Faculty Library
Archive Collections

PT Pali Text Society

The Pali Text Society was founded by Thomas Rhys Davids in 1881. Its main object was to translate and edit Pali manuscripts in order to make the canonical texts and commentaries of Theravada Buddhism available in English. It was also responsible for the publication of a Pali-English dictionary, 1921-5, and an annual journal, 1882-1927.

Records, 1881-1980

7 boxes

index of people, places and institutions

PT/1 Committee minutes and agenda
20 Jul 1923
2 items

PT/2 Council agendas
1978-80
1 bundle, printed

PT/3 Lists of subscribers
1883-9
1 bundle, ms and printed

PT/4 Subscribers' registers
1881-1963
3 vols

PT/4/1
1881-1903

PT/4/2
1917-38

PT/4/3
1943-63

PT/5 Subscribers' address books
undated
2 vols

PT/5/1
undated

PT/5/2
undated

PT/6 Subscribers' vouchers
undated, 1881
1 bundle, ms and printed

PT/7 Prospectuses
undated, 1881
1 bundle, printed
English and French

PT/8 Annual reports and accounts
1972, 1979
1 bundle, printed

PT/9 Cash books
1881-1941
2 vols

PT/9/1
1881-1904
With lists of books lent, Mar-May 1885; manuscripts lent, 1885-8; manuscripts received, 1886-7; and out-letters sent, 1882-8

PT/9/2
1904-41

PT/10 Petty cash books
1904-64
2 vols

PT/10/1
1904-14

PT/10/2
1921-64

PT/11 Order books
undated, 1951-80
2 vols

PT/11/1 Order book for the Pali-English Dicitionary
undated, 1951-2
Mainly blank

PT/11/2
1975-80

PT/12 Stock book
1950-63
1 vol

PT/13 Editorial files
1912-80
4 boxes , ms and typescript
Comprises correspondence and papers about newly commissioned works and reprints
Includes some correspondence with authors
Arranged by series title

PT/13/1 Files about dictionaries, concordances, grammars and journals
With some unnumbered files (2)

PT/13/2 Files about Sacred Books of the Buddhists
Nos. 24, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 35
With an unnumbered file

PT/13/3 Files about the Text Series
Nos. 1, 12, 18, 40, 47, 50, 57, 58, 64, 81, 88, 117, 118, 127, 135, 145, 159, 167, 171, 172 and 173
With some unnumbered files (9)

PT/13/4 Files about the Translation Series
Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, 18, 20, 32, 33, 34, 37, 39, 41 and 42
With an unnumbered file

PT/14 Correspondence about funds and fundraising
1894-1977
8 bundles, ms and typescript

PT/14/1 Letter about the British Academy
26 Jan 1976
French

PT/14/2 Correspondence with the A. B. Gomes Trust
1951-61
Includes correspondence with Piyadasa Dharmasiri Ratnatunga, 1951-3 (47)

PT/14/3 Correspondence with the Institute for Advanced Studies of World Religions, New York
1976

PT/14/4 Correspondence and papers about the Sturdy Fund
1894-1932

PT/14/5 Correspondence with the Templeton Foundation
1975

PT/14/6 Correspondence with the royal family of Thailand
1901-77

PT/14/7 Correspondence with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
1962-70

PT/14/8 Correspondence about the destruction of the Society's book stock in a bombing raid during the Second World War and subsequent attempts to raise money in the United States to replace it
1940-1

PT/15 Correspondence with other institutions
1881-1965
4 bundles, ms, typescript and printed
Mainly comprises correspondence with libraries and universities
English, French and German

PT/15/1 A-C

PT/15/2 D-K

PT/15/3 L-R

PT/15/4 S-W

PT/16 Inventories of books and manuscripts in the Society's library
1890, 1897
5 sheets

PT/17 Dried leaves of the bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa)
undated
2 leaves in an envelope

©2002 - Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies
Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge CB3 9DA.
Telephone: +44(0)1223 335112, Fax: +44(0)1223 335110.
Email: archive@ames.cam.ac.uk
Page date: 26 October, 2007