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Personal Papers of Major General Sir Frederic John Goldsmid

These Papers are mainly concerned with excavations undertaken by David Stronach and John Hansman at Šahr-e Qumis in 1971 and 1976, and by David Stronach at Pasargadae in 1963. There is also the manuscript for Hansman's book, "Julfār, an Arabian Port", and more recent correspondence between Hansman and RAS Archivist, Nancy Charley.

"Journal of a Mission to the Government of some of the Lower Provinces of Siam". A handwritten unbound manuscript of 94 sides describing James Low's Mission to the Rajah of Ligor in 1824. The manuscript is dated 1824 but there is a postscript explaining the main purpose of the mission, dated 1 January 1846. The manuscript bears many alterations and annotations. These Papers are not the same as the article, "Extracts from the Journal of a Political Mission to the Raja of Ligor in Siam. By Capt. James Low, M. N. I. and M. A. T. C.", published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, July 1838.

With the manuscript are photocopies of printed articles. These are: Report on Lieutenant Low's Public Mission to His Highness the Rajah of Ligor, pp.1-11, unknown source. Journal of a Public Mission to the Rajah of Ligor, pp.12-21, incomplete, unknown source.

The Papers of John Massey Stewart, including newspaper clippings and ephemera from his trips to Mongolia.

These Papers contain three letters from James Purefoy, a scan of a letter in a private collection, two Bills of Exchange and a note regarding their donation.

This material contains a letter from major Cunningham describing the "Haram of Ali Raza" at Mashhad and a copy of the "Ziarat Nameh" said at the shrine. There is also further Royal Asiatic Society correspondence concerning what to do with this donated material.

The papers of John Romer consist of:

• An untitled translation beginning: "Translation of the first fifteen verses of Col. 1 of the Behistun inscription, being done into the literal and schismatic Persian rejecting Arabic works". Romer provides a description of his translation in English and a copy of the fifteen verses in Persian. He acknowledges the work that Sir Henry Rawlinson undertook on the inscriptions. Six sheets of paper, 20 sides. The final page bears the label in a different hand, "Persian Language, J. Romer Esq."
• A letter to the Bombay Gazette found within the 1687 Complementum thesauri linguarum Orientalum by Franciszek Meninski, (1623-1698). This Thesaurus was donated to the the Royal Asiatic Society by John Romer. The letter to the Gazette takes issue with a contemporary evaluation of the Dabistan, a seventeenth century work in Persian, which is a unique study of different religious creeds. The letter gives some explanation of the Dabistan and provides some examples. It is dated 20 July 1820, handwritten, 8 sides.

A set of handwritten notes concerning inscriptions. They are titled:

• The Naqbu-i-Hajar Inscription with commentary
• The Hisn Ghurāb Inscription
• Nouvelles Études sur L'Epigraphie du Yemen par MM Joseph et Hartwig Derenbourg
• Minoean B.M. 92 Glaser 284
• Comparative Alphabet

"On the Discovery of the Buddha's Birthplace by L.A. Waddell". A notebook with black cover into which Waddell has pasted several articles concerning his attempts to find the birthplace of Buddha. These are entitled and annotated by him by hand. The articles included are:

• "The Discovery of the Birthplace of the Buddha" from the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1897, pp.644-651
• "Where is the Birthplace of Buddha?" from the Englishman, 1 June 1896
• "A Tibetan Guide-book to the lost Sites of the Buddha's Birth and Death" from the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1896, pp. 275-279
• Editorial Note from the Englishman, 1 June 1896
• "Who found Buddha's Birthplace?" from The Pioneer Mail, 29 October 1897
• "Who Found Buddha's Birthplace?" - a reply to Dr Führer's letter, from the Englishman, 30 November 1897
• "Christian Tombs in the North-Western Provinces and Oudh" from The Pioneer, 22 September 1897
• "The Birthplace of the Buddha" by Sir George Birdwood, from The Times, 9 September 1897
  It appears from the title page of the book that Waddell prepared this volume especially for the Royal Asiatic Society in February 1898.

The papers of Sir Legrand Jacob consist of a single item: a hardbound volume containing handwritten text. Inside is an incomplete English translation of a Persian work titled Aja'ib al‑Tabaqat (“Wonders of the Universe”), part of the medieval Islamic aja'ib genre. Texts in this genre explore the marvels of the world, often incorporating cosmographical themes—the word aja'ib itself meaning “marvellous, strange, or unusual.”

The 'Aja'ib al Tabaqat' includes a creation story, accounts of Islamic prophets and descriptions of various countries and cities. The original Persian manuscript was purchased by Sir Alexander Burnes in the Bazar of Bukhara 1832 and Sir Legrand's translation states that it was authored by Muhammad Tahir, son of Abul Qasim, in 1819.

Sir Legrand Jacob has omitted various sections in his translation, indicating where he has done so. At the beginning of the translation is a letter from him, dated 'Kutch, June 20 1853', stating that the text was not worth translating but he reluctantly complied to the request from the Oriental Translation Committee and translated it. This letter mentions Sir Gore Ouseley. The paste-downs of the volume include text in another language, and the volume also contains a pencil drawing of a temple titled 'A temple near […]'.