The J.B. Kelly papers consist of manuscript drafts of texts, correspondence, notes, copied archival documents, maps, photographs, printed material, and other materials related to the research and writings of British historian J.B. (John Barrett) Kelly (1925-2009), who specialized in the study of historical boundaries in the Arabian peninsula.
Documentation of his activities as a historical consultant to rulers in the Gulf region, as well as the British Foreign Office, can largely be found in Series I: "General: Correspondence, Projects, and Collected Materials, 1950-1987." Included here are extensive files regarding his research and travel to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1968-1970, including minutes of meetings, limited correspondence with Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, and drafts of reports he compiled. While there are some maps contained within this series, there are many more that were compiled by a British cartography firm for this project that are included in the "Maps" series below, and stored in oversize map cases. His consultancy with the Sultanate of Oman is also documented in this series, and includes his notes of meetings with Sultan Qaboos bin Said and with Yusuf bin Alawi, the Omani Foreign Minister, draft and final texts of reports that he compiled, correspondence, and extensive files of research materials, including copied archival documents arranged in alphabetic and chronological order by topic.
Photographs within this series include color slides and prints from his travels to the Trucial States and Oman in 1957, 1964, and 1970, with noteworthy images including those of the town of Abu Dhabi, meetings with Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, British officials, and scenery in and around locations throughout the Trucial States, including Al Ain, Ajman, and Ras al Khaimah, as well as images from Oman (Musandam Peninsula, Muscat). Also included with images from his first visit to the region are color slides and photographic prints from Iraq, Qatar, and Bahrain. Later photographs include color prints of aerial images of the boundary regions between Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, taken in the 1980s, as well as images from the corridor between Nizwa, Ibri, and Buraimi.
In addition, this series includes correspondence, including an extensive series of letters from Sir Reader Bullard; documents and texts related to his work with the British Foreign Office during the Buraimi Crisis, including text of Kelly's report on the Saudi Memorial; and collected materials, including first-hand accounts of the Buraimi crisis from Major William O. Little, and documents obtained from Saudi sources, including ARAMCO, by Edward Henderson.
Series II: "Publications," is divided into two subseries, with the first containing typescript drafts and published versions of articles that he published in scholarly journals and popular magazines, related to the geopolitics of the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf region from the 1960s through the 1990s, while the second consists of draft typescript texts of his books. Both of these subseries are arranged largely in chronological order, by date of publication. The subseries on books also includes handwritten notes and in some cases photocopies of archival documents, when directly connected with the research and writing of a given book. Note cards for "Britain and the Persian Gulf" are undated, but may have originated from the period of his doctoral research in the 1950s, and are included here since that book was largely based on his dissertation. Later photocopied documents from the British National Archives, chiefly those from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, were obtained by Kelly's son, Saul B. Kelly, when the latter was researching, editing, and completing work on the book "Desert Dispute" in the years following Kelly's death. Many such copied documents that were included in "Desert Dispute" are of materials that had been declassified by the British government since the time when Kelly began his initial research in the 1960s.
Series III, "Research Materials," is largely comprised of photocopies of archival documents, often with note cards written by Kelly attached. Most of these documents were copied from record groups in the National Archives (formerly Public Records Office) of the United Kingdom, or India Office Records from the British Library, with a smaller number of documents from the National Archives and Records Administration (United States) and other sources. Most of these relate to British policy in Arabia and the Gulf region, and were the basis for much of his research and writing. This series of copied documents was arranged separately from those in the "Publications" series above, since they appeared to be kept in a single series by Kelly, not attached to one specific research or consulting project. Files are largely arranged in alphabetical order using the folder titles provided by Kelly.
Series IV, "Maps," is currently being processed, and chiefly consists of large format maps created by a cartographer in the United Kingdom, commissioned by Kelly to work with him on the Abu Dhabi frontier project in 1969-1970. Several of these maps, which contain detailed, handwritten notations about settlements in the Al Gharbia region of Abu Dhabi Emirate, were created specifically for presentation to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan. Including are draft and final versions of maps, English and Arabic versions, and plastic tracings meant to be superimposed on these maps.
