This collection consists mainly of manuscripts, correspondence, drawings, and printed material related to the work of British explorer and writer Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890) and his interests in swords, fencing, and Middle Eastern poetry and history. The collection contains research material and early drafts of Burton's The Book of the Sword and To the Gold Coast.

Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890) was a British explorer, linguist, writer, diplomat and translator; he explored Africa, the Middle East, South America and Iceland, and translated, among many other titles, The Arabian Nights. Burton married Isabel Arundell (1831-1896), in 1861, and she, thereafter, accompanied Burton on many of his travels, and became his amanuensis and editor, as well as publishing her own travel volumes and an autobiography. Burton died of a heart attack on October 19, 1890, and Isabel Burton died from complications of ovarian cancer on March 22, 1896.

151 items in 13 boxes

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