The O.W. Samson Award was set up in memory of Dr Otto William Samson, ethnographer and curator of the Horniman Museum. His wife, Elizabeth Samson, donated £10,000 to the Royal Asiatic Society with the wish that the annual income from the invested money be used to either enable a scholar to pursue their research in the fields of anthropology or archaeology relating to Asia; or to enable the Society to mount a study group or seminar on some aspect of these fields. In its initial years the award helped to fund a publication following the Islamic Fundamentalist Conference and 'The legacy of the House of Timur' Seminar. In 1992 it was awarded to Richard Rudgley, St Cross College, Oxford, to visit the rural areas of Xinjiang to document surviving traditional technology, and in 1993 to Lilla Russell-Smith to research Chinese Buddhist painting at Dunhuang.

The material related to this award includes initial correspondence, administrative documents, advertising leaflet, and later correspondence including the news of Elizabeth Samson's death.

Correspondence concerning the setting up of the O.W. Sansom Award. These are:

• Letter from Elizabeth Samson (Mrs M.E. Samson) to Sir Cyril Philips, President, Royal Asiatic Society, to ask to arrange a meeting to discuss the possibility of setting up a Fellowship in memory of her husband. Typed, 1 piece, dated 1 September 1986.
• 'To Consider: Proposal for an annual award in honour of Dr O.W. Samson', a statement setting out the details of the award. Typed, 1 piece, undated.
• Note from Elizabeth Samson to Sir Cyril Philips to thank for his letter and enclosure but to ask for a correction to be made on the spelling of the name. Handwritten, 1 piece, dated 20 December 1986.
• Letter from Cyril Philips to Anne Southwark, to enclose Elizabeth's Samson's note. Handwritten, 1 piece, dated 9 January 1987.
• Note from Elizabeth Samson to Anne Southwark to enclose the cheque for the donation. Handwritten, 1 piece, dated 17 February 1987. The note is annotated to state the cheque was received on 23 February and acknowledged on 24 February 1987.

Documents and correspondence concerned with the administration of the Award:

• Letter from Elizabeth Samson to Professor A.D.H. Bivar, President, Royal Asiatic Society, expressing her concerns that the Award should primarily be for student travel. She has only been informed of one use of the Award for a publication, Islamic Fundamentalism, following a seminar. She asks for a meeting to be arranged to discuss the matter. Handwritten, one piece, dated 22 July 1991.
• List of correspondence concerning the award, mentions of its use, and current details of the account. Handwritten, 1 piece, undated [1991].
• Letter from A.D.H. Bivar to John Payne, Hon. Treasurer, Royal Asiatic Society, to inform concerning the letter sent from Elizabeth Samson, and proposing visiting her in September to discuss her concerns. Typed, 1 piece, dated 30 July 1991.
• Copy of a letter from John Payne to Ralph Pinder-Wilson to inform of Elizabeth Samson's letter and the impending visit on which he will accompany Professor Bivar. Typed, 1 piece, dated 1 August 1991.
• 'File Note: Dr. O.W. Samson Fund' - Note on the forthcoming visit to Mrs Samson and the references to the fund in the Council Minutes. Typed, 1 piece, dated 1 August 1991.
• 'Dr. O.W. Samson Fund' - report, written by John Payne, on the visit of the President and the Honorary Treasurer to Elizabeth Samson and the proposals for the administration of a Travelling Award, Typed, 3 pieces, dated 16 September 1991.
• Letter from Elizabeth Samson to Lydia Collins, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to thank for her letter and to ask her to thank Professor Bivar and John Payne for their understanding. Handwritten, 1 piece, dated 15 December 1991.
• Note from Sharon Eicher to the Royal Asiatic Society to ask if she is eligible to apply for the award. Handwritten, 1 piece, dated 1 April 1992.
• Letter from Clio Whittaker, SOAS Journals, to Lydia Collins, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to enclose a copy of the Bulletin in which the Society had placed an advertisement for the O.W. Samson Travelling Award and to send the invoice. Two pieces, typed and handwritten, dated 3 November 1992.
• 'The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, O.W. Samson Travelling Award (1993)' - notice of the award and to invite applications. Printed, 2 copies.
• List of institutions to which adverts had been sent. Typed, 1 piece, dated August 1993.

Correspondence regarding the death of Elizabeth Samson:

• Letter from Lydia Collins, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to Dr D.W. MacDowall, President, Royal Asiatic Society, to inform of a phone call she had received relating the circumstances of Elizabeth Samson's death. Handwritten, 1 piece, dated 12 September 1994.
• Letter from Dr D.W. MacDowall, to Mr and Mrs Richard Lake, sister and brother-in-law of Elizabeth Samson, to send the condolences of the Society on the death of Elizabeth Samson. Typed, 1 piece, dated 15 September 1994.

Since its inception the Royal Asiatic Society has encouraged the dissemination of Asian studies through the delivering of papers and lectures. These, particularly throughout the early history, were part of the General Meetings and recorded in the Minutes of the General Meetings (RAS LEC1). The material in this catalogue concerns the administration and publicity of papers, lectures and book launches given for the Society.

Printed cards listing the dates of Meetings at the Royal Asiatic Society with the names of the speakers and titles of their lectures. These are for 1965 (March -June), 1965-1966, 1966-1967, 1967-1968, 1968-1969, and 1969-1970. The last of these for 1969-70 also details the Council for that year and details about the Library.

There are also handwritten and typed draft lists for lectures for 1961-1963.

Printed admittance tickets for lectures held at the Society. Some of these have been annotated with the numbers of people attending the lecture:

1963

• 14 November: Sir Richard Winstedt, 'Thirty-two Years in Malaya'.
• 12 December: Margaret Medley, 'Ceramic Design and Industry in the Ming Period'.

1964

• 12 March: H.L. Shorto, 'The Thirty-seven Nats'.
• 11 June: Dr F.R. Allchin, 'The Indo-Greeks and their Successors in Gandhara (Further Excavations at Charsada, 1963)'. This card has had the date crossed out, 8 October inserted, and that crossed out too.
• 8 October: E.H.S. Simmonds, 'Literature and Society in Thailand'.
• 12 November: Dr D.L. Snellgrove, 'The Decline of Tibetan Civilization'. 10 December: J. Burton-Page, 'The Building Art of Bijapur'.

1965

• 14 January: H.E. Richardson, 'Early Tibetan Civilization'.
• 11 February: Dr. Cheng Te-Kun, 'Archaeology in the People's Republic of China'.
• 11 March: Dr Carmen Blacker, 'Mountain Cults in Japanese Buddhism'.
• 8 April: Professor E.G. Pulleybank, 'Chinese and Indo-Europeans'.
• 10 June: Dr J. Elfenbein, 'In Baluchistan'.
  *14 October: B.W. Robinson, 'Some Persian Manuscripts in the Chester Beatty Library'.
• 11 November: Dr F.R. Allchin, 'The Place of Tulsī Dās in North Indian Devotional Tradition'.
• 9 December: Professor Owen Lattimore, 'Some Recent Publications of Mongol Historians'.

1966

• 13 January: Professor Gordon H. Luce, 'The career of Htilaing Min (Kyanzittha), the Uniter of Burma fl. 1084-1113 A.D.' This lecture took place after the presentation of the Society's Triennial Gold Medal to Professor Luce.
• 10 February: Ralph Russell, 'Ghālib (1797-1869), Self-Portrait of a Delhi Nobel and Poet'.
• 10 March: Miss K.M. Kenyon, 'Excavations in Jerusalem'.
• 14 April: Dr I.M.P. Raeside, 'The Mahānubhāva Sect'.
• 19 June: Dr. C.R. Bawden, 'The Anti-Manchu Rebellion of 1756-7'.
• 12 October: Dr. A.D.H. Bivar, 'Mesopotamian Elements in Roman Mithraism'.
• 17 November: Professor Yigael Yadin, 'Masada of Herod and the Zealots'.
• 8 December: Dr J. de Casparos, 'The Unity of the Realm'.

1967

• 12 January: Professor D.C. Twitchett, 'Evidence from Tun-Huang on the T'ang Governing Class'. The lecture was preceded by the presentation of the Burton Memorial Medal to Wilfred Thesiger.
• 9 February: Mrs Mildred Archer, 'Birds and Flowers in Indian Painting'.
• 9 March: Dr G. Fehérvári, 'Ayyūbbid Metalwork in Syria'.
• 13 April: Dr C.E. Bosworth, 'The Coming of Islam to Afghanistan'.
• 12 October: Professor D.M. Lang, 'Old and New in Georgia and Armenia'.
• 9 November: Dr Romila Thapar, 'The Tradition of Historical Writing in Early India'.
• 14 December: Dr C.A. Macartney, ' The Maygars Eastern Auxiliaries'.

1968

• 11 January: Professor O.R. Gurney, 'The Hittite Shrine of Yazilikaya'.
• 8 February: Dr T.M. Johnston, 'The Middle East Command expedition to Socotra, 1967'.
• 14 March: E.H.S. Simmonds, 'The Nature and Function of Court Entertainment in Old Siam'.
• 4 April: Professor W. Watson, 'The King of Tien (Yunnan, 1st Century BC)'.
• 13 June: The Hon. Sir Steven Runciman, 'The Fate of the Byzantine Churches in Ottoman Istanbul'.
• 10 October: Dr C.J. Dunn, 'Aspects of the Japanese Puppet Drama'.
• 14 November: C.H.B. Reynolds, 'The Maldive Islands'.
• 12 December: G.R. Tibbetts, 'The Origins of Arab Monsoon Navigation'.

1969

• 9 January: Professor E. Ullendorf, 'A Jewish Tribe in Ethiopia?'.
• 13 February: Professor J. Segal, 'Christianity in Mesopotamia during the First Two Centuries of the Common Era'.
• 13 March: Miss B.E. Ward, 'The Boat People of Hong Kong'.
• 10 April: Susan Skilliter, 'English Pirates in Turkey in 1581'.
• 12 June: Peter Parr, 'An Archaeological Reconnaissance in North-West Arabia'.
• 19 June: John Burton-Page, 'Iranian, Central Asian and Indigenous Currents in the Arts of the Mughal Courts: A Cultural Synthesis'. This event took place in Manchester.
• 9 October: Brigadier S.H. Longrigg, 'Arabia: The Last Fifty Years'.
• 13 November: Professor R.C. Zaehner, 'Yudhishthira: A Crisis of Conscience'. This was a lecture to mark Gandhi Centenary Commemoration.
• 11 December: Dr. M.A.N. Loewe, 'Witchcraft and Han Dynastic History 91-74 B.C.'.

Correspondence connected with the organisation of Lectures:

• Correspondence with Dr D. L. Snellgrove, 9 items, dated 30 July 1964 - 6 November 1964. These include correspondence from The Education and Scientific Officer, India House, the Royal Afghan Embassy, and the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia about attending the event.
• Correspondence with E.H.S. Simmonds, 3 items, dated 30 July 1964 - 2 September 1964.
• Correspondence with Miss E.M. Boyce, 14 items, dated 13 October 1964 - 17 May 1965.
• Correspondence with J. Burton-Page, 3 items, dated 21 October 1964 - 17 December 1964.
• Correspondence with Dr J. Elfenbein, 6 items, dated 6 November 1964 - 11 June 1965.
• Correspondence with H.E. Richardson, 1 item, dated 6 November 1964.
• Correspondence with Professor E.G. Pulleybank, 8 items, dated 6 November 1964 - 9 April 1965.
• Correspondence with Dr Cheng Te-kun, 6 items, dated 30 November 1964 - 15 February 1965.
• Correspondence with Dr Carmen Blacker, 7 items, dated 11 December 1964 - 15 March 1965.
• Correspondence with Dr I.M.P. Raeside, 8 items, dated 2 March 1965 - 15 April 1966.
• Correspondence with Dr C.R. Bawden, 13 items, dated 2 March 1965 - 13 June 1966.
• Correspondence with Professor W.B. Emery, 6 items, dated 2 March 1965 - 24 May 1966.
• Correspondence with Yigael Yadin, 10 items, dated 5 March 1965 - 21 November 1966.
• Correspondence with Dr G. de Casparie, 10 items, dated 8 March 1965 - 21 December 1966.
• Correspondence with Dr K.M. Kenyon, 5 items, dated 11 March 1965 - 15 March 1966.
• Correspondence with Professor Owen Lattimore, 6 items, dated 15 March 1965 - 16 December 1965.
• Correspondence with Ralph Russell, 7 items, dated 15 March 1965 - 22 February 1966.
• Correspondence with Basil W. Robinson, 5 items, dated 20 May 1965 - 26 October 1965.
• Correspondence with Professor G.H. Luce, 1 item, dated 22 July 1965.
• Correspondence with Professor D. Twitchett, 8 items, dated 24 January 1966 - 13 January 1967.
• Correspondence with Dr S.M. Stern, 3 items, dated 14 July 1967 - 18 July 1967.

Printed cards with a list of the Council, information about the Library; and listing the dates of Meetings at the Royal Asiatic Society with the names of the speakers and titles of their lectures. These are for 1970-71, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1978-79, 1979-80. The card for 1975-76 is a photocopy of the original.

Printed admittance tickets for lectures held at the Society:

1970

• 8 January: E.H.S. Simmonds, 'Thai Dance Drama'.
• 21 January: Professor D.M. Lang, 'Cultures of the Caucasus'. This lecture was held in Edinburgh.
• 12 February: Dr V.J. Parry, 'Some Aspects of Ottoman Warfare'.
• 12 March: Dr L.E.R. Picken, 'Music at the T'ang Court'.
• 9 April: James Bynon, 'Berber Songs from the Atlas Mountains'.
• 28 May: Dr G. Fehérvári, 'Persian Lacquer-Painted Books'. This lecture was held in Durham.
• 11 June: Clifford Owen, 'Hunting with Animals'.
• 15 October: Dr J.R. Marr, 'Some Botanists of South and South-East Asia'. This was the Burkill Memorial Lecture held jointly with the Linnnean Society.
• 12 November: Dr J.C. Harle, 'Early Western Calukya Sculpture'.

• 10 December: G.W. Seager, 'Oriental Carpets and Rugs of Tent, Village and Town'.

  1971

• 14 January: Dr G.B. Milner, 'Homo Ridens: Towards a New Theory of Laughter'.
• 11 February: Dr J.D. Latham, 'Al-Andalus and the Destinies of Barbary'.
• 16 February: Dr J.S. Cummins, 'The Pei-T'ang Library in Peking'. This lecture was held in Sheffield.
• 11 March: Dr W.E. Skillend, 'The Korean Language in Literature'.
• 1 April: Dr R. Fischer, 'Archaeological Surveys in Afghan Seistan 1960-1970'.
• 10 June: John Irwin, 'Mughal Jades and their Relation to Chinese and West Asian Traditions'.
• 14 October: Dr James Dickie, 'Contemporary Trends in Islamic Architecture in Egypt'.
• 11 November: Miss M.N. Bainbridge, 'The Fifty-Second Day: A Turkish Funeral Rite'.
• 29 November: Professor E.H.S. Simmonds, 'The Three Thai capitals, an Historical and Cultural Commentary'. This lecture was held in Canterbury.

• 9 December: A. Hutt, 'Three Minarets in the Kirman Region'.

  1972

• 13 January: Dr J.G. Coates, 'An Introduction to Komi-Zryan Literature'.
• 18 January: Basil W. Robinson, 'Persian Miniature Paintings'. This lecture was held in St. Andrews.
• 10 February: D.B. Doe, 'Southern Arabia before Islam: Archaeological Aspects'.

• 9 March: Dr H.T. Norris, 'Oriental Myths and Motifs West of the Nile.
  *' 8 June: Professor H.L. Shorto, 'Pagan: An Ancient Capital of Burma'. This lecture followed the presentation to Sir Mortimer Wheeler of a special volume of the Journal in his honour.

  1973

• 11 October: Dr M.A.N. Loewe, 'Recent Archaeological Discoveries in China'.
• 8 November: John Leach, 'Psalteries and Dulcimers of Asia'.

• 13 December: Sir Gerard Clauson, 'Apologia'. This lecture was cancelled and replaced by one by E.H.S. Simmonds on 'Love and Nature in Thai Poetry'.

  1974

• 10 January: Dr R.F. Gombrich, 'The Prince who Gave Away Everything; The Vessantara Jákarta in Sinhalese Painting'.
• 14 February: John Ayers, 'The Changing View of Chinese Ceramics'.
• 14 March: Dr May Beattie, 'The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection of Oriental Rugs and Related Pieces'.
• 4 April: Professor W.N. Arafat, 'New Light on the Story of the Banî Quraiza and the Jews of Medina'.
• 13 June: Dr W. O'Flaherty, 'The Indian Jekyll and Hyde: The Myth of Vena, Alias Prthu'.
• 10 October: Dr E. Sollberger, 'A Sumerian "Reformer-King" of the Mid-Third Millennium'. This is a draft.

• 14 November: Dr W.G. Archer, 'Patrons of Painting in the Punjab Hills'.

  1975

• 9 January: Professor C.R. Bawden, 'The Mongol Epic'.
• 13 February: Dr J. Hansman, 'Excavations at Shahr-i Qumis: A Parthian City in Iran'.
• 10 April: Dr Susan A. Skilliter, 'Catherine de Medici's Turkish ladies-in-waiting'.