A collection of 275 items, consisting mainly of astronomical observations, manuscripts, photographs and drawings of celestial objects, instruments and astronomical expeditions, and scrapbooks containing portraits, photographs, drawings and newspaper clippings.
The majority of the documents date from the 19th and 20th centuries, with a smaller number dating from the 14th to 18th centuries.
The Royal Astronomical Society has been collecting astronomical manuscripts since it was founded in 1820. The items were often given to the Royal Astronomical Society by the creator or the creator's relatives, sometimes donated as gifts by their owners, or occasionally purchased. In 1978 the manuscript collections were arranged and catalogued by Jim Bennett. Larger collections of papers were arranged as named collections, while smaller accessions were arranged in the Additional Manuscripts collection.
