Letters from Edward Pierson Ramsay, Curator of the Australian Museum, to Philip Lutley Sclater regarding the transportation of a ceratodus to the Zoological Society of London

Letters from Carl Jacob Sundevall, Director of the Royal Museum Stockholm, to Philip Lutley Sclater regarding specimens found in the Museum such as Galapagos birds

Letter from Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas of the British Museum (Natural History) to Philip Lutley Sclater regarding the skin of a giraffe

Correspondence between the British Museum (Natural History) and Sheffield Airey Neave regarding delegates to the Conference on Nature Preservation in Post-War Reconstruction, and a meeting of the Council

Minutes of a meeting of recorders and searchers held in the Board Room of the British Museum (Natural History)

Letter from Gavin de Beer of the British Museum (Natural History) regarding Desmond Morris and Congo

Letter to Dr F C Fraser of the British Museum (Natural History) regarding his name being put forward as the Society's representative on the National Committee of Biology

Correspondence between British Museum (Natural History) and Geoffrey Marr Vevers regarding a report of a Black-Headed Gull to the Bird-Ringing Committee at the British Museum of Natural History, articles on Okapi by Reginald Innes Pocock, an account of the baby Dendrohyrax by Cecil Stanley Webb , Antarctic Seals, skins and skulls of small carnivores, the fox which the Zoological Society of London received from Tel Aviv Gardens, an exhibition of Tree Hyraxes, exhibits for Major Cottam, donations of specimens to the British Museum (Natural History), mongoose skins, Tangier Smith's location in Sze Chuan to locate the original Pandas, the release of Kodiak Bears at Whipsnade Zoo, publications by Doubleday on the Giant Panda, rings for a Golden Eagle from the Bird-Ringing Committee, the species of Monkey from Northern Nigeria, a Leopard from the Himalayas, measurements of the Kodiak Bears called Kam and Schatka at Whipsnade, and a donation of Hedgehogs to the USA

It was proposed in the setting up of ZSL that there would be a museum for zoological specimens, and items began being collected c.1827 including a collection of Sumatran specimens donated by Lady Sophia Raffles, widow of ZSL founder Sir Stamford Raffles. The museum was housed firstly within our office building at 33 Bruton Street in central London, and charged entry for people to visit. Many specimens were donated by fellows, John Gould donated his collection of Himalayan birds in 1831 to the museum, for example. The museum proved very popular, and grew at such a rate that it was one of the reasons for moving office to Leicester square. It was decided that the Society either needed to purchase a dedicated building for it - or to disperse the collection. ZSL Council chose the latter, and by 1855 the collection had been dispersed to various other collections including the British Museum (Natural History) and Norwich Museum.

Includes: Report on the value of the Reserved Collection, 1851; Dr Crisp. Museum Stores; List of Animals Presented to the Norwich Collection; Catalogue of specimens of cruise, 1849; etc. Also includes printed extracts from the Annual Reports regarding the Museum, and a printed petition to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to buy the collection. The Dr Crisp item is a list of articles purchased by him from the Museum, including the skin of a giraffe.