ABSTRACT
The Bombay Government sends a letter requesting the building of a museum whose goals are yet to be defined, but largely it envisions a combined art, antiquity, and trade museum with a library and a meeting place for scholars, artists, and intellectuals. An attempt is being made to have a common anchor for all the various institutions of learning, art, and research to whom this letter is addressed. There is a felt need to have a common platform for both scholarly and artistic activities, and a newly built museum is seen as an ideal place for such a confluence of art, ideas, and persons. The Calcutta Asiatic Society is held up as an ideal example. The entire correspondence reflects on the position of the Society vis-à-vis the government and the attempts to involve various institutions in the project.
