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'Extract of a letter of Dr. Atchison addressed to Colonel Sykes, dated Peshawar, 24 February 1850' in which he writes how he left Aurangabad to carry out Sykes' wishes for information about the Sulphur Range and the mineral hills around Peshawar. He has become well acquainted with the locality but cannot visit the range because of snow. He writes of the minerals that he has found and what would be necessary to mine and refine them. The letter describes also the geography and the inhabitants of the region.

'Extract of a letter from Dr Atchison, addressed to Colonel Sykes, dated Peshawar, 26 February 1850' in which he supplements his previous letter (RAS GOV7/30) with information about the 'Koree' and Khyber passes, the Jhelum river, the area around Rawal Pindee, and other geographical features on his journey.

'Extract of a letter from Lt. Pollock addressed to Colonel Sykes, dated Kohut, 30 March 1850' in which he writes about the salt mines of 'Malgeen'. These are one day's march from a place called Nakbund where sulphur ore can be obtained. Pollock describes his journey to the area and how the mine is not regularly worked. He has sent specimens to Peshawar for further analysis as his geological knowledge is not sufficient.

'Copy of a letter addressed to Col. Sykes by Walter Elliot Esq. of the Madras Civil Service, dated at [Maltari] Vizagapatam, 5 Sept. 1850' in which he writes to send the inscriptions he has received from Captain Gill from Ajanta. He writes concerning these inscriptions and of others that can be found in Madras.

'Copy of a letter addressed to Col. Sykes by Dr. Gutzlaff, dated Hong Kong, 24 January 1851' in which he writes of the difficulties of interpreting the Buddhist literature as it is in verse and he cannot find anyone that can give an adequate explanation of it. He writes that the ancient literature writes of pilgrims between India and China and of the difference in Buddhism between the two countries.

He also writes of the statistical investigation of the country and information that he is gleaning from merchants. He writes that the Royal Asiatic Society will publish his Japanese grammar.

'Copy of a Letter addressed to Col. Sykes by the Revd. Dr. J. Stevenson on an Inscription from the Nana Ghat, Bombay (Mumbai), 14 May 1851' in which he writes that the Cave Com. of the Royal Asiatic Society has acquired the services of a young man, Mr Brett, who has a taste for the study of languages and makes very good sketches. He is engaged in making exact facsimiles of all the Western India Inscriptions. He also writes that his Society has agreed to reprint the three volumes of the Transactions of the Bombay Literary Society. In the third volume, he writes, is an inscription from the Nana Ghat which he had visited recently and so wants to add to what was already known.

'Extract from a Letter addressed to Col. Sykes by William A. Fallon Esq. dated Elephanta, 16 February 1852' in which he writes of sending into the Government a large painting of the altar piece at Elephanta on a canvas nearly 7 feet long and 2 feet 2 inches high. He also sent other plans and elevations drawn to scale. He writes that Lord Falkland is pleased with the painting.

The first minutes for the Committee of Correspondence are for 19 May 1831. However before this time items communicated to the Society were being recorded. Thus these two volumes are both connected with the administration of correspondence. These are:

Register of Communications, April 1823 To February 1846
This volume lists papers and correspondence sent to the Society, including their date and correspondent. Many of the entries also detail the outcome of the correspondence at the Society - whether read at a General Meeting or published within the Society's Transactions or Journal.

Minutes of the Committee of Correspondence May 1831 To July 1842
The Minutes for the Committee of Correspondence cover the time period 19 May 1831 - 9 July 1942 when the 'Committee resolved themselves into a Meeting of the Council'. In the meetings correspondence to the Society was read and decisions made how best to respond. This volume also contains a copy of the 'Memorandum on the Babylonian Inscriptions forwarded by Mr. Norris to Professor Wilson for transmission to Major Rawlinson. Dated, 15th May 1846'. The copy fills 5.5 pages of the book.

The International Congress of Orientalists, initiated in Paris in 1873, was an international conference of Orientalists. It was later renamed as the International Congress of Human Sciences in Asia and North Africa and then as the International Congress of Asian and North African Studies. This material covers the interaction of the Royal Asiatic Society with the Congress in the time period 1889 to 1993.

The 8th International Congress of Orientalists was held in Stockholm and Christiania in 1889. Material from this conference is:

• "Menu du Diner Offert au VIII Congrès International des Orientalistes, Stockholm Le 7 Sept 1889" - Colour, printed pamphlet with a dinner menu in French, followed by poems in multiple languages and translations in either English, French or German, each dedicated to one of the courses.
• Silver and enamelled drinking horn presented by the King of Sweden to the Congress. The horn bears the hallmark of J. Tostrup, and includes a detachable inner part containing an engraving noting this as a gift from the King and the names of the presidents of the Congress from 1892 to 1902. Stored in the original presentation case.
• Note describing the drinking horn and quoting an extract from the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 1902, when it was recorded that the horn should be kept at the Society.
• Two copies of the pamphlet "Quousque Tandem? Der Achte Internationale Orientalisten-Congress: Und Der Neunte? Eine Zusammenstellung von Albr. Weber" - Printed in Berlin, 1891.