Uncatalogued: Papers and printed material relating to Captain Samuel Cornell Plant

Manuscript material in box:
i) Folder marked "Captain S.C. Plant. Letters etc. relative to closing of Estate" containing private/business letters circa 1921-1922
ii) Folder marked "Various 1881-1920" including various letters (1889 and 1921), typed note on the Plant family giving details of family tree and various Chinese Writings.
iii) Folder marked "Important Documents. MS written in 1891 by S.C. Plant on some of his experiences in Persia", "MS A Trip to the tomb of the Prophet Daniel and the Palace of Shushan" by S.C. Plant" and "MS Chart of Euphrates by S.C. Plant dated Dec 1897".
iv) Folder marked "Further papers relating to the death of Capt. Plant".
v) Large envelope of photographs showing steamers (SHU-HUN & SHU-TUNG) and photograph of gravestone in Madras (S.C. Plant), and one photograph of the SHU-TUNG too large for the envelope.
vi) Folder containing a small envelope with a black border containing a card "In memoriam" relating to the death of Samuel Plant and a unlabelled black and white photograph of a young man (presumed to be Cornell Plant).

Printed material:
i) "A Glimpse Through the Gorges of the Great Yangtze" small booklet. 40 pages. Signed by Cornell Plant.
ii) "Glimpses of the Yangtze Gorges" book. Author Cornell Plant, published 1921. 86 pages.
iii) "Handbook for the Guidance of Shipmasters on the Ichang-Chungking section of the Yangtze River" book. Author S.C. Plant, published 1920.
iv) Envelope of newspaper cuttings circa 1910-1923. Two pamphlets on the Plant Memorial on the Yangtze River.

Also one oversize roll stored separately [held at OFFSITE STORAGE - takes 12 days to order].

Related materials: Ref: NOT/43/3, Research notes on Captain Samuel Cornell Plant, 1968-1969.
Catalogue compiled by Siqing Zhan, RMG Volunteer, in accordance with accordance with ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description, 28/01/2025.

Administrative / biographical background
Samuel Cornell Plant (8 August 1866 – 26 February 1921) was a British sailor born in Framlingham, Suffolk. In 1900, he became the first person to command a merchant steamer on the Upper Yangtze River. Plant established the Sichuan Steam Navigation Company, serving as captain of SS SHUTUNG from 1908 and SS SHUHUN from 1914, providing the first regular steamship service on the Upper Yangtze. In 1915, he was appointed First Senior River Inspector for the Upper Yangtze. Highly respected in China, where he was known as Pu Lan Tian, Plant passed away in February 1921 as a passenger aboard the SS TIRESIAS. Source: Ref: NOT/43/3, Research notes on Captain Samuel Cornell Plant, 1968-1969. [Compiled by Siqing Zhan, RMG Volunteer, 28/01/2025].