The Society’s archive is an important resource for those seeking to learn more about Asian history and cultures. Our archival holdings incorporate the Society’s own records as well as the collections of some of the most prominent figures and societies within Asian studies.
The archives can be divided into the following types:
- The personal papers of figures involved in the work of the Society or within Asian studies.
- Records from the Society’s own institutional archive as well as material from sister branches of the RAS and other organisations.
- Special collections material. Examples include Chinese Documents on Trade Regulations with the English, Notebooks on India and Extracts from the Records of Bombay and Surat.
Click to see details of items selected from our archives:
A full listing of all our catalogued collections can be found on the Royal Asiatic Society archive catalogue and on Archives Hub where over 100 collections are listed. We recommend that you conduct your search on our archive catalogue as it contains up-to-date information about our collections. We will be adding new catalogue records regularly, so please check back for updates. If you are interested in accessing or have any enquiries regarding our catalogued collections please contact the Archivist at: jl@royalasiaticsociety.org
Uncatalogued Collections:
We also have a number of collections which are yet to be catalogued. This includes:
- Sections of the Institutional Archives
- Personal Papers of the Orientalist, Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson
- A small number of objects from when the Society was a Museum
To find out more about these please contact the Archivist at: jl@royalasiaticsociety.org