Letter from Frederick Shum to Philip Lutley Sclater regarding P T Barnum's agent offering ten thousand pounds for a four tusked elephant and whether would be wanted at the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London

Correspondence between Major H B Sharpe and Geoffrey Marr Vevers regarding arrangements for Cecil Stanley Webb to collect an elephant from Kenya for the Zoological Society of London

Correspondence between Lord John Sanger & Sons, Limited and A Thompson, Assistant Superintendent at the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London regarding special side shows with extra admission, and an elephant to be sent to the Zoo

Letter from the Royal Zoological Society of London regarding any difference in the height of an Elephant when standing and when lying on its side. Also a paper on 'The Birth of an Asiatic Elephant' by Dr Ellen M Hindle (based on a report by Dr Lamberto Crudi, Director, Zoological Gardens, Rome)

Correspondence between Captain A T Ritchie and Geoffrey Marr Vevers regarding the return of Cecil Webb from Madagascar with an elephant that Mr Sharpe had for the Zoological Society of London at Ngobit, and any other animals available for shipment, also Webb's appointment as a whole-time salaried collection for the Society, with the title of Curator

Letter from Julian Sorell Huxley to Jasper Ridley regarding the plans for the new Elephant House and an approach to Lord Howard de Walden regarding a donation towards the construction

Letter from the building contractors Rice and Son, to Julian Sorell Huxley regarding the construction of the new Elephant House

Report on elephant enclosures, temperatures in various houses such as antelope and cattle sheds, possible overcrowding in bears' enclosures, inmates of cattle and deer sheds, the health of otters and coypus, numbers in the bird house and aviaries, bird house temperatures and the Three Island Pond

Correspondence between Julian Sorell Huxley and Stanley Reed regarding The Maharajah of Bhavnagar, plans for a new Elephant House at the London Zoological Gardens and a a request for a financial contribution from The Maharajah

Manchester

March 14 1845

Sir

There is one Lion with a good and showy mane. he has a defective tail, that is to say the last three inches of it is turned up abruptly; this beast I should not like to give more than three hundred guineas for - the second Lion they say is six years old, I think he is not so old; he has less mane than the one at the Gardens, that belongs to White, he is a large beast, but has what is called a broken nose, that is to say he bears the appearance that a fighting man does - he is a larger animal than the first mentioned - the outside value of this one I should say was two hundred pounds - the first mentioned one is the same sort and looks exactly like the one at the Surrey Gardens the elephant is fine and they expect a long price. I should say he was well worth six hundred pounds - the giraffe is a female, and by far the best animal in the collection, appears in perfect health and condition, she is not as I was informed crooked on the legs, but a beast well worthy of being added to our collection, let her fetch what price she will this animals is well worth three hundred and fifty guineas to the Society - the Leopard is fine, but he lost all four canines and has got a severe cold in one eye - five pounds would be plenty of money for him - The Lion cubs are male and female about 15 inches high, they were cubbed in the collection, the point of interest about them is, that they are living on good terms in the same den with the maned Lion - one of them is what is called [Mooney?] headed they are not worth £20 the two.
I have the honor to be
Sir
Your obedient Servant
Louis Prater

If the Society feel inclined to purchase the Elephant, there is a man here I think would buy our large one. The Elephant is full 8ft high