Percy Maxwell Wallace correspondence, 1887-1922

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Summary

Creator:
Wallace, Percy Maxwell, 1863-1943
Abstract:
Percy Maxwell Wallace (1863-1943) was a British educator who taught at the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh, India and later served as an administrator at the University of London. Collection consists of sixteen letter books and four loose letters. Topics include Wallace's experiences teaching and reading examinations at the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College (now Aligarh Muslim University) and at the University of Allahabad; climate and disease in India; cricket competitions; discussions of books and authors; history of India, particularly during the Sepoy rebellion of 1857; operations and quality of the Indian postal service; social conditions and customs; social life among the British colonial elite in India; travel through Uttar Predesh and northern India; and Wallace's reflections on customs, culture and racial differences in India. The letters describe Wallace's personal and professional interactions and his social relationships with a number of British expatriates and Indian professionals, including A.H. Pirie, L.K. Hyder, Lady Florence Streatfeild, Lady Lansdowne, Lord William Beresford, Mortimer Sloper Howell, Rudyard Kipling, Sir Auckland Colvin, Sir Charles Alfred Elliott, Sir John Edge, Surech Chandra Banerjee, Syed Ahmad Khan, and Theodore Beck. Cities and towns described include Aligarh, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mussoorie, Nainital, and Shimla.
Extent:
0.4 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials are in English and Urdu.
Collection ID:
RL.13190

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of sixteen letter books and four loose letters. Topics include Wallace's experiences teaching and reading examinations at the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College (now Aligarh Muslim University) and at the University of Allahabad; climate and disease in India; cricket competitions; discussions of books and authors; history of India, particularly during the Sepoy rebellion of 1857; operations and quality of the Indian postal service; social conditions and customs; social life among the British colonial elite in India; travel through Uttar Pradesh and northern India; and Wallace's reflections on customs, culture and racial differences in India. The letters describe Wallace's personal and professional interactions and his social relationships with a number of British expatriates and Indian professionals, including A.H. Pirie, L.K. Hyder, Lady Florence Streatfeild, Lady Lansdowne, Lord William Beresford, Mortimer Sloper Howell, Rudyard Kipling, Sir Auckland Colvin, Sir Charles Alfred Elliott, Sir John Edge, Suresh Chandra Banerjee, Syed Ahmad Khan, and Theodore Beck. Cities and towns described include Aligarh, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mussoorie, Nainital, and Shimla.

The letters detail Wallace's experiences in India from the time of his arrival to his departure three years later. They cover his acclimation to a new environment and its challenges regarding climate, bugs, snakes, leopards, and waves of contagious diseases (cholera, influenza, smallpox). He describes the heat and seasonal rains; punkah fans and other means of cooling rooms; hiring and dealing with tradesmen and servants; summer vacations and treks in the mountains; social events and theater productions; books and authors including Frank Stockton and Theodore Winthrop; events at college such as banquets and matriculation examinations; cricket and tennis events and facilities; his participation in a volunteer militia service; and the arrival and departure of other British and the sense of loss at losing friends. Wallace's descriptions of his domestic life include acquiring furnishings and servants, kittens, tending a garden, and training a horse. Wallace suffered several illnesses during his tenure in India, which he describes sometimes in graphic detail. Throughout the correspondence Wallace makes a series of observations and judgments on the character of various ethnic groups including Muslims, Hindus, Eurasians, and Farsis, often in comparison with the British whom he considers to be generally superior. As Wallace's tenure in India progresses, his letters indicate a gradual hardening of attitudes toward the Indian people.

Biographical / historical:

Percy Maxwell Wallace (1863-1943) was a British educator who taught at the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh, India and later served as an administrator at the University of London.

Percy Maxwell Wallace was born on January 20, 1863 in Loughborough, Leicestershire. He graduated from Oxford University (1885) and taught at the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College (now Aligarh Muslim University) from 1887-1890. After returning to England Wallace served as Assistant Secretary to the London Society for the Extension of University Teaching (1891-1901) and as Secretary to the Senate at the University of London (1901-1923). Wallace died in Surrey, England on February 26, 1943.

Sources:

Rubenstein Library card file;

Ancestry.com, viewed April 22, 2026;

Ancestors family search;

Art UK;

[King's Treasures]

Acquisition information:
The Percy Maxwell Wallace correspondence were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 1964.
Processing information:

Processed by Richard Collier, April 2026;

Accessions described in this collection guide: Unknown.

Arrangement:

Organized into the following series: Letter Books; Loose Letters.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Percy Maxwell Wallace correspondence, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m17764