Mixed scripts.

circa 1977

Letter from Sir James Brooke to Edward Rigby. An undated five-line letter apologising for failing to keep a breakfast engagement.
Creator: Brooke, Sir, James, 1803-1868, Knight, Rajah of Sarawak.
1 page + 1 envelope; paper; Manuscript.

British Borneo. Gallery-proofs of a paper read to the Royal Colonial Institute, 14 December 1897.
Creator: Gueritz, Edward Peregrine, 1855-1938, Governor of Labuan and North Borneo.
5 pages; paper; Printed.

1897

Letter from Sir Stamford Raffles to Charles Grant. A letter from Sir Stamford Raffles in Batavia to Charles Grant, Chairman of the East India Company, 25 October 1815 (3 pages), defending Raffles' administrative record in Java, written before he had received news of the decision to return Java to the Dutch. There is an undated typescript copy of this letter (2 pages) and a photocopy of a second letter, written by Raffles in Singapore to David Brown, 12 November 1822 (3 pages).
Creator: Raffles, Sir, Thomas Stamford, 1781-1826, Knight, colonial governor.
8 pages; paper; Mixed scripts.

1815-circa 1915

Papers of Bertram Whitehouse.
Creator: Whitehouse, Bertram Reginald, b 1891.
1 box; paper; Mixed scripts.

1915–1969

Borneo without the British. The transcript of a B.B.C. Home Service talk of 16 February 1967.
Creator: Smith, Peter Duval, fl 1952-1969.
1 folder (7 pages); paper; Typewritten.

1967

Talk on Sarawak. The original transcript of a talk given to the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, comprising a title page and 58 pages of text.
Creator: Cunynghame, Sir, Percy, 1867-1947, 10th Baronet.
1 folder (59 pages); paper; Typewritten.

1912

The trade routes of South China. 'The trade routes of South China and their relation to the development of Hongkong', a paper read to the Royal Colonial Institute, 24 May 1898.
Creator: Wenyon, William F, fl 1898.
1 folder (13 pages); paper; Typewritten.

1898

Sketches of the University of Hong Kong.
Creator: Drake, Frederick Seguier, b 1892, Professor of Chinese.
1 folder; card; Printed.

circa 1951-circa 1964

Sketch of Mrs Butler. A pencil sketch made in Colombo, Ceylon.
Creator: Unknown.
1 folder; art work.

1845

Watercolours of Kashmir and North India. Fourteen paintings on cardboard of mountains and valleys. Two of the cards have a painting on each side. A few of the watercolours are labelled with dates and places, which include the Sind Valley.
Creator: Unknown.
12 cards; watercolour.

circa 1896-circa 1897

Chakdara. A pencil sketch on cardboard depicting a town by a river overlooked by hills.
Creator: ? Chater, Graeme, fl 1941.
1 card; art work.

1941

Souvenirs of the Palestine campaign. Signatures of visitors to the R.C.S. exhibition, reminiscences and original campaign material, including orders, passes, concert programmes and papers on the unofficial surrender of Jerusalem.
Creator: Various.
1 folder; paper; Mixed scripts.

1916–1958

Photograph of Earl Kitchener. A mounted photograph of Earl Kitchener given to W.B. Reynolds before Kitchener left India in 1909.
Creator: Kitchener, Horatio Herbert, 1850-1916, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum and Broome.
1 envelope; photograph.

1909

Etchings of Malaya.
Creator: Jackson, R D, fl 1925.
1 envelope; art work; Some of the etchings have foxing.; Printed.

circa 1925

Japanese bank notes.
Creator: Government of Japan.
1 envelope; paper; Printed.

circa 1939-circa 1945