Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1952-1974 (Creation)
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Extent and medium
3 folders
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Betty Heimarin studied Sanskrit and cultural epistemology in Kiel, Heidelberg, Gottingen and Bonn. In 1919, Heimann received her PhD from Kiel University where her thesis was on Upaniad Bhaya. She emigrated to England in 1933 and taught at the University of London. From 1945 to 1949 Heimann was a professor at the University of Ceylon in Colombo, Ceylon, founding the Department of Sanskrit at the university.
Her book, Indian and Western Philosophy: A Study in Contrasts (1937) is based on the Forlong Fund Lectures delivered under the auspices of the Royal Asiatic Society. The Society also published her work on the Sanskrit langauge entitled The Significance of Prefixes in Sanskrit Philosophical Terminology in 1951.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Ruth Gaevernitz was a long-time friend and collaborator of Betty Heimann. She co-edited Facets of Indian Thought, a collection of essays by Betty Heimann which was published posthumously in 1964.
Repository
Archival history
The papers were in the custody of Betty Heimann's friend and collaborator Dr Ruth Gaevernitz.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
An accompanying note states that the papers were sent by Dr Ruth Gaevernitz to the Society in 1967 as a loan. This was probably forwarded to the Society with a view to getting it published or finding a publisher.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The papers of Papers of Betty Heimann contain her annotated typescript entitled 'Hindu Thought in Illustrations, a Primer in Indian Philosophy', a study of the concepts and systems of Hindu philosophy using visual aids which remains unpublished. The typescript contains two versions of the work. The first version, containing 96 pages and a preface dated March 1952, appears to be more complete and is interleaved with colour illustrations. Additionally, there is a set of photostat copies of the illustrations bearing the RAS stamp at the back.
An accompanying note states that the papers were received from Dr Ruth Gaevernitz on loan in 1967. There is a further letter from Gaevernitz to the Society in 1974 expressing their wish of having the book published as a whole, and that the Society should contact them if approached by a publisher.
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Conditions governing access
Open. Please contact the Archivist.
Conditions governing reproduction
Digital photography (without flash) for research purposes may be permitted upon completion of a copyright declaration form, and with respect to current UK copyright law.
Language of material
English
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Related units of description
Upon the death of Betty Heimann in 1961, Dr Ruth Gaevernitz donated some books from Heimann's library to the Society.
Notes area
Note
Betty Heimann delivered an associated talk at the 23rd International Congress of Orientalists held at Cambridge in 1954. See Dandekar, R. N. “THE TWENTY-THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF ORIENTALISTS CAMBRIDGE.” Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, vol. 35, no. 1/4, 1954, pp. i–xxviii.
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Archivist's note
These papers were catalogued by James Liu, RAS Archivist, in July 2026.