2 boxes of correspondence, notes & papers relating to Burma Expedition, plant identifications and information relating to colleague's expeditions in Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan.

1 sketchbook showing scenes of life in Burma (plus one sketch of Loch Eck)

Box 5: 1919-1920; includes correspondence to family and Aubrey Herbert, 1919 - includes references to Frank Kingdon Ward and George Forrest; telegrams from RJF to his mother, 1919; correspondence to family, 1920; letter from Farrer to Sir Francis Younghusband, 13/09/1920; correspondence from Isaac Bayley Balfour and William Wright Smith of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to Farrer and family, 1917-1924; general correspondence, 1920, correspondents include Lionel de Rothschild, Postmaster Gye? J.T.O. Barnard, and William Purdom; folder of ephemera including telegram, ticket to Rangoon, diary entry and Burmese travelling times and Regulations for dealing with tribes; copy of Gardener's Chronicle including article by Farrer, 1921-22; notes written by Farrer's mother regarding instructions and dispatches from Farrer; plant / seed lists, including identifications from Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh; Farrer's supply lists; information relating to E.H.M. Cox, including, copies of few diary pages, maps and letters from Farrer to Cox; and various maps of various dates relating to Farrer's collecting localities.

•Correspondence begins with letter from James Keenan to Ian Fellowes-Gordon dated 18 August 1960; in which Keenan asks for any information Fellowes-Gordon might have on North Burma that would be helpful to Keenan’s proposed plant collecting expedition.
•Misc. handwritten & typed correspondence from 1960 – 1973
•Dust jacket of the American edition of “The Magic War; the battle for North Burma” by Ian Fellowes-Gordon; Pub. 1972 typed cover note to James Keenan dated 22 March 1972
Handrawn map of 'Collecting areas' Hpaungdaw, Heinde, Banchaung & Tenasserim Rivers.

2 labels for identifying part of the process of India Rubber / Gutta Percha production and 7 book plates on note paper forming a small collection.
Book plates: Churchill Babington, John Hutton Balfour, Henry Collins, Daniel Cresswell, Sir Compton Domvile, William Watson and 1 unidentified.
Accrual: Article: 'India Rubber' by James Collins, formerly Government Economic Botanist and Librarian, Straits Settlement, etc. as published in 'The Cottager and Artisan', September 1897, pp.107-108, published by the Religious Tract Society, London. Also, a card with a poem on it: 'The Twins' by J. Rushton, on the back of which is a Note about the opening hours of the India Office Museum.

1 folder with Photocopy of personal journal of E.H.M. Cox 31st January - 29th December 1919. Covering the Burma Expedition with Reginald John Farrer (17 February 1880 – 17 October 1920)
Remarkable account of 2 people, written between 1919 and 1920 and occasionally containing language and attitudes that would be considered offensive today; E.H.M. Cox, photographer, botanist, hunter, writer, and Reginald Farrer: botanist, painter and writer. Sail to Rangoon from Liverpool. Train and boat to Myitkyina and make base; from there they make expeditions into Kachin country with a large train of coolies, Gurkhas and Indian staff. Routine [as far as possible] seems to be gathering specimens, plants and seeds, taking photos, both glass plate and roll film, drying and pressing plants. Travelling from place to place and camping for as long as they need. Long treks in the north-east highlands climbing to 10,000 ft. and more. The diary is very closely observed and personal .The writer finds he has to do much more than the above accomplishments due to non-appearance of cooks, coolies etc. The weather plays an important part in the diary due to its erratic behaviour. Interesting that they receive pretty regular mail and both write a lot in return. British District Officers play a [generally] useful part in their plant searches. [description by SM]

Folder of mainly copy letters from Reginald Farrer to Euan H.M. Cox dating between February and September 1920, some typed transcripts, all copied by Cox's son Peter in 1987, alongside associated correspondence between Peter Cox and D.M. Henderson, then Regius Keeper at RBGE, arranging to have the letters copied and stored at RBGE.

This box comprises mainly correspondence to and from Reginald Farrer and Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour, Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (1888-1922) but there is also correspondence to/from Sir/Colonel David Prain, Arthur W. Hill, W.R. Dykes, George Redman of the Craven Nursery, and Edward Arnold.