The papers consist of bound volumes of official and private correspondence for Dundas's Mediterranean command, 1851 to 1854. There are also letters, reports and memoranda of diplomatic importance in this period.

Administrative / biographical background
Born James Whitley Deans, he took the name of Dundas on marrying his cousin in 1808. He entered the Navy in 1799, served in the Mediterranean and Channel fleets and was made lieutenant in 1805. For the rest of the Napoleonic War he served in the Baltic or the North Sea. After a succession of peacetime commands, he was made rear-admiral in 1841, and briefly, a member of the Board of the Admiralty. From 1846 to 1847 he was Second Naval Lord and was First Naval Lord from 1847 to 1852. He was Member of Parliament for Greenwich, 1832 to 1834 and 1841 to 1852 and for Devizes, 1836 to 1838. In 1852 he was made Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, and a vice-admiral. He was in command when the Crimean War started and his responsibilities included the transport of the army to the Crimea and support of the allies in the battle of Alma and at Sebastopol. Having completed the usual term of command he was relieved in January 1855. He was promoted to admiral in 1857 but saw no further service.