Waddell Collection

A collection of over 700 volumes dealing mainly with Assyrian and Sumerian languages, Archaeology, Asian history and folk-lore, and Buddhism.

The collection was bequeathed to the University of Glasgow in 1939 by Colonel Laurence Austine Waddell (1854-1938), Professor of Chemistry and Pathology, Medical College, Calcutta, 1881-1886, and for many years a member of the Indian Medical Service. He made a notable contribution to the history of Buddhism.

The printed book collection is supplemented by associated correspondence, working notes, photographs and press cuttings. Some of the books have manuscript annotations and inserts.

How to find material in the Waddell Collection

• Browse through a list of printed items in the collection (Sp Coll Waddell); or, use the rare books search to locate a specific item.
• Browse through a list of manuscript items in the collection (MS Gen 1691); or use the manuscripts search to locate a specific item.
• For background information on Waddell, see: Christine Preston The rise of man in the gardens of Sumeria : a biography of L.A. Waddell (Brighton: 2009): Sp Coll Waddell Add. q1