Library
A unique collection of over 50,000 items in the heart of Cambridge
The Trust’s greatest asset is its library, a unique, independent resource for research in the fields of the cultural heritage of ancient South, South East and Central Asia, Iran and the history of the Indo-Iranian languages.
Search Our Catalogue Online
You can search our collection of more than 27,000 books on the Cambridge University Library catalogue, using their search facility iDiscover. If you want to limit your results to the AIIT catalogue, select the Newton catalogue option for ‘other libraries associated with the university’.
New List of Duplicates for Sale
Our 2016 list contains over 800 titles which include many duplicates from the collections of Mary Boyce (1920-2006), Professor of Iranian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, Ralph Pinder-Wilson (1919-2008) and Josef Elfenbein, Professor of Iranian Philology at the University of Mainz. The collection is therefore particularly strong in Iranian and art historical studies. The list also includes over 200 titles on South and South East Asia.
Special Collections
Photographic Collections
The Trust’s collections include the photographs and slides of Raymond and Bridget Allchin, Joan van Lohuizen, Penelope Chetwode (Betjeman) and the Howard Wilson Sri Lankan collection.
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Private Papers & Archives
Collections include Sir Harold Bailey’s working papers and correspondence in addition to selected papers of the Allchins and Van Lohuizens.
Learn about the archives ›
Oriental Manuscripts
The Ancient India and Iran Trust has a small collection of oriental manuscripts, most of which were collected by Sir Harold Bailey in the late 1930s and 40s.
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Library Benefactors
The Library comprises mainly the collections of:
- Professor Sir Harold Bailey: Indo-Iranian studies, Central Asian studies, and Armenian and Caucasian
- Professor Joan van Lohuizen: South and South East Asian art and archaeology
- Drs. Raymond & Bridget Allchin: South Asian archaeology
- Professor Mary Boyce: Zoroastrian studies
- Professor Charles Bawden: Mongolian studies
- Ralph Pinder-Wilson: Islamic art and architecture
- Professor Gregory Possehl: South Asian archaeology
Visiting the Library
The library is reference only. It is open Mon–Thurs 9am–1pm, Friday 9.30am-3pm, and afternoons by appointment only. All are welcome.
If you wish to visit the library for the first time, please email or phone either the librarian (tel: 01223 702095) or the administrator (tel: 01223 356841) for an appointment.
You will be asked to bring identification and a letter of introduction, to complete an application form and to sign the visitors book on each subsequent visit.
Book Notes
Updated List of Duplicates for Sale
13 February, 2020From time to time the Ancient India & Iran Trust advertises duplicate books and periodicals for sale. Many of these are rare and out of print. We view this.
Ottoman Explorations of the Nile and Evliya Çelebi
19 June, 2018The trust library was delighted to receive as a gift the newly published Ottoman Explorations of the Nile : Evliya Çelebi’s ‘Matchless Pearl These Reports of the Nile’ map.
Studies in the Chronology of the Bactrian Documents from Northern Afghanistan
26 May, 2018On Friday 25 May we celebrated the publication of Studies in the Chronology of the Bactrian Documents from Northern Afghanistan by our Chairman Nicholas Sims-Williams and François de Blois..